“The fact that it’s actually fully funded and is free to use, it literally is a no-brainer, and you should snap their hand off. It has been a shining light in the region.”
Kevin Blair – Atmos VR
Background and Overview
Atmos VR applies virtual reality tools to everywhere from construction sites to crime scenes. Its 3D scanning services are precise enough to be used in police forensics, yet gorgeous enough that estate agents and venue producers use them to show plans to clients. CEO Kevin Blair says that the aim of the company is to use this technology both for direct businesses and for making mass-appeal entertainment.
About the CEO
Kevin Blair’s background is both in event production and virtual reality technology. He is President of the Birmingham Chapter of the VR/AR Association and founded Atmos VR in 2016.
He decided to join the West Midlands Creative Scale Up Programme because he wanted to grow the company. Having looked around for development programmes, he found that most were aimed at helping startups. Until the West Midlands Creative Scale Up Programme, he hadn’t found any that were for established companies that were looking to take their next steps.
Engagement with the programme
Kevin was intrigued by what the programme offered, but still conscious that he’d been disappointed with other development schemes he’d tried. However, the number of workshops and mentoring on the West Midlands Creative Scale Up Programme was much more than he’d expected, and the range was much wider. Crucially, he found that the programme was practical. All of the seminars, workshops and mentoring was delivered by experts who are also practitioners in their fields. He felt that they’d learned what they were teaching through direct experience and that made their advice invaluable.
Action taken following support from programme
Kevin believes the Programme has helped him plan expansion and also be ready for it. Alongside the specifics he’s learned to do with HR and contracts, he says that working on his business with these experts has helped him feel more confident as a CEO. They helped him mature as a business owner and
as an entrepreneur.
Impact on the business
Kevin knows what he needed to do in the business to be investment ready such that Atmos VR has been actively raising investment Atmos VR has focused on developing a new cutting-edge proposition with a post-Covid audience in mind.
Outcomes for the business
Atmost VR has secured £1m investment in Atmos VR from Insight Media
Fund in a deal negotiated by Samahoma Media Advisors. Contracts are being finalized on a 10,000 sq ft warehouse in the Custard Factory, Digbeth, Birmingham as the first of 8 planned venues across the UK and subsequent international roll-out.
