![]() With more stores on the way, we’ll be ramping up our internal studios as well as developing our SDK to open up publishing in the near future. Steve Zhao, Sandbox’s CEO and founder, said in a statement, “We are excited to use the latest round of funding for content development, cutting edge technology and accelerated growth. The planned new locations include Minneapolis, London, Dallas, Emeryville, Kirkland, San Ramon, and Cincinnati. Ten further locations are in the planning stages, and this round of fundraising is intended to fund at least four of those locations. It recently launched three new locations in Austin, TX, Las Vegas, NV and Shanghai, China. Due to its uniquely social aspect, the company was hit hard by the pandemic, though it has since bounced back. Sandbox VR offers multiple VR entertainment locations, which combines VR headsets with full-body motion capture to offer users an experience they’re not likely to experience elsewhere. Venture capitalists and investors stepped in with a “ significant Series A round of financing led by Andrew Chen from Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Mike Maples and Floodgate, Stanford University, TriplePoint Capital, CRCM and Alibaba.” The funding will enable Sandbox VR plans to expand to locations worldwide.Andrew Chen, a general partner at A16z and board member of Sandbox, said in a statement, “With this new capital, Sandbox VR can continue building amazing experiences, growing their footprint, and moving the entire VR industry forward.” ![]() This mindset helped Zhao reemerge his company from bankruptcy proceedings, leading to the reopening of all of its locations, including a high-profile space in Las Vegas. Perseverance, not giving up in the face of adversity, envisioning your future and reverse engineering all of the steps needed to get you where you want to go can apply to your job search or advancing in your career. Around 90% of customers already paid for tickets, which offered a cushion and some time to wait out the pandemic. Fortunately, they booked events in advance. They were mindful of each step they were taking to conserve cash, stay afloat and thinking of how to rebuild. Zhao and the team hunkered down, as people were sheltering at home and not venturing out, especially to a place where you couldn’t socially distance and needed to wear headgear. While this wasn’t in the plans, Zhao pursued this route too. When he asked landlords for breaks, they said they’re hurting too because of the virus outbreak and were considering filing for bankruptcy protection. For instance, when the pandemic made his retail theater operations close down, he had to take action. Then, the tech CEO retraces the steps needed to get there. Zhao shared his mindset on how to prevail, which you can model as well. He “works backward.” This means that Zhao looks into the future first, visualizing his long-term goal. When asked about all of the difficulties he encountered in his journey, Zhao said, “Failure was not an option.” He knew that he had to do whatever it takes. ![]() Zhao’s story can relate to your career and job search. The company had to file for Chapter 11 protection. People had to socially distance, and coming together at places like Sandbox VR’s location-based virtual reality experiences just wasn’t going to happen. The VR theater seemed like it could be crushed by the Covid-19 outbreak. Now, at a Sandbox VR theater location, you can enjoy a 30-minute, full-body, free-roam, virtual-reality experience. Over time, Sandbox VR developed “real-time multiplayer inverse kinematics technology to capture, animate and render people with full-body motion capture in virtual reality.” It became a hit, as TripAdvisor’s No. They started building retail space to showcase the enhanced VR-action experience. Receiving some funding from the person, along with Zhao’s savings, money raised from family, friends and acquaintances, he thought this concept may actually come together. ![]() I can also get my friends to invest in you.” Writing on his blog, Zhao said about this fortuitous event, “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality,” quoting a lyric from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” ![]() If you make VR games, I’ll invest in you. Zhao said he bumped into a guy who said, “I heard you make games. Steve Zhao, Founder, Sandbox VR (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images) Sportsfile via Getty Imagesĭown on his luck, feeling that he’d never get his dream turned into virtual reality, he had a chance encounter with someone who changed his life. ![]()
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