Virtual Umbrella’s 2015 VR Highlights
It has been a huge year for Virtual Umbrella. Beginning as a small idea back in January, we have now built a company with the goal of getting people stoked for virtual reality. Most of you have been with us on our journey so we thought we ought to put together a 2015 recap to showcase our favourite parts of the year and thank the amazing people who we have met and have helped us along the way.
March 2015 – Virtual Umbrella becomes a limited company & EGX Rezzed
In March 2015 Virtual Umbrella was officially born. Website ready to go. One of the first events we worked was EGX Rezzed, helping Psytec games show one of the first versions of Crystal Rift. Additionally we met Roto VR for the first time and helped them in the first stages of their investment rounds.
June 2015 – VR in a Bar & E3
In June we worked with the great guys at The Loading Bar to bring back the VR in a Bar event. We had a great night, meeting some new VR friends and had a drink with some old ones.
Then only a few weeks after we got a flight out to LA to attend E3. It was our first time out to E3 as a company, we had an incredible time.
August 2015 – VR in a Bar Round Two
Due to popular demand, we ran another VR in a Bar in August! We had some more great exhibitors join us for evening of VR fun.
September 2015 – We went full time officially & EGX NEC
September was a pretty crazy month for us, Virtual Umbrella became an official full-time employer and we worked EGX with our friends at Psytec Games. We spent 4 days showcasing Crystal Rift on the HTC Vive to the expo’s 75,000 attendees.
October 2015 – Ukie Student Conference & Solent Business Day
In October we spent a lot of our time educating our local area on Virtual Reality. It was great opportunity for Bertie to visit his old University and speak to students about starting a company and what is set to come in the future.
We were also invited along to Ukie Student Conference to talk about our journey so far. We made some great connections and met some really inspiring students.
November 2015 – Mintel Office Launch & TEDx Tottenham
In November we worked with Mintel, to introduce VR companies and developers to their team. We helped them open their new office with a night of VR fun. We had a great time. We look forward to growing our relationship with the Mintel Team.
We also have to say a massive thank you all our VR friends who came along to help us out.
December 2015 – TechCrunch Disrupt London, Insomnia 56 & Ravensbourne Announcement
In December we worked with TechCrunch Disrupt London on their Startup Alley. We helped them bring together Virtual Reality startup companies to TechCrunch and give them a chance to show what they have been working on. It was a great opportunity to give other startup companies a platform.
We also worked with Merge and Game Digital this month at Insomnia56 representing the headset and helping to promote and sell it before Christmas. We had a great time, we look forward to working with the great Merge team in the new year.
To finish off the year we announced our partnership with Ravensbourne University on their two day VR film making festival – VRUK.
2015 has been an incredible journey for the Virtual Umbrella team, we have a lot of drive to make 2016 even better. We must say a massive thank you to everyone who has been there along the way. Without you, we wouldn’t be where we are now.
We wish you all a fantastic New Year. Let’s make 2016 one of the best years for VR.