DJ Smith is the co-founder of The Glimpse Group, an XR technologies accelerator that's doing startup incubating in a whole new way. Listen as Smith explains to Alan how Glimpse works, and some of the tech companies that are already beginning to grow under its umbrella.

Alan: We have an amazing guest today: DJ Smith is the co-founder and chief creative officer at The Glimpse Group. The Glimpse Group is a holding company for a portfolio of 10 startups, focused on virtual and augmented reality industries. At Glimpse, DJ's responsibilities include overseeing the production of all the VR and AR content, as well as leading efforts to locate new subsidiary companies. In addition, DJ is the organizer of the New York virtual reality meetup. NYVR hosts monthly events focused on virtual reality technology and the premiere venue for the industry networking collaboration within New York City. NYVR is the second-largest virtual meetup in the world, with over 6,000 members. Prior to entering the VR/AR industry, DJ worked 20 years in the real estate and construction industries.

The Glimpse Group is a company designed with the specific purpose of cultivating entrepreneurs in VR, AR, and of course, XR. The business model simplifies many of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs, while simultaneously providing investors with an opportunity to invest directly into the VR/AR space. The Glimpse Group will fund, cultivate, and manage business operations while providing a strong network of professional relationships. Being part of The Glimpse Group allows entrepreneurs to maximize their time and resources in pursuit of their mission-critical endeavors. They've invested in 10 companies, which we'll get into this show, but the 10 companies are Adept Reality, In It, D6 VR, Kobach, Immersive Health Group, KreatAR, Number9, Early Adopter, MotionZone, Foretell Studios, and I'm sure there's gonna be a lot more on the show. To learn more about The Glimpse Group, visit TheGlimpseGroup.com.

Welcome to the show, DJ.

DJ: Thank you very much for the amazing introduction.

Alan: It's my absolute pleasure. I've been waiting for this call for so long, I'm really excited to have you on the show. Tell us, how did you get into virtual/ augmented/mixed reality, or XR technologies?

DJ: Sure. It's a life calling that I was seeking for many, many years. In 2012, I saw the Palmer Luckey Kickstarter video, and I was like, “it has finally arrived!” So from that point on -- it's kind of a pivotal moment in time for me and my life – I started buying all the toys; really, just absorbing as much tech as I possibly could.

The meet up was formed shortly after that. I think the meet up started with 10 people in a dusty old conference room, and it just has steadily grown and grown and grown, and as it grew, my involvement in the industry grew and grew and grew. So we're now the, I believe, the second-largest VR meetup in the world. It basically put me in direct connection with many of the developers in the city. The big entities; the Googles, Microsofts, where we would hold our event, as well as the whole investment community.

Then, about four years ago, the Oculus Rift and the VIVE was coming out, and I saw that there was an opportunity to actually start making a living out of it. I put in my notice in my construction job, and a week later I met my current business partner, Lyron Bentovim, who saw the same timing and opportunity within the space. He came from the investment side of things; had his own tech startup, ran hedge funds, and was most recently involved in publicly-traded companies. He had the idea of the Glimpse business model, which was taking bits and pieces from his experience of hedging bets and the challenges with a typical VC angel startup scenario, but was looking for somebody like myself that was dee