HBA '18 candidates Tolu Aibana and Sydney Gable-Cook wrote about two recent guest speakers they had for their Leveraging Information Technology course: Dan Flatt, MBA '10 and co-founder of MetaVRse, and Gary Manning, co-founder of Diply.
Virtual reality and the future of business
Tolu Aibana, HBA ’18 candidate, provides her perspective on a presentation by Dan Flatt, co-founder of MetaVRse, as part of the Leveraging Information Technology course. MetaVRse provides virtual and augmented reality experiences for businesses and brands.
On March 24, Dan Flatt, MBA '10, came into our HBA class to give us insights on the future of virtual and augmented reality technology.
In 2016, he co-founded MetaVRse – a virtual and augmented reality innovation agency that creates revolutionary virtual and augmented reality solutions for businesses across multiple industries. Notably, MetaVRse has completed projects for many large clients, such Telus and Adidas.
Dan explained the history of virtual reality technology, which was a concept that started in the 1800s, but unfortunately, technology was not advanced enough yet. However, by the 21st century, multinational corporations such as Google, Microsoft, and Samsung have developed the technology to make virtual reality feasible.
Dan articulated that various industries, such as healthcare, entertainment, and retail, may be forced to adapt and incorporate this type of technology into their business. Moreover, virtual and augmented reality technology are exciting innovations that can potentially revolutionize the way we approach business in the future.
Jeff DeChambeau, Director of Story at T4G Limited – a leader in digital analytics and marketing program development – was also part of the classroom experience.
Tribes and technology in the classroom
Sydney Gable-Cook, HBA ’18 candidate, provides her perspective on a presentation by Gary Manning, co-founder of Diply, as part of the Leveraging Information Technology course. Diply is an online sharing platform connecting audiences with the things they love.
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Gary Manning, innovator and co-founder of Diply, provided a real-world perspective on Leveraging Information Technology.
His journey involved the applications of concepts, such as big data, machine learning and an emphasis on the role of communities in technological developments.
Manning is an advocate of tribes: communities of highly-collaborative people who push each other’s ideas forward. He combined the concept of tribes with social media expertise to help Diply evolve from a rapidly growing start-up into an online community.
For me, this outlined the importance of finding the right communities to support your aspirations, an idea I relate to the individuals in my Ivey classroom. After all, opportunities are often discovered and executed by a team, not just one individual.
“What is the one truth you believe that no one else does?” Manning asked our class.
Throughout his talk, I discovered that innovation isn’t born from hard facts but rather evolves from perspectives gained in the knowledge networks you create. Dedication to your vision is essential and mentorship can play an important role in taking your vision from an idea to an online success story.
We should all look forward to the new innovations and business lessons Mr. Manning will bring to Diply as well as the rest of the ever-evolving technology space.
