Focal

What do they actually do

Focal is a web app that turns a written idea or script into short AI‑generated video clips, then lets a single user add AI voices, keep lip‑sync in place, and assemble everything on a simple timeline to export a finished short, scene, or episode (site). Under the hood, it brokers multiple third‑party video models (e.g., Veo, Seedance, Kling, Minimax, Luma, Runway) and integrates voice/sound models (e.g., ElevenLabs, OpenAI) so users can generate visuals and audio without deep production skills. Users can also reuse characters and locations to maintain some continuity across clips (site about).

Today, the product is geared to short‑form outputs stitched from many clips, with a chat‑style script editor to speed revisions. Free accounts are limited (no video generation or exports), and commercial use requires a paid plan; the team is early (YC W24) and still maturing long‑form and production‑grade workflows (pricing YC).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Indie filmmakers and solo creators: They need to prototype scenes and episodes without hiring actors or crews and want to iterate quickly on story and shots; current tools make multi‑scene generation and stitching slow or expensive (about YC).
• Authors and screenwriters adapting books/screenplays: They need affordable visual mockups to pitch or test adaptations and want to turn chapters or scripts into short, shareable scenes without traditional production budgets (about YC).
• Small businesses and marketing teams: They must produce many short videos quickly on tight budgets and lack in‑house production; they need low‑friction script‑to‑clip workflows for ads and social content (site pricing).
• Educators and course creators: They want engaging lesson or explainer videos but have limited time, editing skills, and budgets; converting scripts or prompts into instructional clips would save time and effort (about).
• Early‑stage showrunners and TV writers prototyping episodic work: They need character/location continuity and pacing across scenes without full production; current short‑clip tools make maintaining consistency hard, which Focal is actively improving (site YC).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Founder‑led outreach to indie filmmakers, screenwriters, and authors (via YC network, film‑school instructors, creator DMs) with white‑glove onboardings and free credits to build a pilot scene in exchange for feedback and a case study (YC about).
• First 50: Run cohort workshops and creator sprints (“script‑to‑scene”), record tutorials, and seed templates/credits to ensure first‑session success; publish community examples to drive organic signups (how‑to YouTube tutorial).
• First 100: Form partnerships with writer/author communities, film festivals, and creator marketplaces offering “visual pitch” credits and co‑marketed webinars; add referral credits and use case studies for targeted ads/PR, aligning messaging to current limits (short clips, paid exports) (pricing about).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Top‑down: the AI video market is ~USD 3.86B in 2024 (Grand View Research); the creator economy is ~USD 205B with photography & videography the largest slice (~44.5%) (GVR). Adjacent film/video production and e‑learning markets are each measured in the hundreds of billions in various reports (TBRC GVR e‑learning).

Bottom-up calculation:

Near‑term serviceable TAM: if Focal converts ~100k paying creators at ~$300/year and ~25k SMB teams at ~$600/year, that implies roughly $60M + $15M ≈ $75M/year in reachable tool spend, focused on short‑form script‑to‑video workflows.

Assumptions:

• Focal targets a subset of global video‑oriented creators (e.g., indie filmmakers, authors, educators) of ~100k willing to pay ~$25/month on average.
• SMB segment of ~25k teams with higher utility and collaboration needs paying ~$50/month on average.
• Scope limited to today’s short‑form, multi‑clip workflows (excludes full studio production and distribution).

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Runway: Runs its own generative video models with an integrated editor used for short AI videos and VFX; overlaps on model‑based generation plus timeline tooling (product Studios).
• Luma AI: High‑quality, photoreal text‑to‑video and 3D capture (NeRF) with an API; strong when cinematic realism or 3D scene capture matters more than multi‑clip scripting (AI Video Generator docs).
• Kaiber: Prompt‑driven creative video tool (Superstudio) emphasizing stylized, music‑friendly outputs; better for concept visuals and music videos than scripted episodic continuity (site help).
• Synthesia: Template + avatar platform and API for automating business and educational videos; excels at talking‑head and localized content vs. multi‑scene scripted films (docs/API guide).
• Descript: Editing‑first tool that edits video by editing text, with voice cloning and AI features; widely used to repurpose/polish footage rather than generate multi‑scene films from scratch (product editor).