Jason McDowall: Investor | Advocate | Entrepreneur
100 episodes
9 months ago
Driving from the flats of Beverly Hills up into the hills themselves feels like I’m entering into a different world. Here the picturesque, tree-line streets filled with beautiful homes give way to narrow, winding roads that snake their way to the tops of hillsides. In these hills, each home looks like an architectural marvel, delicately perched at the very edge of a steep slope, with expansive views of Los Angeles.
It was in one of these homes where I met with key members of the Snap marketing team to preview Snap's latest efforts to build AR glasses, the 5th generation Spectacles.
In this episode, I share my impressions of the device and my perspective on its place in the larger narrative of AR Glasses.
To help set the stage, I had a chance to catch up with Sophia Dominguez, the Director of the AR Platform, at Snap.
Prior to her four and a half years at Snap, Sophia started the widely followed “All Things VR” newsletter and joined Rothenberg Ventures as an Entrepreneur in Residence before co-founding her first company, SVRF. There she created the first API and SDKs for searching and rendering 3D face filters. They powered over 280M AR experiences, and she successfully sold the company to Poplar before joining Snap.
Sophia began her career by attending NYU with a focus on how technology impacts human interaction. She then organized one of the world’s first wearable technology conferences, before working in product and operations for a startup focused on visual messaging.
You may remember Sophia from my interview with her published in the summer of 2023. Check out that two-part episode for her wonderful backstory and broader perspective on the market.
Here we keep things very focused on the 5th generation Snap Spectacles.
Callout: Developers in the U.S. can join the Spectacles Developer Program for $99 per month with a one year commitment by visiting www.spectacles.com/lens-studio.
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Driving from the flats of Beverly Hills up into the hills themselves feels like I’m entering into a different world. Here the picturesque, tree-line streets filled with beautiful homes give way to narrow, winding roads that snake their way to the tops of hillsides. In these hills, each home looks like an architectural marvel, delicately perched at the very edge of a steep slope, with expansive views of Los Angeles.
It was in one of these homes where I met with key members of the Snap marketing team to preview Snap's latest efforts to build AR glasses, the 5th generation Spectacles.
In this episode, I share my impressions of the device and my perspective on its place in the larger narrative of AR Glasses.
To help set the stage, I had a chance to catch up with Sophia Dominguez, the Director of the AR Platform, at Snap.
Prior to her four and a half years at Snap, Sophia started the widely followed “All Things VR” newsletter and joined Rothenberg Ventures as an Entrepreneur in Residence before co-founding her first company, SVRF. There she created the first API and SDKs for searching and rendering 3D face filters. They powered over 280M AR experiences, and she successfully sold the company to Poplar before joining Snap.
Sophia began her career by attending NYU with a focus on how technology impacts human interaction. She then organized one of the world’s first wearable technology conferences, before working in product and operations for a startup focused on visual messaging.
You may remember Sophia from my interview with her published in the summer of 2023. Check out that two-part episode for her wonderful backstory and broader perspective on the market.
Here we keep things very focused on the 5th generation Snap Spectacles.
Callout: Developers in the U.S. can join the Spectacles Developer Program for $99 per month with a one year commitment by visiting www.spectacles.com/lens-studio.
Evan Rose (Rose Digital) on Adding Value and the Challenges of Leading a Fast Growing Company
AR Show with Jason McDowall
1 hour 9 minutes 58 seconds
2 years ago
Evan Rose (Rose Digital) on Adding Value and the Challenges of Leading a Fast Growing Company
Evan Rose is the founder and president of Rose Digital, a company specializing in using augmented reality to help brands engage and delight their customers. Beyond that, Rose Digital serves as an innovation partner for its clients.
On the side, Evan is the founder of AR Post, one of the leading news sources for AR and VR. He’s also the co-founder and board president of The Steve Fund, which is the nation’s first organization focused on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of college students of color.
Prior to Rose Digital, Evan worked in finance at hedge funds and investment banks before pursuing his desire to create, and learning how to code. Evan showed his entrepreneurial drive early in life and then went on to attend Harvard to study anthropology.
In this conversation, Evan describes his desire and early efforts to create and add value to the world. He goes on to describe:
- how Rose Digital got started,
- examples of how they are operating at the cutting edge of AR/VR and machine learning,
- being the "Woz" to the client's Jobs-like vision,
- whether clients/users know what they want,
- potential implications and impact of the Apple Vision Pro device,
- advice for startup founders borne from the experience of working with major brands, and
- the challenges of being one of the fastest growing companies (as recognized by INC for the last four years).
Links From The Episode
- Site: AR Post – source for the latest news, reviews and opinions on augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality technologies.
- Article: [ROSE Partners With Premier League for AR Experience Celebrating Summer Series](https://arpost.co/2023/07/12/rose-premier-league-ar-experience/) by Jon Jaehnig for AR Post
- Case Study: [Bloomingdale's celebrates 150 Years with AR Catalog](https://www.8thwall.com/customer-work/bloomingdales)
- Article: [Mastercard Launch Priceless Platform with Partners ROSE](https://www.xrtoday.com/augmented-reality/mastercard-launch-priceless-platform-with-partners-rose/) by XR Today
- Article: [ROSE and Mastercard Augment the Miami Design District in a New Immersive Experience](https://arpost.co/2023/01/11/rose-mastercard-miami-immersive-experience/) by Jon Jaehnig for AR Post
- Article: [FT ranking: The Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies 2022](https://www.ft.com/content/6ee8f978-a2e0-4644-b7c7-0718a334adb7) and [INC profile](https://www.inc.com/profile/rose-digital)
- Book: [Daemon](https://amzn.to/3FHr7Ko) by Daniel Suarez
- Book: [Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears](https://amzn.to/3QIiHsQ) by William Hertling
- [Episode Transcript](https://otter.ai/u/sV_2KIrnG9Z8SASF4eTMMgA53zw)
You can find all of the show notes at thearshow.com. Please consider contributing to my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/theARshow.
AR Show with Jason McDowall
Driving from the flats of Beverly Hills up into the hills themselves feels like I’m entering into a different world. Here the picturesque, tree-line streets filled with beautiful homes give way to narrow, winding roads that snake their way to the tops of hillsides. In these hills, each home looks like an architectural marvel, delicately perched at the very edge of a steep slope, with expansive views of Los Angeles.
It was in one of these homes where I met with key members of the Snap marketing team to preview Snap's latest efforts to build AR glasses, the 5th generation Spectacles.
In this episode, I share my impressions of the device and my perspective on its place in the larger narrative of AR Glasses.
To help set the stage, I had a chance to catch up with Sophia Dominguez, the Director of the AR Platform, at Snap.
Prior to her four and a half years at Snap, Sophia started the widely followed “All Things VR” newsletter and joined Rothenberg Ventures as an Entrepreneur in Residence before co-founding her first company, SVRF. There she created the first API and SDKs for searching and rendering 3D face filters. They powered over 280M AR experiences, and she successfully sold the company to Poplar before joining Snap.
Sophia began her career by attending NYU with a focus on how technology impacts human interaction. She then organized one of the world’s first wearable technology conferences, before working in product and operations for a startup focused on visual messaging.
You may remember Sophia from my interview with her published in the summer of 2023. Check out that two-part episode for her wonderful backstory and broader perspective on the market.
Here we keep things very focused on the 5th generation Snap Spectacles.
Callout: Developers in the U.S. can join the Spectacles Developer Program for $99 per month with a one year commitment by visiting www.spectacles.com/lens-studio.
