Enterprise: Start Beyond
USP: In six years, the company has delivered over 750,000 AR and VR immersive learning experiences globally and worked with companies such Qantas, Woolworths, Westpac, CommBank, and Accenture.
Angus Stevens amassed over 15 years’ experience as a producer and director across film and television before transitioning into digital, pioneering Southern Cross Austereo’s video digital strategy and working with talent including Hamish and Andy, the Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry. He then built Nova Entertainment digital properties into one of Australia’s most popular entertainment sites.
In 2016, Angus co-founded Start Beyond, an award-winning virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) reality studio, alongside Jaeger Battersby – the company’s chief technology officer – whose career involved heading up large IT teams and building out digital agencies. “It’s this different but complementary background that is why we’re such a good team,” Angus explains. “He [Jaeger] is the most talented developer I have ever worked with; it’s his brilliance that ensures we always excel on our clients’ brief. Plus, he has the smarts and experience to create the software architecture to create products that can scale on a global level.”
Angus and Jaeger combine their expertise in storytelling and mixed reality technology to create training programs that help people learn faster and more effectively, partnering with some of the biggest companies in the world to build what Angus calls the “metaverse for learning”.
“In six years we have delivered over 750,000 AR and VR immersive learning experiences globally.”
Start Beyond’s software technology is developed by Jaeger and his team, while the content creation team is headed up by Head of Capture and Post Production Josef Heks. “We shoot stereoscopic 360-degree video, volumetric capture, infrared scanning and photogrammetry as well as create CGI assets, to produce a variety of 3D models, environments and immersive 360-degree content,” Angus says. “Our Oncio platform allows us to upload these assets, add interactive elements and distribute these learning modules across mobile, desktop and VR headsets.”
The training product is completely industry agnostic, enabling Start Beyond to work with clients in financial, retail, education, health and medical, tourism, real estate, telco, and technology businesses.
Angus believes Start Beyond has thrived in the half-dozen years since its launch thanks to the team’s mix of industry experience, expertise in storytelling and technological know-how. “This unique combination separates us from the crowd,” Angus enthuses. “Originally, we were Start VR but we changed it to Start Beyond because of our clients’ demand for AR content. In six years we have delivered over 750,000 AR and VR immersive learning experiences globally.”
Angus and Jaeger have been rewarded along the journey by winning Start-up of the year in the 2017 AMY awards and Interactive or Game Production of the Year at the Screen Producers Australia Awards in 2018. Moving forward, their vision is to continue to transform training, learning and development and HR by providing enterprises with a platform that enhances their existing 2D programs, and empowers them to build and distribute VR & AR content.
“We’re achieving this through our Oncio platform,” Angus explains. “Delivered across VR, AR, mobile and desktop, Oncio integrates with existing CRMs and learning management systems. The platform allows businesses, educational institutions and training providers to leverage their own in-house expertise, and replace their tired e-Learning modules through the creation and distribution of their own 3D & 360-degree learning experiences. Oncio gives businesses a pathway to the metaverse for learning; it saves training time, increases speed to proficiency and creates knowledge that sticks.”
This article first appeared in issue 39 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
