Reflections on a Virtual Decade

The Balti Team in 2015

Since 2015, we’ve built 150+ XR projects for clients ranging from startups to global brands. Looking back, it somehow feels like both ten minutes and ten lifetimes!

The First Balti Office (and HQ2)

How it started

Back in 2015, David, Shawn, and I were fascinated by VR's potential and impressed with how quickly the tech was evolving, especially compared to previous generations that we’d worked with. It felt like this tech was quickly becoming “inevitable,” but we were realistic that true “mainstream” adoption would take a long time (heck, it still will).

We suspected that, in the short term, niche applications for specific industries could create a lot of value.

We were also fortunate to have experience developing AR applications and to run into a mentor who focused us on AR applications that were useful immediately, rather than whatever was “two years away” in the headset world.

HoloTats - Our first product

Since then, it’s been a wild ride with a fantastic cast of characters.

Our team has been truly hashtag-blessed with some amazing talents and personalities, from the early pioneers who helped us build a solid foundation (both technically and culturally) to the awesome quirksters who joined later and helped us refine the vision. Over the years, we have had over fifty team members, and each has left their mark somehow.

We have worked with a wild group of clients. The logos look great on a slide and all, but the people we’ve met and collaborated with on those projects have supported and pushed us to deliver work we’re all proud of.

There have also been so many unforgettable moments along the way. We have worked hard together to deliver ambitious projects. We’ve had lucky breaks (like when we gave away free AR tattoos that landed us a multi-year app project with Under Armour). These experiences have all shaped who we are and how we do our thing.

UA Play Launch - Under Armour

The best times of all have been team memories. Building customized desks, braving the “class 0.01” rapids of the Gunpowder River, Friday lunch-roulette, and Holo-day parties, our quirky team culture took its own organic shape over the years.

The Balti Team

Where it’s going

I’d be lying if I said that the current state of VR and AR is where I expected them to be ten years ago. One of my favorite quotes is now “Never mistake a clear view for a short distance” (Paul Saffo).

While certainly not yet mainstream, XR tech has a firm foothold in a number of industries and applications.

From flight simulators to architectural pre-visualization, XR has become a proven tool for training, explaining, and entertaining - helping industries learn faster, design smarter, and engage audiences in new ways.

As prices and barriers to entry fall, more applications will reach the ROI tipping point.

For our part, we’re focused on how we can use all of the lessons we’ve learned and the tech we’ve developed over the last decade to continue to grow sustainably.

We’ve built a bunch of strong relationships with trusted clients who have helped us understand their unique industry needs and define our roadmap for what we work on next.

We still take on wildly ambitious projects, but we’ve gotten better at striking a balance between those one-off moonshots and reliable, predictable ongoing multi-year projects.

It’s been an exciting ride, and we’re just getting started. The first decade was about finding and proving XR’s value. The next decade will be about scaling it, with trusted partners and bold new ideas.

If you’ve been part of our journey or want to collaborate on what’s next, we’d love to hear from you!