WoW Woman in VR/AR | Leen Segers, co-founder of LucidWeb and Women in Immersive Tech Europe
Interview by Marija Butkovic
Leen is a Brussels-based software entrepreneur and WebXR expert. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Leen worked for 10 years with several technology startups in Ghent, London, and Brussels. Since 2011, she has been focusing on the democratisation of media across platforms and devices which led her to start LucidWeb in 2016. As immersive computing will revolutionise communication, entertainment, and education, democratisation will be the key. Therefore, Leen is the biggest advocate of browser-based experiences to be able to reach immersion at scale. Leen is co-founder of Women in Immersive Tech Europe, Creative technologist with Venice VR College Cinema, Expert Interactive Technologies with the European Commission and XR4ALL Knowledge Manager.
What is the idea behind LucidWeb and how did you come up with it?
It has been quite the journey! In 2015, I enjoyed my first VR experience in a Samsung Gear VR headset and I truly fell in love with the medium. It was a travel experience in Nepal, sponsored by the North Face; and I felt butterflies. Having worked in online video distribution, I understood that a new era of media distribution had kicked off. I resigned in 2016 to launch my first VR project: a B2C application showcasing VR experiences that were created only in Europe. While marketing the app, I understood that distribution was a huge constraint since I couldn’t roll the Android app out to iOS. It was then that I met an early WebVR evangelist who told me for the first time about the open standard and the opportunities it might open up. The direct access, no store censorship, the availability of a browser on existing and upcoming devices... It was just too good to be true! During my career, I have always been intrigued by content distribution, to understand how content could reach and impact audiences across the globe. As internet connections improve and frames per second jump a lot higher in a relatively short time frame, the lightness and direct access of a standard as WebVR is a logical next step for the 2D internet as we know it.
This open standard is therefore core to our offering and SaaS business. The platform LucidWeb Pro was launched recently with the mission to democratise VR/AR storytelling and branding. Based on a monthly payment, every publisher can now take advantage of instant distribution of their content via an accessible CMS built for non-technical staff.
When did it all start and do you have other members in your team?
In 2017, I set up the company after the business accelerator imec.istart stepped in as an investor. Initially, there was a technical co-founder but he decided to leave in the first 8 months after the company was set up. At that point in time, we were both unpaid so I understood his decision to opt for financial certainty. Today, I manage a team of 6 employees, freelancers and multiple interns. We are planning to hire another 4 employees in the next few months.
How long did it take you to be where you are now?
Almost 3 years.
What was the biggest obstacle?
The market didn’t evolve as fast as we had hoped for in 2016. Back then, the industry was over-hyped and the impact is still noticeable. It took the industry quite some time to lower its expectations to become more realistic.
Also, as a non-technical sole founder of a software startup, it has proven difficult to attract the right technical talent.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
Women in Immersive Tech Europe: Only recently, we created the official non-profit based in Brussels but it started as a personal initiative. During that initial period of research, I found myself isolated and therefore, I set-up a Facebook group in May 2016. I wanted to connect with like-minded women across Europe who shared my passion for VR tech.
The new team: Before I resigned in 2016, for almost an entire year, I spent every weekend and evening researching the VR industry on my own. To head to the office today and see 10 people working towards LucidWeb’s vision feels like a great achievement.
Our latest innovations in WebVR and WebAR being used by European broadcasters (VRT, ARTE France) as well as US-based technology giants as Netapp.
What are the projects you are currently working on within your company?
Moving our platform LucidWeb Pro from private alpha to beta: With the first roll-out, a publisher will be able to brand his own 360° player; add hotspots or portals to other 360° videos; create a gallery as a sort of easily navigable content hub for immersive content. Our player offering could be compared to Youtube 360° but the player works in the browser (so no need to download an app) and the experience is available in the headset browsers as well.
ARTE SENS WebVR: We just launched SENS WebVR. It’s the first time we worked with game engine assets and made these available for the web. Try the experience here: https://sens.arte.tv/webvr/.
Kuba 360°: An interactive travel experience in Cuba. In this project, we teamed up with the Berlin-based studio Into.VR. We believe travel and WebVR is a match made in heaven as travel content needs to be easily accessible by the travellers and easily manageable by travel agents. Initially, the 360° journey will be launched via the online edition of the German newspaper Welt.
XR4ALL: We are currently part of XR4ALL together with four other partners.
