It’s been a whirlwind. In the 15 months I was there, Jaunt tripled in size, moved offices (twice!), launched the Jaunt One camera, shipped the visually striking Jaunt app for iOS and GearVR, released over 30 compelling pieces of VR content, opened a Los Angeles studio, raised $65 million in funding from influential investors, and more.
Why am I choosing to leave? Simply put, the role I envisioned having at Jaunt and what it ended up being weren’t aligned. It’s ok, it’s nobody’s fault, and I’m still a huge fan of the company and the people. I’m pleased with what I was able to accomplish during my time there.
I’ve done a lot of soul-searching leading up to my decision to leave Jaunt. It’s a hell of a thing to leave a well-paying job at a well-funded startup in search of greener pastures. Given my interests and skills, though, I need to be a bigger part of a smaller company for now. For the time being I’ll be working out of the Silicon Valley VR (SVVR) office in Redwood City. Karl Krantz has graciously offered a desk and access to all the VR toys there as I figure out what’s next.
While at SVVR I’ll be helping the team advance their goals. At the same time, I’ll be seeking out co-founders interested in creating unique products for VR. If this interests you, my skills and experience are detailed on my LinkedIn profile. If you’re in the VR space (or would like to be), let’s connect up. I’m reachable on LinkedIn, or DM me on my Twitter account.
I may fail. Even with the right attitude, team, funding, industry, product, technology, effort… success is never guaranteed. With VR and AR poised to explode, though, this is the time to try.
Much more soon…
Originally published at medium.com on January 11, 2016.