This Entrepreneur Raised $100 Million To Develop AI-Powered Tools For Video Editing And Creation

In the AI industry, where innovation evolves at lightning speed, some founders set the pace by combining a unique cultural perspective with a relentless drive to create groundbreaking technology. Gaurav Misra, founder and CEO of Captions, is one of these visionaries.

Raised between the U.S. and India, Gaurav’s journey from an early programming passion to founding a $500M AI startup has been marked by persistence, creativity, and a deep understanding of the evolving tech landscape.

Gaurav’s insights reveal the challenges of achieving product-market fit, scaling a startup, and building a product that resonates with users. His company, Captions, currently employs around 60 employees and is making great strides in the AI space.

Listen to the full podcast episode and review the transcript here.

From the U.S. to India: A Childhood Shaped by Two Worlds

Though born in the United States, Gaurav’s family moved to India when he was just four. His memories of growing up are rooted in India, where a robust early education in computers cultivated his love for technology.

Gaurav’s father was doing his Ph.D. in the US and headed back to India on completing his course. But that stay gave Gaurav his birthright citizenship, which became an advantage when he wanted to move to the US.

Unlike many Western cultures where programming is often introduced later, Indian schooling introduced Gaurav to programming from a young age in grades 2 and 3, giving him a substantial early advantage.

By the time he was in 12th grade, he was tackling coding challenges that would be considered college-level in other parts of the world. But despite his strong ties to India, Gaurav was intrigued by his American roots, particularly the stories of meritocracy and opportunity his parents shared.

This curiosity eventually led Gaurav to pursue higher education in the U.S. After applying to multiple colleges, he eventually landed at Boston University, where he felt he would get the right balance of academics and a more holistic education.

Here, Gaurav discovered an environment brimming with energy, ambition, and a new perspective on the tech industry.

Boston University and the Spark of Entrepreneurial Ambition

Arriving in Boston in 2008, Gaurav witnessed a unique moment in American history—the election of Barack Obama, which brought about an infectious optimism and a sense of boundless opportunity.

Gaurav was inspired by the bustling, diverse environment at BU, where he was exposed to new ideas and possibilities. For him, Boston wasn’t just about coding or technology; it was a gateway into understanding how to build, scale, and sell products that could impact people’s lives.

Gaurav began to see technology as more than just algorithms and data structures; it was a tool for transformation and connection.

Pivotal Moments at Snapchat: From Engineer to Innovator

After BU, Gaurav immersed himself in machine learning, a field still in its nascent stages at companies and startups. His big break came when he joined Snapchat in 2016, just before its IPO.

At the time, Snapchat was pioneering novel uses for AI and machine learning in consumer-facing applications, like morphing user faces in real time to entertain them. This was groundbreaking compared to the more routine business applications of AI Gaurav had encountered before.

Earlier, Gaurav had been exposed to machine learning and its applications in sales leads and figuring out the high likelihood to convert or a low likelihood to convert which is, undoubtedly, interesting. Although he enjoyed sales lead tasks, he was fascinated by Snapchat.

During his tenure, Gaurav transitioned from an engineering role to working closely with the design team, experimenting with new ideas and products. This phase of his career opened his eyes to the importance of marrying design and engineering to fuel innovation.

Gaurav led a team dedicated to rapid prototyping and product market fit, shaping several products that could appeal to Snapchat’s vast, dynamic audience.

His work culminated in Snapchat’s “Spotlight,” a response to TikTok’s rising influence in 2019. It highlighted his skills in understanding shifting market demands and user behavior. People were telling stories and sharing ideas, and TikTok was becoming a veritable “town square.”

TikTok was much more than just text written on a text-only platform like Reddit or Twitter, which is why it quickly gained traction. People were recording videos and sending them to each other on Snapchat way earlier than TikTok came along.

However, TikTok pioneered the public sharing of short videos adding an entertainment angle to them, which was highly transformational. The company eventually started running ads on Snapchat worth around $100M a month to acquire users.

Founding Captions: Building on Experience and the Power of “Talking Videos”

In February 2021, Gaurav took the plunge into entrepreneurship, founding Captions. His vision was inspired by his experience at Snapchat and the rise of platforms like TikTok, where videos with personal, story-driven content were quickly catching interest.

Gaurav’s goal with Captions was ambitious: to create a platform that would allow people to communicate and share their narratives through videos in new, impactful ways.

Captions’ early days were marked by trial and error. Gaurav initially aimed to build a social network focused on “talking videos,” but quickly realized the challenges of building a two-sided network—content creators and consumers—from scratch.

Although the creation side of the platform took off, he faced difficulties in building the consumption side and attracting a large enough user base to make the network aspect feasible.

This led Gaurav to pivot the business model, focusing instead on content creation tools that consumers could access through a subscription-based model.

The Challenges of Product-Market Fit: Persistence and Unlikely Breakthroughs

For Gaurav, finding product-market fit was a journey of persistence. He likens it to running a marathon without clear mile markers—you never quite know how close you are until you cross the finish line.

