VideoGen CEO Anton Koenig interviewed on NapierPR podcast

VideoGen CEO Anton Koenig was featured as a guest on the Marketing B2B Technology podcast, hosted by Napier's Mike Maynard. In this episode titled "Harnessing AI for Video Editing: Insights from VideoGen's CEO Anton Koenig," Anton shares the story behind VideoGen's founding, how AI is transforming video production for marketers, and offers practical advice for professionals looking to incorporate video into their content strategy.

About Napier B2B

Napier is a B2B technology PR and marketing agency based in the UK. Their Marketing B2B Technology podcast features conversations with industry leaders, covering marketing technology, AI tools, and practical insights for B2B marketers. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the Napier website.

The Origin Story: From Tennis Partners to Tech Co-Founders

The conversation opens with Anton recounting how VideoGen came to be. He and co-founder David Grossman first met at a tennis academy in middle school, where they were doubles partners and competitors. What set them apart from their peers was a shared interest in programming, video editing, graphic design, and digital creation.

Throughout their school years, they collaborated on various web applications—Anton built a small social network, while David created an online music editing tool. They launched multiple small apps together, always driven by a desire to build something that would have helped them when they were first learning to create content online.

Fast forward to late 2022: both were nearing the end of their college careers and had completed internships at major tech companies. Rather than follow the traditional path of joining a large corporation as software engineers, they decided to build a startup focused on something they understood deeply—video editing.

The timing proved fortuitous. OpenAI had just released GPT-3, and Anton and David were among the first to gain access to the private platform. They recognized an opportunity to use these AI models to make video editing more accessible for marketers, educators, and communicators who found traditional video editing software overwhelming and time-consuming.

After six months of focused development, they launched the first version of VideoGen in 2023. Since then, the platform has grown to over 4 million users across 190+ countries, backed by investors including Y Combinator and Rebel Fund.

How VideoGen Has Evolved: From AI-Only to Full Professional Editing

One of the most significant discussions in the episode centers on how VideoGen has matured since its 2023 launch. The original version was straightforward: users would enter a prompt, and the AI would find stock footage, generate narration, and assemble everything into a video. However, once the video was created, editing options were limited.

This worked for beginners and small creators, but Anton explains that the platform now serves semi-professionals and professionals who need more control. The current workflow allows AI to generate a first draft—bringing users about 75% of the way there—after which they can refine every detail in a full-featured editor.

Anton describes the typical user workflow: enter a prompt, receive an AI-generated script, edit and refine the script while adjusting layouts in a wireframe storyboard view, then submit. The AI then sources stock footage or AI-generated clips, creates narration (using AI voices or avatars), and adds music and captions. Users can then fine-tune everything from brand colors to specific lines of copy.

This evolution came directly from VideoGen using their own product internally. Anton notes that they quickly realized professional use cases require the ability to add brand colors, include specific CTAs, and A/B test different copy variations—features that simply weren't possible in the original version.

The Critical Difference: Why Editing Still Matters

When asked about what distinguishes VideoGen from consumer-facing AI video tools like those integrated into ChatGPT or Bing, Anton emphasizes the importance of editing capabilities. Tools built for consumers can generate short clips effectively, but they don't offer the editing functionality that professional marketers need.

For B2B marketers who need videos that are precise, on-brand, and optimized for specific campaigns, the ability to make granular adjustments is essential. This is what VideoGen provides that pure AI generation tools currently don't.

Who Uses VideoGen: Marketers, Educators, and Beyond

The conversation reveals that VideoGen's largest user segment is marketers—both dedicated marketing professionals and those who find themselves handling marketing tasks even when it's not their primary role. The platform sees strong adoption from both B2B and B2C marketers, content creators building audiences to sell products, and teams focused on training, communications, and corporate education.

Anton notes that corporate education users often create longer-form content—five to ten minute videos explaining complex topics. The platform also serves major media companies, though Anton emphasizes that the variety of use cases has exceeded their initial expectations.

Where VideoGen Delivers the Most Value: Paid Social

When asked about where marketers see the greatest benefit from VideoGen, Anton points specifically to paid social advertising. The demands of paid social campaigns require producing between 10 and 100 creative assets per week, with a significant percentage needing to be video. This volume is simply impossible to achieve with human production alone.