The project is important to me and is a continuation of the VR/AR research & community work I have been involved in on a European level since 2016 (The European VR Industry Landscape together with the VR Fund, The State of the European VR Industry together with Tech.eu, WiiT). The project aims to connect the most important stakeholders in XR in Europe, provide the most relevant research initiatives, but also fund new XR innovations coming from European based XR startups (Check the open call).
What will be the key trends in the AR/VR industry in the next 5 years and where do you see it heading?
As for enterprise applications the added value is clear: AR and VR technology is increasing productivity, accuracy, and worker satisfaction. It has been scientifically researched and proven, the product-market fit is validated, investors have placed their bets. The past few months, quite some funding news came from Europe with promising rounds in sectors such as XR healthcare, manufacturing and education.Enterprise has fallen in love with the medium and they will continue to be so because the possibilities are endless. Thanks to XR product designers will be able to visualise their designs before production and remote employees will be able to ask for assistance via mobile AR devices or even wearables. Soon every company will have a room with headsets where employees can follow courses in public speaking or, role-based training for handling customer questions for example.
As for entertainment/media, until today the market has been slow and not reached its full potential. Then again the popularity of mobile AR games such as Pokemon Go, shows that consumers are bored with the devices that they have been using. A simple gamified experience that unlocks 3D on their smartphone immediately turned into a hit. After more than 10 years of using their phone, for the first time, this device unlocked/held an unknown surprise, a wow. Hence in the next 5 years, the industry will try to bring the magical world of VR/AR closer to the consumer as they are hungry for something new.
→ In some cases, this means the opening of VR arcades where visitors can enjoy more complex set-ups: participate in multi-player shooter games, enjoy multi-sensorial experiences, or try on exciting new hardware powered by ultrasound or even a brain-computer interface. Hologate is a good example of a location-based VR company aiming to bring these centres closer to their audiences.
→ Another huge driver will be the headsets themselves; price points will keep on decreasing and devices will increasingly become more customer-friendly both in the set-up and convenience while wearing. A new milestone was set with the launch of the Oculus Quest. No more wires, no sensors, all you need is an internet connection. The price point is already pretty amazing at €449. But if Oculus/Facebook is smart, they will offer a huge discount just before Christmas this year. Merry XRmas!
→ And last but not least, WebXR! (WebVR/WebAR :) Because consumers will require more and more new and recurring content that will trigger them to put on their headsets on a more regular basis. The browser-standard will help drive unique storytelling, branding and news to reach audiences beyond gamers and VR festival goers. Also, the standard can already surprise people on their smartphones today; surprise and trigger them, make them feel hungry for more than a flatscreen or as I would like to say: a “flatty”.
What are the challenges of being a female founder and entrepreneur in AR/VR?
It brings many challenges but until now, the most apparent ones are the access to capital as well as talent. The subconscious gender bias is definitely the biggest problem in both. Then again, I am not a big fan of talking about the issue publicly too much, the subconscious bias is in the meantime a well-known “conscious” issue. I am a firm believer that only by proving to investors as well as to technical talents that women can deliver a remarkable ROI, it will help to leave this bias behind. What women can do today, is support each other, help other women thrive. So this is the key objective of Women in Immersive Tech Europe. Next to that, recruiting women now for positions that traditionally are filled in by men will also help to turn the tide. This is what I aim for with LucidWeb.
What is the most important piece of advice you can give to all female founders and female entrepreneurs in AR/VR out there?
Reboot regularly to be able to persevere. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Or using a jogging metaphor, make sure you leave enough energy to be able to run back :)
Who are your 3 inspirational women in AR/VR?
The WiiT co-founders & ambassadors: Ioana, Vera, Sara, Alexandra, Edita, Ekaterina. All 6 are equally remarkable women in their own field, pushing daily to move the XR industry forward. We all wear many hats and have super busy work lives, then again we find the time to discuss WiiT and organise initiatives across Europe.
Muki Kulhan: I met Muki in 2017 when she just finished the first series of The Voice UK in 360° where she was working closely with will.i.am. Since then, she has been an immersive producer for lots of popular brands and events. Apart from that, she is also an incredible content curator at media/XR conferences and truly the best in moderating panels because of her in-depth understanding of the market, but also because she is hilariously funny.
Nonny de la Peña: for her pioneering work in VR journalism. Next to that, because of our shared vision of the power of the web to push XR forward.
Website - Lucidweb.io
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leenus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leenus
LinkedIn: https://be.linkedin.com/in/leensegers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leenus
This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship and diversity. Visit marijabutkovic.co.uk or follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic.