About
Sebastian Werz
Founder & Director, WERZ · Founder, 1971 Hook (45 Whole Foods doors)
Built 1971 Hook from soil sourcing in Hudson Valley to 45 Whole Foods stores. Runs WERZ as a creative agency that makes things, not just content. Based in Fresno, California; travels statewide for the right project.
Bio
Sebastian Werz is the founder and creative director of WERZ, a California-based creative agency producing video, web, and marketing for businesses across the state. The studio has shipped 100+ projects across CPG, healthcare, biotech, robotics, finance, and clean energy — combining brand strategy, production, and post-production under one roof rather than splitting them across vendors.
Sebastian graduated from UC Berkeley in 2016 and went on to co-found a Y Combinator-backed company in the W17 batch before founding WERZ. The startup background shapes how the agency works: scope tightly, ship deliverables that compound, and treat the work as a system rather than a one-off engagement.
In 2024, Sebastian founded 1971 Hook— a small-batch hot sauce sourced from generational pepper farmers in Hudson Valley, NY. He spent a year on ingredient sourcing before any branding work began. The brand launched its director's cut film before the product was finished bottling. By May 2026, 1971 Hook was on shelves in 45 Whole Foods stores across Northern California, plus Boise (ID) and Reno (NV) — one of the most competitive specialty grocery markets in the United States.
Sebastian is FAA Part 107 certified for commercial drone operations and personally directs the studio's aerial cinematography work. He writes about CPG brand-building, video production craft, and the economics of small-agency operations. WERZ work has appeared across California in healthcare campaigns (Valley Children's), tech brand spots (Eightfold AI), finance brand intros (Portfolio Advisors), and robotics field documentation (Cosmic Robotics).
He believes the best brand work happens when the agency builds something itself, not just for clients — a discipline that informed both WERZ's production methodology and the 1971 Hook brand build. The work is a function of the team that ships it.
Areas of expertise
Where I work.
Video production
Brand films, commercials, customer stories, recruiting videos, and event coverage. 100+ projects across California for clients in climate tech, CPG, healthcare, biotech, robotics, finance, and clean energy.
Climate tech & cleantech
Field documentation, founder profiles, investor-deck brand films, and site-scale aerial for climate tech and cleantech startups. Built for Cosmic Robotics' robotic solar construction across California; trusted by hardware-focused founders for NDA + IP-protected work.
CPG brand-building
Founded 1971 Hook in 2024 — a Hudson Valley hot sauce that launched in 45 Whole Foods stores in May 2026. Personally walked the brand from soil sourcing to retail buyer rooms.
Drone cinematography
FAA Part 107 certified for commercial drone operations. Aerial work for solar sites (Cosmic Robotics), real estate, agriculture, infrastructure, and brand films across California.
Creative direction
Strategy and creative direction across video, web, and marketing. Approach: build the brand before the campaign; build the campaign around the buyer.
Web development
Next.js sites, headless commerce, performance-focused builds. WERZ runs Lighthouse 90+ as default.
Milestones
Recent and ongoing.
May 2026
1971 Hook in 45 Whole Foods stores
1971 Hook launches in 45 Whole Foods locations across Northern California, Boise (ID), and Reno (NV).
Read more2024
Founded 1971 Hook
Started 1971 Hook — a small-batch hot sauce sourced from generational Hudson Valley pepper farms. Built the brand identity, the director's cut brand film, the editorial campaign, and the chef-and-fighter community before retail launch.
Read more2018
Founded WERZ
Started WERZ as a California-based creative agency. Grew to 100+ projects across the state with a model combining video production, web development, and marketing under one roof.
Read more2017
Y Combinator (W17 batch)
Co-founded a Y Combinator-backed company in the Winter 2017 batch. The startup background shapes how WERZ scopes work — tight deliverables, deliverables that compound, treating engagements as systems rather than one-offs.
Read more2016
Graduated UC Berkeley
Graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.
Read more
Recent clients
Selected engagements.
Climate tech flagship — robotic solar construction, brand build, field documentation
Founded and built; full brand and retail launch (45 Whole Foods stores)
Healthcare campaign production
Eightfold AI
30s brand spot for tech category
Portfolio Advisors
Finance brand intro film