TechCrunch Disrupt 2016- Spherica

TechCrunch Disrupt 2016- Spherica

Alan: Hi, this is Alan Olsen. I’m here at TechCrunch and I’m here with Alina Mikhaleva she is the managing partner of a company called Spherica. Welcome to today’s show.

Alina: Thank you so much. Thank you for having us.

Alan: And also, this is Nick back here and Nick is the COO of the company.

Nick: Hello. Yeah, good to be here.

Alan: So it’s always exciting to see a company managed by a woman and also the leadership that you are providing in there. So tell me the inspiration behind your product here.

Alina: Two years ago I saw virtual reality for the first time and since then my life never went back to being normal. Because I just felt that it’s an incredible technology that is absolutely going to change the way we tell stories, how we leap through the stories, how we engage, how we interact with the world. And since then I’ve been working in virtual realities. So if you’re in virtual reality for two years, you’re almost a veteran because the industry is so young. It’s the most exciting time for me to see how the industry is forming and growing in front of my own eyes. And I am very proud to be part of that.

Alan: Alina, I am fascinated with this. This is your product here, and what is the product called?

Alina: The product, well basically when developed, it’s a revolutionary stabilization technology. So we do create our own content, but in order to make content in virtual reality, you are really engaging and fascinating. We need to fight a lot of technological obstacles. So we solved one of the major problems of live action 360 video capturing, which is the stabilization solution. We get rid of the motion sickness effect that scares away a lot of people when they try unpleasant experiences. With our technology, you can capture live action video, you can ride a rover, you can fly a drone, you can do all these amazing things and we keep the experience absolutely comfortable for the viewer. This is our unique solution and no one has it in the market at this point.

Alan: Now Nick, I understand that this is currently on a pedestal, but this will actually move?

Nick: Oh, yes! So this rover can move with the speed of up to 40 miles per hour with full stabilization control. And you’ll see now when I turn this thing on, this is the magic of the technology. So, it knows where the ground level is, it keeps the level absolutely stable. No matter how we move it and no matter what the speed is. This is the really amazing solution, professional solution, for 360 video capturing. And this is the prototype made with GoPro hero4 cameras, but this is the scalable solutions. So now we have the same read working with black magic cameras which is a professional level film camera we can scale it up to red epic cameras which means that we can now move the camera as they do in Hollywood. With all the camera brains, the camera dolly’s, so now we have the same solution for the 360 camera.

Alan: Where are you at in the process of, I’m gonna switch over to Alina, but where are you at in the process here of your company? Have you actually launched the product and are you taking customers?

Alina: We are working, currently, we are working as a studio. So we have already worked with such great companies, such as; HBO, Huffington Post, Associated press. Because a lot of companies that want to create content in virtual reality, they need solutions like we do. At this point, we are working to move from prototype and renting out our hardware to actually sell it to the market and making it available to as many production companies as possible because we feel that it’s crucial solution that as many companies as possible need to have because it really brings the quality level to the new absolutely level base.

Alan: Yeah, this is an amazing technology, you are the ones out there that have kind of perfected it for the 360-degree camera.

Nick: Yes, that’s true. We really did it, we were amazed with the results and the big idea behind all our technological innovation and advancements is that we want to introduce it to the whole market. We really want virtual reality to grow and we want more people to be amazed with the real high quality video. So this is the solution to make it happen in reality.

Alan: I’m just curious, how did you two start working together?

Alina: Well, we both have experience in marketing, and media business, but in the early stages, I saw Nick and his team of engineers develop the technology and because I was already in virtual reality, I understood that this is the best solution that no one has and I joined the team to help scale it.

Alan: Excellent. And how big is your company now?

Nick: Well, it’s a very small startup. We have a self-funded startup consisting of ten people, but we already achieved phenomenal results working with big companies creating great projects. We had the film created with riots that was featured on Tribeca film festival this year. So I think we are doing good. And we are expecting to have even more results in the future.

Alan: So currently you’re a studio company, but you see yourself expanding to multiple locations?

Alina: We see ourselves producing more hardware solutions that we can share with leading production companies, media companies, publishing houses. Everyone who wants to create professional 360 video, 360 live-capturing technologies and it’s not only media companies, it’s anything about entertainment, tourism, brands, advertising. The market is huge and we just want to make sure that all the people who are involved in that have professional solutions that they can use on the daily basis. Our solution is exactly what they need and we just need to, we are preparing for rapid growth, because as soon as we launch, we definitely will be able to scale it.

Alan: The company, Spherica. And for more information, where do they find you?

Nick: It’s easy, it’s Spherica.com. This is where you find all the information about our company and the project that we launched. It’s immersive combat action series in 360 with lots of camera movement that wouldn’t make you feel sick.

Alan: Alina and Nick, thanks for being on today’s show.

 

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