The Four Videos Every VC-Backed Startup Needs Before Launch

When founders think about launch video, they usually think singular: the launch video. One piece of content, posted everywhere, hoped to resonate with everyone.

The problem is that investors, users, journalists, and social audiences don't all need the same thing from your story. A single video trying to serve all of them usually serves none of them well.

Here's the framework I used with Qualitate — a VC-backed AI startup — to produce four distinct videos from a single half-day shoot.

1. The Investor Cut

This one leads with traction, credibility, and the size of the opportunity. It's precise and moves quickly. Investors are pattern-matching against hundreds of decks — your video needs to signal immediately that this is a serious company with a real market. Metrics, customer logos, and founder confidence matter here more than narrative warmth.

Typical length: 60–90 seconds. Lives in pitch decks, investor update emails, and warm intro follow-ups.

2. The Website Hero Video

This is your brand statement. It's the video that plays for someone who just landed on your site and wants to know, in under two minutes, whether you're worth their attention. It can be slightly longer and more narrative than the investor cut — it should convey what you do, who it's for, and why it matters.

Typical length: 90 seconds to 3 minutes. Lives on your homepage or product page.

3. The Social Cut

Optimized for attention on a feed. Starts strong, moves fast, works without sound. This isn't a trimmed version of your longer video — it's edited specifically for the platform, often with on-screen text, tighter pacing, and a hook in the first three seconds.

Typical length: 30–60 seconds. Lives on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Instagram.

4. The PR and Press Asset

Clean, high-quality, interview-forward. This gives journalists and media outlets something they can actually use — a polished visual that works as a standalone story asset rather than a sales tool. It tends to be the most documentary in feel.

Typical length: 60–90 seconds. Used in press kits, media outreach, and earned coverage.

All four of these can be produced in a single shoot day with the right planning. The key is knowing before you film what each cut needs to accomplish — so you capture the right footage, the right soundbites, and the right B-roll to edit against.

Qualitate hit 250,000 views in 24 hours not because they had a great video, but because they had the right video for every surface their launch needed to show up on.