VideoGen allows teams to create core assets and then use AI to rapidly generate variations for testing. While organic marketing success has been "surprisingly successful" in some cases—with channels growing to 10,000, 50,000, or even 100,000 subscribers—Anton sees paid social as the strongest recurring use case.

Common Mistakes Marketers Make with AI Video

One of the most valuable segments of the interview addresses the mistakes Anton sees marketers making when using AI video tools. Counterintuitively, the biggest mistake isn't technical—it's over-trusting the AI.

Anton explains that while the appeal of AI is that it does the work for you, the best results come from treating AI output as a first draft rather than a finished product. The AI eliminates the blank-page problem and handles tedious tasks like sourcing footage and generating initial scripts. But professional, engaging videos still require human refinement.

The most successful marketers edit their AI-generated content: adjusting hook sentences for better engagement, making copy more concise, and ensuring the final product is true to their brand voice. Anton describes this as the difference between "okay" and "super professional and engaging."

Finding the Right Balance: Quality vs. Quantity

Anton offers a nuanced perspective on the quality-versus-quantity debate. He notes that VideoGen users can produce a video in as little as 15 seconds on average, which can lead some to move too fast. On the other hand, the average marketer without AI tools spends hours or days on a single video—which is too slow for modern campaign demands.

The sweet spot, Anton suggests, is spending about 30 minutes refining each video before moving on. This allows teams to produce a package of 10 well-crafted videos for a campaign, rather than either one over-polished video or 50 unrefined ones.

Mixing Video Sources: Stock, AI-Generated, and Original Content

When asked whether marketers should use stock footage, AI-generated clips, or their own recordings, Anton explains that it depends on the use case. Users typically don't mix stock and AI-generated footage within the same video—they'll use either stock plus uploaded assets, or fully AI-generated content.

For VideoGen's own marketing, they found success using a combination: AI-generated opening hooks to capture attention, followed by their own pre-made assets like screen recordings and motion graphics. This approach leverages AI's creative capabilities for attention-grabbing moments while maintaining control over core product messaging.

The Future of AI Video Creation

Looking ahead, Anton takes a pragmatic view. Rather than making grand predictions, he focuses on VideoGen's consistent strategy: solving immediate customer pain points every day. If the team delivers value consistently, the broader trends will take care of themselves.

That said, Anton does identify one clear trend: demand for video will continue to increase. This isn't just because of AI—it's because the underlying technology for streaming and storage has improved dramatically over the past decade. The cost to stream video has decreased, more devices support video playback, and production costs continue to fall. AI is an accelerating force for this trend, but not its primary driver.

As more people watch and create video, competition increases, and the quality bar rises. Anton anticipates this will lead to more trends, memes, and viral moments emerging across different niches.

Advice for Marketers

When asked for the best marketing advice he's received, Anton emphasizes value-driven marketing: providing value upfront to build trust, which then converts to customers. This applies both to content and to the product itself—offering free videos or AI credits helps users experience the value before committing.

For new marketers entering the field, Anton offers two specific recommendations: learn how to create videos (it's becoming an essential skill that many marketers still lack) and develop a detailed understanding of SEO. The principles of how search engines and AI platforms index and discover content remain consistent even as the technology evolves.

Listen to the Full Episode

The complete interview covers additional topics including VideoGen's marketing strategy, the evolution from consumer to prosumer tools, and more detailed technical discussions.

Read the full transcript and listen to the episode →

Episode Timestamps

• 00:00:41 – Anton's Background and the Origin of VideoGen
• 00:04:36 – Current Features and Functionality of VideoGen
• 00:10:15 – VideoGen's Impact on Marketing Strategies
• 00:11:59 – Common Mistakes Marketers Make with Video
• 00:13:36 – Balancing Quality and Quantity in Video Production
• 00:16:22 – VideoGen's Marketing Strategy and Promotion
• 00:17:56 – Future of Video Creation and AI Integration

Key Quotes from the Episode

"The mistakes that we see is not copywriting themselves, just totally trusting the AI to write for them."

"The main driving force for more demand for video is that the cost to stream video is going down and that more people's devices are supporting video."

"Creating videos is like a super important skill now and not a lot of marketers know how to do it."

Connect

• Anton Koenig on LinkedIn
• VideoGen on LinkedIn
• VideoGen website