Immersive technology like augmented and virtual reality is creating a rapidly growing new industry. A report from Tech Trends’ Editor-in-chief, Alice Bonsaio cites this fast growing sector estimated to be $162B by 2020! Far beyond gaming and entertainment, there is potential for this technology to disrupt everything from healthcare and architecture to changing the way we maintain global supply chain. Join us for an engaging evening of conversation with early startup founders and those that support them, as we explore the experience of being on the ground floor of this new immersive reality.
The evening will start with a presentation from Russell Ladson, the Founder of Drop, a ViveX company. Russell will then be joined by two to three other local startup founders in the immersive tech space. We will have a candid conversation about their experiences as founders in the new field, the current state of this technology and where it is headed, along with Q&A from the audience. It will be an insightful and engaging panel.
RSVP:
https://impactflow.com/event/immersive-startups-a-conversation-with-arvr-founders-7527Russell Ladson is the CEO of Drop Software Inc. (“Drop”)At Drop, he leads a team of designers, human-computer interaction researchers, and engineers who are obsessed with the way people will search, interact, and discover information in immersive computing environments e.g. virtual and augmented reality. Today, Drop provides an immersive internet searching and browsing experience designed for virtual reality. Drop is venture backed by HTC, one of the world’s leading smartphone makers, MACRO Ventures, Autochrome Ventures, Backstage Capital, and Matter Ventures.
After a close call with mortality in a near fatal accident, he finally understood the sanctity of life and doing what one loves so he co-founded Drop. He spent his postgraduate years as an investment banking analyst at two leading Wall Street firms - Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Rice Financial Products Company. Most of his free time is spent hiking, practicing vinyasa yoga, or playing chess. He graduated from Morehouse College with a B.A. in Economics.
Check out Drop for the HTC Vive:
https://www.drop.ai/Panelist:
Tawny Schlieski - Shovels and WhiskeyTawny Schlieski is a research scientist, and a virtual reality producer. She spent 17 years at Intel, including her most recent role as Director of Research for Client Computing. She is founder and president of the Oregon Story Board, a non-profit dedicated to building diversity and inclusion in the VR economy, and she runs Shovels and Whiskey, a VR prototyping studio in Portland, Oregon. Her work centers on new forms of communication and storytelling enabled by emergent technologies, including rethinking education and collaboration, creation and play, and immersive technology at work. Her recent partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company on The Tempest delivered record breaking audiences, and two Innovation Lions at Cannes.
Tawny has a master’s degree in political science from Duke University, and has studied and worked in the theater throughout her career.
Shovels and Whiskey is a VR prototyping studio dedicated to finding innovative solutions for Useful VR. We partner with academic institutions, government, and private corporations to reimagine how knowledge is gained and shared, and to create an intentionally inclusive digital community.
Gabe Paez - WILDGabe Paez is the Founder and CEO of WILD. Based in Portland, Oregon, WILD is building Wildspace, a cloud-based realtime collaboration platform for designers to create and share spatial design in virtual and augmented reality.
He has 12 years of experience leading technical teams with an emphasis in experiential product design. Prior to WILD, he designed and engineered immersive software products for a diverse roster of Fortune 100 companies including Google, Samsung, Nike, AT&T, and Verizon. Gabe graduated with honors from New York University with degrees in Theater and Computer Science.
Learn more about Wildspace:
https://www.wildspacexr.com/Neil Nathanson - Perkins Coie
Neil Nathanson, a startup lawyer in the firm's Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice, advises some of the region’s hottest startup companies, as well as more established emerging growth companies, in venture, angel, crowdfunding and other private and public equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, securities law, and corporate governance. He coordinates the firm's resources to deliver the key legal services expected by a startup, including trademark, patent and other intellectual property procurement, technology licensing and other commercial contracts, hiring, compensation, option plans and other employee issues, and compliance with privacy and security regulations. Neil also represents venture capital funds, strategic investors, angel investors, and private equity firms on their investments in tech startups.
Neil represents clients in many industries, including software, cloud computing, Internet, ecommerce, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, mobile application, hardware, semiconductor, test equipment, life science, biotech, cleantech, medical device, interactive entertainment, and industrial equipment. Neil is an active member of the Portland/Oregon startup community and enjoys helping his clients tap into the many resources of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN), Oregon Angel Fund (OAF), Oregon BEST, Technology Association of Oregon (TAO), Portland Seed Fund (PSF), Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE), The Indus Entrepreneurs Oregon (TiE), Oregon Technology Business Center (OTBC), Startup PDX, and similar organizations and tech incubators.
RSVP: https://impactflow.com/event/immersive-startups-a-conversation-with-arvr-founders-7527
