The best hooks for startup reels, from 461 that went viral
We read the opening line of every viral startup reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
The line on screen read "Ui/Ux designer introducing new design of web page". With 1,657 followers behind it, the reel reached 5.4 million views.
It's a joke about building a product. We read the first line of all 461 viral startup reels in Aubrium's library, from 353 creators. More open on a bold claim than on anything else, 37% of them. Relatable lines like this one went further than those bold claims, 16 times followers against 9. See how hooks work across Instagram and all the niches we've written up.
Bold claims open 37% of viral startup reels, far more than any other hook, but the middle one went just 9 times followers. Relatable lines, curiosity gaps and POV hooks went further, 13 to 16 times. 85% show the hook on screen, and text alone travelled 29 times followers, against 8 when also spoken.
Aubrium's library, 22 October 2026.
What kind of hook works best for startup reels?
Bold claims, by a lot: 37% of viral startup reels open with one, against 11% for the next kind, curiosity gaps.
Distance tells another story. The middle bold claim reached 9 times its account's followers. Relatable lines reached 16, curiosity gaps 14 and POV hooks 13, about as far as each other. Two rare kinds went further: 17 number lists reached 18, and 6 aspirational lines reached 81, too few to lean on. Only 1% skip the hook.
16 startup hooks that went viral
Every hook here is the top reel of a different creator, in English, picked by hand. We passed on hooks that quote revenue figures. Tap a type to filter.
- RelatableText on screen
Ui/Ux designer introducing new design of web page
- Curiosity gapText on screen
Can you imagine this guy manages our company's funds 😭
- Bold claimText on screen
Why most businesses are not fundable.
- Bold claimText on screen
A man who has not hit his Claude limit by noon has wasted his morning
- POVText on screen
POV: Walking into a VC backed tech startup with no HR department
- POVText and spoken
POV: your app got accepted on the app store without knowing how to code 🤯
- RelatableText and spoken
How it feels being the technical cofounder
- Transformation teaseText and spoken
this video got us into YCombinator
- QuestionText on screen
"Are you front end or backend?"
- RelatableText on screen
Every time I decide to go to sleep... 😴
- CalloutText on screen
Showing our day-1 team the new Sydney office (Average age 22)
- Transformation teaseText and spoken
40 days from the day I quit my job.
- CalloutSpoken
If you're someone looking for a co-founder, then this video is for you.
- RelatableText on screen
When you finally launch and the first customers try to figure out your product
- Bold claimText and spoken
So, I need a co-founder and I have no idea how to find one.
- QuestionText and spoken
What are the five things that you see in a pitch deck?
How long should a startup hook be?
Under 13 words, the middle length. Hooks of 5 to 12 words went further than longer ones.
5 to 8 words reached 14 times followers at the middle and 9 to 12 words 12, about as far. From 13 to 20 words it was 9, and past 20 words 8. Only 7 hooks run four words or fewer, too few to read anything into, though their middle one went 51.
Should you say the hook or show it?
Show it, and don't also say the same words out loud. 85% of viral startup reels put the hook on screen.
Here the gap is wide. Text alone travelled 29 times followers for the middle reel. Text that's also spoken, the most common setup at 53%, managed 8. A spoken hook with no text reached 10.
How do viral startup hooks start?
Four words lead, in this order: "POV" (26), "I" (23), "this" (18) and "if" (16). The four patterns below follow that same order.
- POV 26
- I 23
- this 18
- if 16
- the 12
- how 7
- I'm 6
- here's 5
- most 5
- we 5
The first word of 316 English hooks on viral startup reels, and how many start with it.
One real startup hook for each:
POV…
“POV: your app got accepted on the app store without knowing how to code 🤯”
I… / My…
“i picked a niche so small.”
This is… / This is how…
“This is one of the most famous class photos in startup history.”
When… / If you…
“If you're someone looking for a co-founder, then this video is for you.”
Keep reading
Startups and marketing overlap a lot, so read the hooks behind marketing reels next. For life inside a company, try corporate life hooks, and for building on the side, side hustle hooks.
Questions people ask
What hooks work for startup founders on Instagram?
Bold claims are the most common, on 37% of viral startup reels in Aubrium's library, but relatable lines and curiosity gaps went further, 16 and 14 times followers for the middle one.
Should founders say their hook or show it?
Show it. Text on screen alone travelled 29 times followers for the middle viral startup reel, against 8 when the same text was also spoken.
How long should a startup hook be?
The middle hook on a viral startup reel runs 13 words. Hooks of 5 to 8 words went 14 times followers at the middle, and those past 20 words went 8.
Can a small startup account go viral?
They can. Below 2,000 followers, the middle viral startup reel reached 77 times its following, and 50% of these reels came from accounts below 10,000 followers.
How we did this
We looked at every startup reel in Aubrium's library on 22 October 2026: 461 reels from 353 creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers, each of which reached at least twice its creator's follower count and at least 10,000 views. We counted every reel filed in Aubrium's startup niche; a reel can sit in more than one niche.
Hook types, delivery and on-screen text are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Hook length and first words count the 316 reels with an English hook in words. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.
Changelog
- First version.
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