You know you should be on camera. You haven't posted. No audience, no gear, and your mind goes blank the second the red light comes on. On EP1 of The First 1%, Jeremy Thone (founder of VideoGhost) broke down exactly how to get started with short-form video from zero.
Watch EP1 on YouTube → youtube.com/watch?v=0C5diBiNqVo
The problem isn't talent. It's fear.
Jeremy spent years as a marketing director putting other people on camera while staying off it himself. Shy, introverted, in his head. He still ran a podcast and interviewed 120 people.
His take: you already tell friends what you had for lunch and what went well at work. The only difference on camera is that it's recorded. That's psychological, not a skill gap.
Then there's the spotlight effect: we think people are watching us, and judging us, far more than they are. They aren't. "When you're making your first videos, no one's gonna see them anyways." MrBeast's advice is to make 100 videos before you even worry about it.
The Getting Started Blueprint
Jeremy's path is exposure therapy: small steps, each one a little more visible than the last.
Comment on other people's posts. A genuine one, written by you, not AI. Typos are fine; nobody cares.
Write your own post. Then start adding a point of view to it.
List 10 video ideas. A win this month, a sale you lost, something funny at the kitchen table. Anything from your own life.
Pick one story and record it. Phone on a stand, propped against something. No hook, no story arc, just a basic story you'd tell a friend.
Watch it the next day. If you're somewhat happy, record it once more, then post it.
Send it to one friend. Ask them to check it out. You'll see you did it and survived. "No bad monster came out and ate you."
Optional step up: a ~$100 RØDE mic that plugs into your phone. Trim the clip in the app and post from there. Skip captions and B-roll for now.
If you're a founder, your founding story or a pivot where you thought you'd lose everything is a ready-made first video. Most people underrate their own stories.
The step everyone skips: actually doing it
People don't skip a step so much as get stuck before the first one. Watching another YouTube tutorial feels like progress. It isn't. "There's no amount of videos you could watch before you just say screw it and record the thing."
The second trap is gear. You don't need a Sony A7 or a cinema camera. You need to get good at talking. After 200 videos, a studio will make you sound great. Before that, it just delays you.
The $50 piano rule. Jeremy's piano teacher told him to start on a $50 instrument. Most people buy the $2,000 one and never play it. Start cheap, upgrade as you improve.
How to keep going
Pick a pace you can hold. Don't plan seven posts a week and burn out like a January gym resolution. Jeremy's starter pace: one video a week plus two written posts.
You don't need a new idea every time. "You can record the same video 500 different ways." People don't remember, and repetition helps when you're selling a point of view.
Expect friction. A common pattern: someone makes 10 episodes, life gets busy, and they freeze at episode 11, sure everyone is judging them. Life happens. Give yourself flexibility in advance and keep moving.
Say it out loud. When Jeremy snowboarded, he'd tell a friend he was going to hit a 70-foot jump. Once it was said, he couldn't back out. Announce your goal publicly, put a deadline on your calendar, and the accountability does the rest.
Why it pays off: build your brand before you need it
Jeremy started his personal brand because he hated job hunting. It later got him a job without a resume. His rule: build it when you don't need it.
One video, 500K views. A sub-one-minute video about procrastination blew up on LinkedIn. It took about 15 minutes to record. Universal human experiences travel.
Podcast guests become clients. A friend's trucking podcast ran 17 episodes. Nearly every guest on LinkedIn reposted it, and he closed two freight clients from guests he'd had on.
Video is the last frontier. With AI-written content everywhere, your face and voice are what still stand out.
Your move tonight
Write down 10 video ideas. Pick one. Prop your phone against something and record it. Watch it tomorrow, post it, and send it to one friend.
Then hit reply and tell me what you recorded. I want your first 1%, not the polished story.
Watch the full episode on YouTube → youtube.com/watch?v=0C5diBiNqVo
Prefer to listen? Spotify · Apple Podcasts
Follow Jeremy: Jeremy Thone on LinkedIn.
Start messy. Start now.
— Jonathan
Know someone stuck at zero? Forward this to them.