The Startup Ideas Podcast

Episode Summary: How I'd Use Sora 2, Claude, and Perplexity to Generate 1M+ Views

Host: Greg Isenberg
Date: October 4, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Greg Isenberg provides a practical, step-by-step framework for harnessing AI tools (Perplexity, Claude, and Sora 2) to create viral short-form video content. Targeted at entrepreneurs and creators seeking to rapidly build audience attention and leverage that distribution for startup success, Greg shares his workflow for ideation, research, prompt crafting, and iteration—culminating in actionable strategies anyone can use to maximize their odds of going viral.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Sora 2 and Distribution Matter (00:00–04:00)

• Viral video creation is now an "unfair advantage" for digital startups.
• Distribution (audience and attention) is the new moat for startup success.
  • "People who understood how to use YouTube in 2006–2012, did better than people who didn’t." (03:14)
• Mastering Sora 2 video generation is akin to early adoption of past major platforms.

2. Step-By-Step Workflow: From Idea to Prompts to Video (04:00–24:00)

A. Using Perplexity as Your Research Agent (04:00–08:30)

• Define your target audience and what they want (e.g., SaaS builders longing for cashflow).

• Example Perplexity prompt:

  “I run a startup… I need to create short form video that will go viral. To do that, I need scroll-stopping concepts for my audience… Show examples and frameworks.”

• TIP: Use the “Deep Research” feature for richer results.

  • “If you don’t know, the deep research button is over here at the bottom…” (06:48)

• Perplexity returns frameworks for viral content—e.g., contradiction hooks, micro-tutorials, real numbers reveals.

B. Feeding Insights to Claude for Concept Generation (08:30–14:00)

• Copy-paste Perplexity’s output into Claude with a persona: “You are a skilled social media content strategist…” (09:30)

• Result: Claude generates 10+ short-form video concepts tailored to your audience.

  Sample viral video ideas:

  • “I’m broke, but I’ll show you my $50K MRR SaaS.”
  • “POV: You just got your first dollar on Stripe.”
  • “Cloned $100M SaaS in 4 days using these 3 tools. It’s legal.”
  • “Your SaaS onboarding has a 14-second problem.”

• Content can be used for ads or organic social channels.

C. Evaluation and Scoring of Concepts (14:00–18:30)

• Don’t just stop at the ideas!

• Prompt Claude to rate each idea (1–10) on:

  • Hook strength (first 3 seconds)
  • Pattern interrupt & pacing
  • Emotional/curiosity trigger
  • Algorithm fit (viral potential)

  “This is so, so important because… it’s going to help you increase your odds of success.” (15:21)

• Claude provides rationale for top-rated concepts.

D. Refining and Selecting Winning Concepts (18:30–20:00)

• Ask Claude to recommend the highest-potential concepts.

  “Everyone says build an MVP. I did the opposite and hit 25K MRR.” (18:51) — top-rated example.

• Read rationale: “Perfect storm of controversy, social proof, and trending format…”

E. Crafting the Sora 2 Prompts – The Hollywood Advantage (20:00–27:00)

• Instead of writing a prompt yourself, ask Claude to generate an optimized Sora 2 prompt for the selected concept.

  • Specify:
    • Use Sora 2’s latest capabilities (e.g., synchronized speech, cameo potential)
    • Desired video length (10–15 seconds, per current Sora 2 limitations)
    • Exact speech lines, visual elements, on-screen text

  “Give me the prompts for Sora for your two best ones. So it researches Sora 2’s capabilities and it optimizes it based on that.” (22:30)

• Remind yourself of concise formats:

  “Reminder, Vine was 6 seconds back in the day… and early days in TikTok was just 15 seconds.” (23:38)

• Tips for better Sora videos:

  • Include spoken dialogue labels.
  • Explicitly mention on-screen text for call-to-action.
  • Iterate visuals/style for curiosity.

F. Web vs. Mobile for Sora 2 Prompting (27:00–29:00)

• Sora 2 web app allows for longer, more detailed prompts and easier copy-paste.
• Currently, max video lengths: web (15s), mobile (10s).
• Web version better for testing and iterating.

3. Testing and Iteration – The True Growth Loop (29:00–32:00)

• Try different concepts, vary visual style, and test for engagement.
• “Good things will happen if you continue iterating, continue posting.” (31:02)
• The people who master Sora prompt-writing are “going to have the power of Hollywood in their hands.” (31:23)
• Importance of swiftly moving from ideation to iteration: “You’re not sitting on a blank page and being like, what should I use Sora 2 for?” (20:48)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Distribution’s Role in Startup Success:

  “Distribution is the new moat.” (02:16)

• On Hook Structure:

  “This is the sort of thing that is going to help you go viral. This episode is all about that.” (01:32)

• On Tools as a Force Multiplier:

  “You would have to pay someone hundreds, thousands of dollars to… conceptualize this, build this, and now you can do this.” (29:12)

• On The Future Value of Prompt Writing:

  “…the people who are going to write incredible Sora prompts will have the power of Hollywood in their hands. And how valuable is that?” (31:23)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–04:00 – Episode intro and why viral video/attention matters
• 04:00–08:30 – Using Perplexity for deep, audience-specific research
• 08:30–14:00 – Generating viral concepts using Claude
• 14:00–18:30 – Evaluating and rating video ideas for hook, emotion, fit
• 18:30–20:00 – Narrowing down to the top-performing concepts
• 20:00–27:00 – Engineering detailed prompts for Sora 2 (including technical specifics)
• 27:00–29:00 – Web vs. mobile prompt strategies and hacks
• 29:00–32:00 – Final thoughts on testing, iteration, and rapid execution

Final Takeaways

• Viral content creation is systematic—not just lucky creativity.
• Combining Perplexity (research), Claude (idea/prompt generation), and Sora 2 (video production) provides anyone, regardless of resources, a shot at viral success.
• Iteration is key: refine, test, and monitor true engagement—don’t just run with your first concept.
• Early mastery of AI-first content workflows is the new “Hollywood advantage” for creators and founders.

Action Step:
Get started immediately: research your audience’s core motivators, plug into Perplexity/Claude for ideas, and begin experimenting with Sora 2 prompts today.

For more startup ideas and resources, visit ideabrowser.com.