Dr Addy Olubamiji has built businesses around something people can't easily replicate: her experience.

With a PhD in engineering and a career that took her from Nigeria to Finland, Canada and the United States, Addy channelled her experience navigating international education and career development into Pathfinder Consulting. What began as career coaching has expanded into study abroad programs and, more recently, consulting for professionals interested in acquiring businesses and moving on from corporate careers.

​However, as a founder-led business, its growth depends heavily on Addy herself.

​"People trust me as an authority," she said. "When I talk, they listen."

​With three content creators supporting her, the team needed a way to keep Addy at the centre of its content without requiring her to constantly step into a studio.

​HeyGen gave them one.

Keeping the founder in the content without constant filming

Before HeyGen, Addy regularly filmed herself or booked professional studio sessions to create content in batches.

Once a month, that could mean securing a studio, arranging lighting, hiring someone to film her, travelling into the city and spending hours recording. But her team discovered something important about their audience: highly produced videos weren't necessarily what made people listen.

"They don't even mind if I tie my hair up. Just tell us something," Addy said. "Whether I'm at the gym or just out for a walk and talking, they'll still listen."

The value came from Addy’s perspective, not the production quality.

With HeyGen, her team can turn those ideas into talking-head videos without requiring her to film each one. They create a script, choose an avatar, generate the video and add supporting visuals when needed.

"We needed something that could still help convey the ideas without me having to sit down and record every day," Addy said.

Reducing the time founders spend on content by 80%

That shift has dramatically reduced the amount of Addy’s week taken up by content production.

Before HeyGen, she set aside Tuesdays and Thursdays for recording. Between developing scripts, filming, making corrections and getting everything right, she estimates she could spend at least 10 hours a week on the process.

Now, her own involvement takes no more than two hours per week.

"HeyGen has cut the time it takes me to record content each week by at least 80%," Addy said.

​Much of those two hours isn't spent recording. Instead, Addy reviews scripts and quickly decides what she does or doesn't want included.

That also means ideas no longer need to wait until the next day of filming.

"If an idea pops into my head and I want to tell them straight away, I just choose one of the avatars," she said. "I don't have to think, oh, it's midnight. I'm not wearing makeup or anything like that. It's been a lifesaver."

Cutting thousands of dollars in traditional production costs

The savings go beyond the time Addy saves.

Professional filming previously meant paying roughly $1,500 for studio production, plus another $800 to $900 to film her, along with transport and other expenses.

"HeyGen took it away," Addy said.

That changes the economics of maintaining a founder-led content engine. Instead of organising an expensive shoot every time the team needs more polished video, they can produce it internally and reserve Addy’s time for the content where her live delivery matters most.

​Her team has learnt to distinguish between the two options.

For high-energy motivational content, Addy may still record herself because her delivery is part of the message. For educational videos, explainers and other talking-head content, her avatar can convey the idea.

"We've had plenty of viral moments with HeyGen," Addy said.

Sharing ideas while they're still relevant

For Addy, AI video isn't about replacing everything she records. It's about removing the production barriers between having something valuable to say and sharing that message with her audience.

​That matters across a business spanning careers, international education, entrepreneurship and business acquisition, where timely ideas can quickly become useful content.

"HeyGen lets us get the message out while it's still timely," Addy said.

Her audience has also become increasingly comfortable with AI-generated content. Some viewers recognise that a video uses AI, but Addy says others in the comments often steer the conversation back to what matters: the information itself.

"Focus on the message," she recalled viewers telling each other. "Is that all you took from the post? That this is AI? You didn't notice those points?"

For a founder whose expertise is central to her businesses, that’s exactly the point. HeyGen gives Addy and her team another way to package and share her knowledge without letting her schedule become the bottleneck.

Her advice to other founders is simple.

"You don't have all the time in the world," Addy said. "If you have a message to share, you're shy, you're always second-guessing yourself or you feel you need multiple takes before you get it right, HeyGen will help you move past that. Use it."