How Farza Majeed Makes Product Demo Videos

Farza Majeed, founder of Hey Clicky and previously Buildspace, joins Y Combinator’s Aaron Epstein to discuss product demos and launch videos. His examples are from his own projects; view counts and conversion results are not promises for other teams.

Majeed contrasts a single elaborate launch with regularly showing work on the channels where potential users spend time. He treats a new feature demonstration as another opportunity to explain the product.

He considers the first line, caption and reason to care while a feature is being developed, rather than waiting until the product is finished. This helps the team articulate what is interesting about the work.

He describes a short demo of a cursor-side AI assistant that he almost did not post because he thought it was not good enough. Audience response helped him see interest in what had started as a side project.

Views can be encouraging, but Majeed says he cares more about whether the right people try or adopt the product. The relation between a view and a signup can vary by platform and audience.

For a hook, he imagines his own post among other posts and asks whether his eyes would stop. He also chooses the first frame to signal the intended audience and the subject of the demo.

Although the delivery may sound spontaneous, he often scripts his videos. He reads the script aloud or rehearses it mentally, checking whether it sounds like something he would actually want to hear.

A screen-aware dictation demo gives viewers a clear introduction, a concrete action and a visible result. He recommends showing who is making the product and speaking to at least one person who would find it useful.

He recalls disliking a recorded video and wanting not to edit it; his collaborator encouraged him to publish it, and it attracted an audience. He treats this as a reminder that creators cannot always predict reception.

Older ZipSchool videos received little attention, but he values them as practice and as a way to tell the world about new work. Low initial engagement is not proof that the practice has no value.

A more polished example reached a large audience, but Majeed stresses that founders can start with a simple phone recording. Production effort and outcomes vary, and his experience reflects years of practice.

He studies short videos by asking when he loses interest and why. Lighting, framing, a clear opening and narrative structure can all matter, but he treats them as tools to study rather than guaranteed formulas.

His basic story structure introduces the person, the situation, the work and a demonstration. He also shows team updates about what was built, giving viewers a glimpse of the process rather than only a finished launch.

For founders worried about looking awkward, he recommends starting small and practicing. A short daily update can be an experiment, although the right publishing cadence depends on the team and its audience.

He recounts making videos aimed specifically at design-agency founders and receiving leads without enormous view counts. The example illustrates the difference between broad reach and reaching a relevant niche.

The same video can perform differently across X, Instagram and YouTube. He says some YouTube videos produced useful signups despite fewer views and can continue attracting viewers after the initial post.

Majeed uses channel-specific links and measures downstream actions such as signups. He recommends looking beyond the view count to identify which audience actually converts, while recognizing attribution is imperfect.

A hands-free product demo works without rapid cuts, but Epstein points out that it still has distinct beats: a hook, a sequence of actions and visible responses. Rhythm can come from the content, not only from editing.

Majeed says he hired filmmaking help early because communicating the work and building an audience were central to his strategy. He credits collaborator Vikrant with producing the Hey Clicky videos.

For tools, he mentions screen recording, editing software and an external microphone. His main equipment advice is to prioritize clear audio and a visible demonstration over expensive gear.

Teams that cannot hire a filmmaker can still start with the tools they have and improve through repetition. Majeed describes eventually delegating engineering and creative work to people with stronger skills.

He proposes a 30-day challenge: post a short explanation of one piece of work each day, observe what resonates and improve. His suggestion that a video will exceed a particular view count is encouragement, not a guaranteed result.