Waffer

What do they actually do

Waffer is a web app for making 2D animated graphics videos from text-directed, shot-by-shot instructions. You describe a scene, generate a deterministic clip, then ask for precise changes in plain language (for example, zoom at a timestamp or reveal text letter by letter). The system applies only those edits instead of re-generating the whole clip, enabling iterative direction similar to a pro workflow but with text controls (YC profile, waffer.ai).

The product is early but live with credit-based tiers (free 40 credits; paid plans at $9.99 for 150 credits and $34.99 for 600 credits; enterprise on request) and demos showing the shot-by-shot editing flow (pricing, YC profile).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Independent creators and solo animators making short motion-graphics for social or ads: They lack studio budgets or deep After Effects skills and need to produce polished clips quickly. Current tools force full re-generations or manual keyframing instead of precise, repeatable edits (YC profile).
• Startup and SMB marketing managers producing product videos and promo clips: Agency turnaround and costs are high; they need to tweak one shot or line without redoing the whole video so they can iterate quickly on tight deadlines (YC profile, pricing).
• Freelance motion‑designers and small agencies delivering explainers/brand videos: Client revisions are numerous and granular; executing them manually in pro tools eats time and margins. They need deterministic, targeted edits to keep revisions under control (YC profile).
• Product designers and PMs making short UI animations and product demos: They have limited animation expertise and slow handoffs. They need precise, repeatable tweaks without relying on a dedicated animator (YC profile).
• Performance marketers and ad buyers running many creative variants: Producing dozens of near-identical animated creatives is costly and slow, and many AI tools don’t support consistent, predictable edits across variants (YC profile).

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

• First 10: Founder-led hand-selling to high-fit creators and freelancers: recruit ~10 motion‑designers, offer free credits and 1:1 onboarding to make a clip together, collect feedback, and publish those projects as demos (YC profile).
• First 50: Expand via creator communities and micro-partners: targeted outreach/paid posts (Dribbble/Behance, Reddit r/animation, niche Slacks), pilot template packs with micro‑agencies and top freelancers, and add referral-for-credits while making the first 3–5 templates extremely fast to value.
• First 100: Publish 3–5 short case studies showing revision/time savings, run low-CPA paid campaigns to SMB marketers, and use a lightweight sales playbook to convert high-usage trials into paid plans with time-limited credits and simple onboarding (supported by clear self‑serve UX and credit pricing) (pricing).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Waffer’s spend sits between traditional video editing/motion-graphics tools and AI video generators. Global video editing software is about $3.5B in 2025, growing to ~$4.8B by 2030 (Mordor Intelligence). Motion-graphics–specific software is projected to surpass $6.5B by 2033 (DataInsightsMarket). AI video generators are an emerging adjacent category at roughly $0.55–0.66B in 2023–2024 with ~20% CAGR through 2030 (Grand View Research, Fortune Business Insights).

Bottom-up calculation:

As an initial serviceable wedge focused on 2D/motion-graphics for marketing and product/UI animations, assume roughly 380k target seats globally across creators, freelancers/agencies, SMB marketers, product teams, and performance marketers. At an average $200/year per seat (reflecting current credit-based pricing), this implies an initial serviceable TAM of ~$75M, with room to expand via higher-usage agency accounts and team features.

Assumptions:

• Segment sizing (order-of-magnitude): 150k independent creators/solo animators; 80k freelancers/small agencies; 100k SMB marketing seats; 30k product/UX seats; 20k performance marketer seats.
• ARPU: $200/year averages current tiers and expected usage; agencies could be $300–$600/year with higher consumption.
• Scope limited to 2D/motion-graphics workflows; broader pro video/VFX or 3D would increase TAM beyond this initial wedge.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Adobe After Effects: Industry-standard motion graphics/compositing. Can create anything Waffer targets but requires expert manual work to implement granular revisions and iterate quickly.
• Vyond: Web-based explainer/marketing animation for business users. Competes on ready-made templates and speed for non‑animators rather than fine‑grain control (product).
• Canva: Mass‑market design/video with animated social templates and simple motion graphics. Competes on breadth and convenience for quick marketing assets.
• Runway: AI-first video platform for generation and transformations, with node-style Workflows for chaining edits; broader video/VFX focus vs. Waffer’s 2D motion‑graphics editing UX (Workflows).
• Kapwing: Browser editor and AI video generator for social teams. Competes on fast template+AI workflows (text→video, B‑roll, subtitles/dubbing) aimed at social output.