Five Minutes With: Max Dawes

REWIND speaks to Max Dawes, Managing Director of Zappar.

“Five Minutes With” is a regular feature that gives you an insight into some of the greatest minds in the immersive industry, all within the time it takes to grab a cup of coffee.

Max Dawes is the MD of Zappar, the company is on a mission to democratise augmented reality (AR). They are doing this through their award-winning SDKs, computer vision libraries, creator tools, CMS, and data dashboards provide everything needed to develop and deploy AR. The platform has been built to work for the least powerful devices up, rather than the most expensive devices down, helping brands and companies to ‘cross the chasm’ from early adoption to mainstream use.

What is exciting you the most about the immersive industry right now?

One thing that is really exciting and transformational, is the move of some immersive technologies to the web. This gives them scale and reach, plus it opens up different channels, particularly with Augmented reality. AR used to only be able to start as a physical thing, and then take you into a digital experience. Now, it can start digital and take you to digital in your physical space. It really throws some of the shackles off and in most instances, it’s a better experience for the end consumer of the content. I think that’s why AR has disappeared from Gartner’s Hype Cycle and is no longer considered an emerging technology. It’s found a really good home on the web, it’s very exciting for all.

On the hardware side, the spatial senses that we are seeing in the new devices — tablets and Smartphones e.g. Apple’s LiDAR — leads to more immersive and life-like use cases. It’s another step forward in terms of the power of these mobile devices.

On a personal note, the launch of ZapBox is something that has got me very excited. ZapBox is a Zappar product. It uses existing Smartphones, analogue technology, and computer vision to create a totally democratised offering for mixed reality (MR). It offers HoloLens or Magic Leap type experiences, but at a very affordable price point — $40. It will allow people to get used to, and experiment with, these types of technologies right now, rather than just talking about the new thing that’s coming next.

https://www.zappar.com/blog/introducing-all-new-zapbox-now-kickstarter/

How has the pandemic impacted your business?

It’s changed where we work, but not necessarily the way we work. Zappar was already using Slack, Zoom, and the Google Suite of cloud products, so being distributed around the country and around the world hasn’t been a big change in many ways. We’ve introduced a “work where you work best” policy and lots of people are working from home, some from shared workspaces, and when Government policy allows, people have been working in our physical office to facilitate collaboration, ideation, and meetings.

From a commercial perspective, this pandemic has given with one hand and taken away with the other. Use cases around connected packaging — packaging as a media channel that people can interact with through AR — , product visualisation, remote training and onboarding, and internal comms are booming. Whereas, movie releases, conferences, and events have slowed down. With lots of cost-cutting across the board globally, I am really glad to see that our partners have stuck with their AR strategies and feel they are a long-term part of their digital transformation and their ongoing commercial and communication strategies.

It’s been very interesting to read how the pandemic has expedited lots of businesses. We’ve also seen growth on the software side of our business, which is really encouraging during these challenging and uncertain times.

[embed]

What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?

I would get my driver’s license as soon as possible. I am now in my 30s and still can’t drive. It’s a bit unfair on my wife, but it does mean I can always drink at dinner parties!

Use a pen more. I stopped writing things down when I was about 18 and just used my laptop. Now, when I go to write a thank you letter, it takes me literally an hour and it feels like my hand is going to fall off!

I would learn French because I am married to a French lady and still barely get by.

I’d encourage everyday learning. I started working when I was 20, I dropped out of Manchester University business school after one year because I didn’t feel like I was learning what I should. I am really glad I started my career when I did, at the age that I did. And I’m really proud of all the listening and learning I did in the early stages of my career, I still put a lot of emphasis on that now. It may be trite, but I’m a big advocate of the “every day is a school day”.

What and/or who is your source of inspiration?

My biggest two sources of inspiration are running and showering. They often go together!

I find when running, particularly without music or a podcast, my mind wanders and it’s a really good, productive time for problem-solving. If I’ve got a workshop, or meeting where I want to make sure that I’m absolutely at my best, I’ll try and go for a run that morning or before the meeting. Similarly, in the shower, your mind is not very focused, but it can be in really good problem solving and creative modes. I find these sources of inspiration much better than just sitting at my desk trying to crack something.

Speaking with people who have done it all before is really inspirational. You can learn so much from conversations with those ahead of you on the curve, those that have learned the hard way. I’ve found people to be very generous with their time and advice. I encourage my team to have those sorts of conversations and I am definitely going to keep on having them myself.

What has been your biggest business challenge in the past 12 months?

April and May were really hard. Protecting the people and purpose of Zappar during that time was a huge challenge. I’m proud to say that we did get through that and, in fact, have given new opportunities to people starting their careers during that time via internships and graduate positions.

From a Zappar perspective, one of the good things to come out of these past 12 months, is a deep focus on transparency and openness. Every Friday, Caspar Thykier, who is one of our Co-Founders and the CEO, takes the whole company through the financials. He shares what our likely revenue recognition is going to be, what deals have been closed during that week and then we have general business updates and celebrate anniversaries, birthdays etc. That total openness and transparency with the numbers is one of the great things that has come out of these past few months. Our mantra during the height of the crisis was around clear and regular communication, and that’s something we have continued with.

What is your favourite thing about what you do for a living?

No two days are the same, which I am sure is the same for many industries, but the immersive industry is so fast-paced and varied that every day really is different.

I started my professional life in advertising and one of the privileges of working in that field was people taking the time to explain their industries and their business to you. I still find that fascinating today — getting under the skin of sectors and business models, that you would never usually see as a normal consumer.

Also, learning and teaching at the same time is an aspect of my work I really enjoy. Being able to pass on knowledge and experience that I have built up during my career is a real honour. Finally, working with interesting and intelligent people, be it teammates or external partners.

Zappar

And some just for fun!

If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be?

A chef and restaurant owner, but not a really hard-working one. One that sits at the bar and occasionally ventures into the kitchen and wafts around talking to the customers. This may sound slightly shallow, but I am obsessed with food! I really missed restaurants during lockdown.

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading Heat by Bill Buford, he follows the life of New York chef, Mario Batali. It’s a great insight into what happens “backstage” at restaurants and I’m just loving it. It also might have influenced my last answer!

I’m also reading Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck which is fascinating. It’s about motivation, having a growth mindset, and being the best version of yourself. I’d encourage anyone to read it.

If you could wake up in the body of another person (just for one day) who would it be and why?

I’d be Ben Stokes, the English cricketer. It would be August 2019, when Ben laid claim to one of the greatest innings of all time, which, against all odds, gave England a win over the Australia cricket team. I’m a huge fan of cricket. Cricket and cooking are my two things outside of work.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Very much a morning person. I try to do the most important tasks of the day as soon as I get started with work. I’d love to say both, but I find that by about five o’clock my batteries have been taken out. My productivity curve is definitely the highest before lunch.

The all-new ZapBox Kickstarter is now officially funded, but you can still back the project until 2 pm GMT on Friday 6th November!

XRLO: eXtended Reality Lowdown is brought to you by REWIND, an immersive design and innovation company. If you want to talk tech, ideas, and the future, get in touch here.

Your claps and follows help us understand what our readers like. If you liked our articles, show them some love! ❤️

We’d also love to hear from you. If you’re passionate about all things XR, you can apply to contribute to XRLO here. ✍️