The next frontier of the Internet has been a hot topic for some time now. Virtual reality and augmented reality are undoubtedly billion-dollar industries that are being built around us each day. There are many components of the VR industry: hardware, software, content creation, content discovery, mobile, and console.
What if you wanted to be a part of it all? Do you believe VR or AR will be pivotal in our future lives? The founders over atUpload, Inc. do. They see a distant future where we will be able to upload conscientiousness in the virtual world, giving it life. This cool idea has driven their mission ever since—accelerate the AR/VR industry.
The Founders and Mission
Taylor Freeman and Will Mason, the founders of Upload, Inc., a multi-faceted AR/VR organization that focuses on coworking, media and education, are positioning themselves as authorities in the VR/AR market. UploadVR, a niche publication, produces content of high quality and seems to hold weight in the community, which is extremely beneficial when cementing your place in the industry. The SF Collective is a hybrid incubation and coworking space teaching courses in immersive tech skills and corporate training.
The three synergistic focuses give Will and Taylor incredible reach within the VR/AR community from top corporate executives, startup founders, to Meetup groups. Their mission is to focus and steer technology in a direction that benefits society.
The Power of an Event
I have attended hundreds of Meetups and industry events like CES—which is where I met Will and Taylor—and I would urge everyone to get out there to stay involved with your community and your peers. An easy way to do that is to attend these various events ranging in size from a 30-person Meetup to a 170,000-person expo.
Events can have big impacts, and they can even forge big partnerships, like the one between Will and Taylor. Will was in school pursuing a degree in communications when he stumbled upon a professor who was using an early DevKit version of the Oculus Rift—pre-acquisition of course.
Taylor was solo backpacking in Europe, visiting 16 countries and over 40 cities. While in Amsterdam, he decided he wanted to be in San Francisco. Taylor started a VR Meetup group in the bay area which Will would soon attend. Taylor and Will are keeping true to their roots with over 200 of their own events hosted in the past two years, providing a platform for others to experience life-changing interactions.
All about the Community
Upload has been very community oriented since inception. Not only do they cover the news for the industry, market, and all the moving parts in regard to immersive technology, but they are eager to add value in the real world. They find it very important to come together and interact in person so the flow of ideas can flourish and blossom into businesses. That is why on top of the publication and events they opened SF Collective to further expand their impact on the local community with technology.
This hybrid of coworking and incubator space is where they empower, enable, and inspire the next generation of technologists that will be creating our future content and headsets. Their focus on community-generated growth is evident and it sure seems to be working.
This drive may be influenced by Taylor, the CEO, and his past ventures, dating back to childhood with his lawn-mowing business that employed some of his middle school friends. Can you believe even then he had a referral code system so he could grow? This is grassroots motivation at its finest.
We can expect to see great things from Will and Taylor as they bring us the newest and truest in the VR world.
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