At the end of 2016, we started VR Arcade NOLA to provide amazing Virtual Reality experiences throughout the greater New Orleans area. Now that we’re six months into launching our company, we look back on what we’ve learned so far and the exciting opportunities we have to grow moving forward.
Our Humble Beginnings
We started out by testing the market to see what the public’s response would be too high quality, immersive VR experiences. We set up dozens of times at local bars and invited folks to try out VR for a few dollars per experience.
The good:
People loved VR, and wanted more of it!
People were willing to pay for VR
People started inquiring about hiring us for their private events and parties
The bad:
Weather issues were often a challenge for our equipment at outdoor venues
Some folks were confused as to what VR was and what we were doing there
Picking Up Momentum
We were grateful to be invited to participate in New Orleans Entrepreneur Week in March, and we gained a lot of valuable insight and exposure through that experience. We ended up dropping the public arcade-style setups, and instead focused our efforts on providing VR booth rentals for private events, conventions, trade shows, and parties.
Six Months In and Looking Forward
We have gotten a great response from the event planners in the greater New Orleans area that we have reached out to about VR, as they were very excited to offer Virtual Reality experiences as something new and engaging at their events. Instead of settling for a boring photo booth, these event planners have been working with us to create customized and unforgettable VR experiences for their clients! Recent examples include:
Encouraging folks to bust out their extraordinary dance moves in VR as part of the 610 Stompers Debutante Ball
Demonstrating a Pearl Harbor VR experience at the National WWII Museum
Helping people dive inside one of Salvador Dalí’s paintings as part of Tales of the Cocktail
At this point, we have executed over 30 event activations in the past six months, and we have dozens more booked for the remainder of the year. We are currently hiring local employees, and we are expanding to other cities! We will talk about our expansion plans in a future post, but for now we want to express how grateful we are to all of our advisors, clients, and partners who have helped us get to this point.
We’re looking forward to continuing to grow our company and drive the VR revolution in the Southeast! As always, please reach out to us if you have any questions about taking your convention, corporate event, or private party to the next level with incredible Virtual Reality!