The Galileo Masters participant Locatify won the 2018 Galileo Master 5G IoT Challenge with their dynamic mobile app CMS platform, for delivering location-based content to mobile apps. The platform includes apps that provide tourists with contextual augmented reality and audio content based on their location and interests. The platform opens up the possibility for anyone to create and publish location-based mobile app content.
Ines Kühnert (IK), Galileo Master Project Manager, interviews Sam Liddell (SL), Partner and Director of Marketing & Business Development of Locatify.
IK: Please give us a sneak peek of your product and the team behind it.
SL: The platform makes it accessible for anyone to attach Augmented Reality (AR) objects to real-world locations and share via mobile apps. We’re at the point where you can point look through your phone and directly learn and engage with the things around you via digitally augmented information.
Moving forward, this connection between real-world locations and digital AR content will become increasingly important as we move away from handheld devices, and towards head-mounted devices and in-ear headphones.
We have a strong team of 5 people full-time, and are looking to expand our team. We’re lead by our CEO Steinunn-Anna Gunnlaugsdottir, myself in Marketing and Business Development and our 3 very talented full-stack software developers, Leifur Bjornsson (CTO), Jack Feng and Omar Bechir.
IK: What has been your company’s biggest challenge so far?
SL: Our biggest challenge so far has been focus. We have a great engineering team which means we attract many interesting software development projects. While this is good for revenue, it results in a lack of focus on our core product offering. I think this is a common situation you see technology startups falling into.
IK: How and when did the idea for your solution emerge?
SL: 2018, we went through an accelerator program in Silicon Valley where we learnt a lot about business model potential for global scale. This was not so long after the massive commercial success of Pokemon GO and around the same time as the release of market research that forecasted large numbers for the potential market size of AR.
As a technology startup, we know the technology (5G, head-mounted devices & AR Software) is fast approaching the convergence where location-based AR can really take off. This technology convergence and boom in tourism meant we were in a good position to take advantage and position ourselves as the market leader of location-based AR for exploration and tourism.
IK: What convinced you to enter the 5G IoT challenge with your business case?
SL: The relevance of 5G is vital to adoption of high fidelity, contextually rich Augmented Reality. The 5G IoT expert panel provided valuable feedback and the Space Starters crowdfunding prize was appealing as a funding option as our idea requires support and adoption by tech savvy early adopters; whom we deemed the Space Starters audience to be.
IK: How did the Galileo Masters help to boost your business case?
SL: The exposure and network of the Galileo Masters and the organiser AZO was very important for us. The pitching process and panel of experts helped us to refine our ideas, challenge our business case assumptions and ultimately provide the validation to move from idea to MVP where we can further develop the business model and product.
IK: Let’s reach for the stars – what do you plan for your business case in the future?
SL: We want to be the bridge between mobile, future devices and digitally augmented content in the environment. When you look at a monument and see a digital hovering sign and contextual information or listen to the historical story about the monument; this digitally augmented content will be delivered to you by a Locatify enabled company.
Did you enjoy this interview with this outstanding innovator? Stay tuned for upcoming interviews with Galileo Masters innovators on our AZO Blog.
