His Video AI app hit $10M+ ARR in Months—with 0 outbound sales. | Michael Lingelbach, Founder of Hedra

Hedra CEO Michael Lingelbach breaks down how his generative video app went from zero to millions of users and an eight-figure run rate in months — then deliberately slowed down to rebuild a V2 that enterprises would pay for. We dig into the prosumer-to-pro upsell, why free users are a false signal, and how a creator-seeded launch can outpull ad spend.

Michael shares the GTM that signs enterprise contracts every few days with no outbound, the exact moment he killed feature churn to ship a real workflow, and what to hire (and fire) in the first 10 people. If you’re building AI or any early product, this is a must-listen blueprint on getting from hype to revenue.

Why You Should Listen

• How Hedra hit an 8-figure run rate in months — with a prosumer → enterprise wedge
• The “free user” trap: why signups ≠ demand and how to price for pain
• When to pause growth to build V2 that actually sells (workflow > tech demo)
• A creator-led launch playbook that drives virality without paid influencers
• Hiring early: bring in a talent lead fast, staff for speed, survive co-founder changes

Keywords

AI video, generative AI, product market fit, Hedra, Michael Lingelbach, creator tools, PLG, enterprise SaaS, go to market, startup growth

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:25 Why he built his own proprietary models

00:10:19 Target use cases faceless channels marketers podcasts

00:15:31 Early hiring lessons

00:38:00 Free vs paid

00:51:03 V2 launch and shift to enterprise

00:53:46 Hitting eight figure run rate and scaling GTM

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Very insightful

I just listened to the latest episode of Product Market Fit featuring tech founders, and I found it incredibly insightful.

What stood out most to me was the depth of analysis and the quality of the questions. The host doesn’t shy away from asking critical, thought-provoking, and sometimes uncomfortable questions that really get to the heart of how founders think and operate. It’s not just surface-level storytelling—it’s a process-driven format that brings out genuine, actionable value.

As a physician coming from the medical elder care services sector and working on building technology for this space, I found the lessons universally applicable. Hearing founders generously share their insights, challenges, and strategies gave me clarity and inspiration that I can directly apply to my own work.

This podcast is not only helpful and necessary, but also a resource that I think more entrepreneurs—especially those bridging traditional industries with technology—should know about. It deserves to be promoted widely.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand what it really takes to achieve product-market fit.