Golpo

What do they actually do

Golpo is a web app that turns documents (PDFs, slide decks, text, and links to repos/boards) plus a short prompt into short whiteboard‑style explainer videos with synchronized narration. It can also generate podcast‑style audio explainers. The product is available via a web UI and through an API/Python SDK for automation product site docs.

A typical workflow is: upload or paste a source, pick length/voice options, and click Create. The system generates a time‑aligned script, animated whiteboard visuals, and a narrated track; the result appears in a library for playback and edits. After generation, users can request edits or change animations frame‑by‑frame using natural‑language instructions; the product emphasizes post‑generation customization product site Launch HN YC page.

Pricing is credit‑based (1 credit = 1 minute of video). Public plans include Free (1 credit), Starter ($39.99/20 credits), Creator ($99.99/60), Growth ($199.99/150), Business ($499.99/390), and Enterprise ($999.99/800). Some features (e.g., color video, team seats, voice cloning, longer max length) are add‑ons or available on higher tiers pricing. The output is a stylized whiteboard/chalkboard aesthetic optimized for explanatory clarity rather than photorealistic scenes, which the team presents as an intentional tradeoff Launch HN YC page.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Product managers and startup teams making quick demo/feature explainers: They need to turn PRDs/specs/decks into walkthroughs without hiring editors. Edits must be predictable so multiple collaborators can iterate reliably.
• Educators and course creators converting lectures/slides into lessons: They want fast, readable videos from PDFs/decks but worry about misrendered technical diagrams or misleading visuals. They need precise post‑generation edits to fix facts or formatting.
• Marketing and training teams at small–mid companies producing onboarding/tutorials at scale: They need many consistent videos on a schedule with programmatic generation and bulk pricing. Reliability, determinism, and workflow/enterprise integrations are critical.
• Engineering/dev teams auto‑generating explainers from code, repos, or tickets: They want an API/SDK that accurately reflects code and step‑by‑step flows without hallucinations. Dense technical sources today can be flaky and require manual fixes.
• Solo creators and consultants making low‑cost explainers from notes: They want decent narrated videos without learning animation tools but are constrained by minute‑based pricing and a stylized whiteboard look that may not fit every brand.

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

• First 10: Founder‑led bespoke onboarding: hand‑pick 10 target teams, create one free polished explainer from their own doc, and run a 30–45 minute walkthrough to collect feedback and a testimonial.
• First 50: Community seeding and scaled demos: Launch HN/Product Hunt push, targeted Slack/Discord posts, and three short webinars (PRD, lecture, onboarding templates) with starter/referral credits; publish case studies/templates from the first 10.
• First 100: Self‑serve funnel plus low‑touch sales and partnerships: clear signup with templates and 1‑click GitHub/Jira/PDF imports, a low‑cost team pilot, onboarding emails, and one SDR to convert trials/pilots into bulk‑credit plans; add 2–3 channel partners (LMS/training/creator agencies).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Direct category: AI video generators (~$615M in 2024) and explainer‑video services (low billions) form Golpo’s immediate market, with corporate e‑learning (~$104B in 2024) as a large adjacent pool where a portion is spent on video content Fortune Business Insights DataIntelo example Grand View Research.

Bottom-up calculation:

Core TAM ≈ ~$4B by combining AI video generators with explainer‑video services. If ~10% of corporate e‑learning spend goes to video content creation (~$10B), an expanded TAM is ~ $14B Fortune Business Insights DataIntelo example Grand View Research.

Assumptions:

• Explainer‑video services estimates are suitable proxies for current explainer demand and do not double‑count with AI video generator figures.
• ~10% of corporate e‑learning budgets are allocated to creating video content that could shift to automated tools.
• Golpo’s whiteboard‑style focus addresses a meaningful slice of explainer and training use cases without requiring photorealistic video.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Synthesia: Enterprise AI video platform focused on talking‑head/avatar videos from scripts with an API; overlaps on automated generation and team features but not on document→whiteboard explainers with frame‑by‑frame natural‑language edits Synthesia.
• Pictory: Turns long articles/URLs/text into short videos and offers an API; oriented toward social/marketing clips and long‑form summarization rather than time‑aligned whiteboard explainers for technical content Pictory.
• Descript: Editing‑first audio/video tool (transcription‑based editing, overdub, collaboration). Competes on polishing explainers and podcasts but is built around manual editing, not automated document→video generation Descript.
• Lumen5: Template‑ and brand‑focused text→video creation for marketing/comms teams; fast templated conversions but not focused on technical diagram fidelity or narrated whiteboard sequencing Lumen5.
• VideoScribe: Dedicated whiteboard/draw‑on‑screen creator popular with educators/marketers; overlaps in look but relies on manual timeline control rather than ingesting documents to auto‑generate time‑aligned explainers VideoScribe.