Exploring Life & Business with Michael Zeligs of Start Motion Media

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Zeligs.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I first picked up a camera in Colorado, where I grew up surrounded by wide-open landscapes and a love for visual storytelling. That early fascination with photography gave me my first taste of how powerful images can be for capturing emotion and communicating ideas.

When I went on to study at Stanford, I dove deeper into film and media. I was active in the Stanford Film Society, which gave me a hands-on community to experiment with narrative, documentary, and commercial styles. From there, I pursued an advanced degree in Inter-Media and Video Engineering at Stanford University, which allowed me to bridge the creative side of filmmaking with the technical expertise needed to deliver at the highest production standards.

Start Motion Media grew out of that mix of art and engineering. I wanted to build a production company that could bring cinematic craft to businesses, nonprofits, and organizations — helping them tell their stories in a way that feels both human and impactful. Over the years, we’ve expanded into multiple cities, partnered with national brands and grassroots campaigns alike, and developed a reputation for blending creative storytelling with data-driven strategy.

Looking back, the journey has always been about connection — starting with a camera in Colorado, learning to master the tools at Stanford, and now helping clients across the country turn their vision into compelling media that moves people.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a perfectly smooth road. In the early years, we were very much a local production company — small, scrappy, and rooted in Colorado. Our focus was on creating beautiful videos for clients right in our community, and that was rewarding. But as demand grew, scaling into a national company brought new challenges.

Every time we expanded into a new city — whether it was New York, San Francisco, or Austin — it meant learning how to adapt our creative process to different markets, building new relationships from the ground up, and maintaining the same quality of service across locations. That scaling process required me to think less like a solo creative and more like a systems builder.

Another big turning point was when clients started asking for more than just video. They wanted strategy — help with messaging, marketing funnels, campaign planning, and even PR. To meet that need, we expanded into consulting services. That forced me to step out of my comfort zone, learn a whole new skill set, and build a team with expertise beyond film and production.

There were times where it felt like we were rebuilding the company while still running it, which can be overwhelming. But each challenge — from scaling logistics to adding consulting — has shaped us into a more well-rounded partner for our clients. And in hindsight, those struggles were the stepping stones that allowed us to grow into a national brand.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Start Motion Media?
Start Motion Media is, at its heart, a creative production company — but we’re more than just a video studio. We specialize in telling stories that move people and drive results. Over the past decade, our campaigns have helped generate more than $1 billion in revenue for our clients, which I think speaks to the effectiveness of pairing cinematic storytelling with a clear marketing strategy.

We’re known for being accessible in ways the traditional commercial production world isn’t. Early on, I realized that union pricing models often put professional video completely out of reach for startups, nonprofits, and even midsize companies. We broke that mold. By building a model that blends skilled emerging talent with seasoned direction, we’ve been able to deliver world-class production quality at a fraction of the cost of traditional agencies. That’s been a game-changer for many of our clients.

One of the moments I’m most proud of was in 2015, when we helped produce a viral Kickstarter campaign for Baubax Jackets. In just four weeks, that video and campaign raised over $9 million, becoming one of the most successful crowdfunding launches of its time. It showed us the sheer power of combining storytelling, timing, and audience insight.

We’ve also been able to work on projects with enormous impact. Recently, we collaborated with Intersect Power and Apple’s Green Bond initiative on a campaign around the Austin Radian solar array. That project not only represented a landmark in renewable energy investment, but it also created a story about how clean power can keep cities like Austin resilient in the face of outages. Being able to amplify that message was incredibly meaningful.

What sets our brand apart is that we sit at the intersection of art, strategy, and impact. We’re not just making pretty videos; we’re crafting media that fuels crowdfunding campaigns, launches billion-dollar products, supports clean energy transitions, and helps mission-driven organizations get their message heard.

If there’s one thing I’d want readers to take away, it’s this: great storytelling is no longer a luxury — it’s a catalyst for growth, innovation, and change. And at Start Motion Media, we’ve built a way to make that accessible to everyone, from scrappy startups to Fortune 500s.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Absolutely — I’ve been fortunate to have incredible mentors and partners along the way. Early in my career, Michael Margolis of Get Storied Inc. had a huge influence on me. He’s a master storyteller, and working with him really sharpened my sense of how narrative can shape perception and drive change.

Another key figure was Ben Henretig, the founder of Micro-Documentaries, where I worked before starting my own company. That experience was foundational — Ben built one of the first agencies focused on short-form, purpose-driven storytelling, and I carried a lot of that DNA with me when I launched Start Motion Media.

On the client side, I owe a lot to Amazon Advertising, who selected us as a Preferred Production Partner. That partnership allowed us to produce hundreds of product ads for top Amazon sellers, and it gave our team the opportunity to scale our processes while working with some of the world’s biggest e-commerce brands.

And of course, I’d be remiss not to mention the incredible teammates and collaborators who have believed in this vision from the start — the directors, editors, designers, and emerging talent who brought their creativity and grit to every project. None of this would have been possible without them.

Pricing:

• Marketing Creative As low as $45 per hour
• Packages starts at $1400 per month
• Commercial Video fees end to end as low as $3500
• Web Design services a simple $275 per landing page, Copywriter and UX/UI included

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.startmotionmedia.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelzeligs/
• Other: https://clutch.co/profile/startmotion-media-video-production-company

Image Credits
Image Credits: Start Motion Media