Unlike other goals where you see incremental progress, product-market fit can seem elusive. Startups often spend years without tangible signs of success. This relentless pursuit finally paid off with Captions, albeit unexpectedly.

Facing mounting costs, Gaurav considered shutting down the app, which was costing $10,000 a month to maintain. As a last-ditch effort to offset expenses, he decided to place a paywall on the app, requiring users to pay $10 a month just to open it.

Much to his surprise, users were willing to pay, proving demand for Captions’s product in a subscription-based model. This pivotal moment marked the company’s shift from a free social network to a thriving subscription service, setting Captions on a path to profitability.

Gaurav recalls his pleasant surprise when he opened his personal bank account and found $500K in it from Captions subscriptions.

Business Model Evolution: Capturing Value Through Consumer Subscriptions

Captions’s business model evolved into a consumer subscription service catering to both individual users and enterprise clients.

This model allows content creators and professionals to use Captions’s advanced AI-driven video tools, enabling them to produce high-quality content that resonates with audiences.

The company’s rapid growth and strong market reception indicate that Captions successfully tapped into a growing demand for user-friendly video editing tools that empower creators to easily tell their stories.

Gaurav explains that Captions lands right in the video and AI spaces, which turned out to be the right bet since six to eight months down the line, ChatGPT was launched. The AI revolution shortened what would have been a 10-year roadmap into a two-year roadmap in the blink of an eye.

The timing was perfect. It was pure luck.

Reflections on Building and Scaling in AI

Reflecting on his journey, Gaurav emphasizes the importance of resilience and adaptability in the entrepreneurial process. He notes that in tech, especially AI, the landscape changes swiftly, making it crucial to pivot and respond to market shifts effectively.

The challenges of product-market fit taught him to focus on creating value and finding joy in the journey of innovation, rather than obsessing over a fixed endpoint.

Today, with $100M raised and a team of 60+, Gaurav is building Captions into a leader in AI-powered content creation, helping individuals and businesses unlock the power of storytelling through video.

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Gaurav underscores the importance of building and maintaining networks. He has kept in touch with everyone he has ever worked with, including CEOs, executives, and co-workers. They ended up being great references for him when reaching out to VCs.

One of Gaurav’s references was Snap’s co-founder who came through for him when he needed seed funding. Years of relationship building, delivering great results, and trying his best to impress people while doing his part as well as he can has paid off for Gaurav in a big way.

In his opinion, although several variables are involved, such as the success of the product, the most significant factor in raising additional rounds is being able to tell a great story. Demonstrating the vision of societal transformation has helped attract funding for Captions.

Getting investors is exactly like hiring employees, Gaurav says. You have to be able to inspire them to see the vision that nobody else sees but that, you believe, will become a reality. Founders need to have that conviction to bring them along through the journey.

Vision for the Future of Captions

Asked about the future, Gaurav explains that he envisions a world in which video is generated by default–whether making a podcast, TikTok video, ads, movies, or educational, sales, and marketing content.

Captions is building foundation models and user software that serve how people create videos. Gaurav talks about understanding how legendary companies like Facebook, which has been in business for around 20 years, work.

Founders should refine their skill sets and have a generalist mindset of not just going specifically into one thing but understanding different parts of the company. They need to think about:

• How does engineering work?
• How does data science work?
• How does marketing work?
• How does sales work?

Building out that knowledge helps in a big way when the company starts to work. Founders need to use their knowledge and experience to drive the company in the right direction.

Final Thoughts: Embracing Change and Fostering Innovation

Gaurav’s story is a testament to the power of resilience, adaptability, and vision in entrepreneurship.

His experiences—from childhood programming projects in India to pioneering machine learning applications at Snapchat and finally founding Captions—illustrate the value of an open mind and a willingness to adapt.

In an industry defined by constant evolution, Gaurav has built a company that not only meets current needs but is poised to thrive in the future of digital storytelling.

As he continues to scale Captions, Gaurav remains focused on fostering innovation, supporting a team that values creativity, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in AI and video technology.

Gaurav’s journey inspires aspiring founders, particularly those navigating the complex world of tech, AI, and product development. For him, the excitement lies not just in reaching milestones but in the endless possibilities that lie ahead.

Listen to the full podcast episode to know more, including:

• Gaurav Misra’s journey reflects the power of resilience, adaptability, and cultural diversity in shaping successful tech entrepreneurship.
• Early exposure to programming and a bicultural background set the foundation for Gaurav’s innovative approach in AI.
• Experience at Snapchat taught Gaurav the importance of blending engineering with design for market-driven product innovation.
• Finding product-market fit is challenging but essential; Gaurav’s persistence led to a pivotal shift to a subscription model for Captions.
• Building strong professional networks is crucial, as Gaurav’s relationships proved instrumental in securing VC funding.
• Captions’ success highlights the growing demand for AI-driven video tools that empower creators to tell impactful stories.
• For founders, understanding all aspects of a company—engineering, marketing, sales—is key to steering it effectively toward growth.

 

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