Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandre Baumeige.
Alexandre, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2014, I downloaded the Metaio AR SDK and got it running. It was marker based AR, looking thru the iPhone lens, it was incredible seeing these Holograms. I said to myself, “This is the future”. Fast forward 4 years, AR hasn’t quite democratized, yet, but I still know AR/VR/MR, or XR, is the next generation computing interface. It intrigued me, captivated me, being able to see Holograms thru a lens. Soon I discovered Microsoft was working on the HoloLens and my excitement grew even more. I wanted to program it.
I was at a point in my life where I was making a career change. I had been Pro DJ, with a gorgeous light show, recognized all over South Florida and by major music festivals like Ultra Music Festival and others. But I was tired of that scene and wanted to go back into Tech.
I started programming professionally in 1995 as a Web Developer. I’ve had a long successful career in Tech. I incorporated my AR/VR/MR initiative called Spinteractive LLC in Dec 2015. Before that I had been playing with AR and integrating it into my last few productions and trying to sell it to people – I was augmenting my 120 foot, 5 projector edge blended Video wall with giant awesome AR Visuals using Unity & Resolume. This was my transition from DJ/entertainment back into Tech.
I’ve always been fearless as an entrepreneur. I was called a serial entrepreneur at the Venture Hive in Miami starting Spinteractive LLC, my 7th business venture. At the time, in 2105-2016, not many people, especially in Miami, knew was AR was. But I wanted to start my business in Miami because of the lifestyle. So that’s what I did.
I caught a lucky break. The owners of Bayside Marketplace called me one day. They found my website, the only XR consulting site in Miami at the time. They wanted an AR experience at Bayside around the famous Banyan tree. Who better to develop this than me. And that was the start of my Pro XR Career.
Microsoft released the HoloLens in March 2016. I marketed it on my site even though I didn’t own one – they were $3000. One day I got a call from Tel Aviv. It was a small Diamond company looking for a HoloLens developer – they loved the HoloLens as much as me and loved my website. I sold the job over the phone without even owning a HoloLens. They paid me $30,000. Finally I had some decent funding.
The jobs started coming slowly, making ends meet, building a reputation for myself and my brand in Miami. Projects on VIVE, ARKit, Oculus, and High Fidelity came my way.
There was a turning point when I was recognized by the San Francisco community for my work. It was begging 2018, I was referred by the Silicon Valley community as one of five companies able to develop a VR Platform. The company looking to hire was EF Hutton, a long established financial services company since 1904. I made the sales call and was immediately hired. A month later, the company asked me to take a trip to their new headquarters in Springfield Ohio for an entire week. I said yes. During that week, the CEO made me an offer I could not refuse, to acquire my company to develop a top secret VR project in Miami.
I am now corporate, I am the heading up the VR Division with an amazing team, and a huge potential. I cannot talk about it yet, it’s top secret 😉
Has it been a smooth road?
The bumpiest road ever. With ups and downs in business, not having income, suddenly having a lot of income. 1/2 the struggle is marketing yourself, finding business, performing sales calls, closing and collecting. The other 1/2 is producing the work in a productive, timely manner so you can free yourself up to find more work and stay in business, ergo, not run out money. Always a problem.
The other struggle is while consulting in such a new market, trying to find a niche solution or product initiative to pursue to get yourself out of consulting and into Venture Capital. For me this happened naturally as my company was acquired.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Spinteractive LLC – acquired – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a former consulting company acquired, now working to help solve a big problem through Social Media and XR Tech. I am very proud to be a part of that.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Like: The Ocean and the fact that I can now afford myself a boat. The nightlife. Living in South Beach, working in Brickell.
Dislike: The lack of technical skills, but there is a young emerging tech community. It made it very hard for me stating a tech company in Miami, I had to do a lot of the coding myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Spinteractive.net
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