Makers of The Metaverse: John Aghayan Of EMCEE On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

…. Surround yourself with like-minded people who believe in this vision of the future and believe in you. Sharing information and excitement about where we are heading is important when dreaming of the impossible.

The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewing John Aghayan.

John Aghayan is the founder and CEO of EMCEE, a cutting-edge retail platform in the creator economy. With a background in the fashion and retail industry, John witnessed a gap in the wholesale model and was determined to create an alternative distribution model. This mission, along with his realization that today’s most powerful retailers are influencers, led him to develop EMCEE, an online shopping platform where influencers are the retailers.

John studied business and finance at The European Business School in Paris. Before returning to Paris and embracing the world of retail and entrepreneurship, John worked at AXA Financial in New York, while subsequently working in private equity in London investing in renewable energy. During his time in Paris, John’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to found multiple companies within the fashion and retail space including Pop Up Storz, a community marketplace for short-term retail space, and EBE, a company offering high-end, made-to-order outerwear. Upon his return to New York in January 2019, John launched Le Board, a co-retailing platform where brands share the retail costs.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?

I was raised in Paris where I was lucky enough to study at an international school and grow up with friends from all around the world. It gave me access to global perspectives and exposed me to a range of diverse people and cultures. There was no question in my mind that in my adult life I would have to move to New York City, the only place in the world that would reflect the multicultural point of view that I was raised with. After I moved to New York City, I became obsessed with the possibilities that the metaverse would unlock. I saw the metaverse as an opportunity to redefine social interaction by giving people exposure to different cultures and access to a global mindset similar to the one I grew up with.

Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

NPR’s podcast, “How I Built This” is one that I’ve enjoyed listening to for years. I love to hear the stories of successful entrepreneurs and gain insight into strategic business perspectives beyond the industry I work in.

Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.

On a trip to New York City, as I was walking through SoHo, I took note of how many empty retail spaces there were in a city where retail should normally thrive. At this moment, I also thought about how traditional e-commerce is stuck in the transactional search-based user experience that was created by Amazon more than 20 years ago. Both of these realizations inspired me to rethink the future of commerce, creating a holistic, social-first experience where both physical retail and e-commerce can become one with technology. Much like when the first malls opened, shopping will again become fun and entertaining through AR/VR/MR.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?

It was interesting to see how uninterested investors were about our vision before Meta put the “metaverse” on everyone’s radar. Considering the entire ethos of Web3 goes against all that big tech stands for, it is funny that it took one of the biggest tech companies in the world to validate this new frontier.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

This isn’t really a funny mistake, but it is an important lesson I learned along the way as an entrepreneur that I think would be valuable for other leaders to hear. The lesson comes from our first and best investor, who said, “There’s no substitute for good people.” When you first start a business, you’re doing a lot on your own. As we continue to grow and scale at EMCEE, I am so grateful for the diverse team of innovators and leaders that we have been able to recruit along the way. With their help and knowledge, EMCEE will redefine the future of commerce.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

One of the things that has impacted my life the most has been practicing meditation with affirmations. I reached out to a Guru because I wanted to work on a personal issue that, despite my best intentions, I was unable to fix on my own. This issue I was experiencing was being short-tempered with my parents, who have given me nothing but love and understanding my entire life. One specific moment that was causing my frustration was when they asked for help with tech-related issues. While I was aware that this frustration was irrational, I was unable to change my behavior on my own.

I turned to a Guru to create a custom-built meditation to help me adjust my behavior. Through this, I have started to find joy in teaching my parents new things about tech, which in turn inspired me to want to bring access and education to all people with this new perspective. Web3 currently feels so foreign and inaccessible to many, but all it takes is an approach of patience, understanding and accessibility to expose the masses to a whole new world.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

At EMCEE we are building the capital city of the metaverse; a virtual world that will foster entrepreneurship, support community and make it easier than ever to start a business without any physical boundaries. Our goal is to democratize what currently feels inaccessible to most, breed creativity, and completely redefine human interaction, commerce, and entertainment.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?

• The ability to create new businesses and new business models.

I’m excited to see what people come up with when starting businesses in the metaverse. Entrepreneurs were once limited to a physical retail space, and then the internet made it easier to sell goods and services online. By combining the best of both worlds in the metaverse, there will be no limit to creativity when selling physical and virtual goods, or experiences.

• AR in retail environments.

Physical retail will take on a whole new life when we’re able to tie the experience back to the metaverse through AR. This will allow brands to drive traffic to physical stores, enhance storytelling, and allow for robust art direction, which will create less waste and a more sustainable physical shopping experience.

• Artificial intelligence and virtual humans.

Artificial intelligence is advancing to the point where machine learning will allow for things such as the re-creation of historical figures as avatars, or even creating a virtual friend for ourselves. Engaging with AI and virtual humans will become the norm, and it will enhance our experiences in everything from education to day-to-day social interactions.

What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?

• Monopolization.

We need to do everything in our power to prevent big tech from owning everything and gatekeeping smaller startups and thought-leaders from entering the industry. If one major tech player owns the whole space, this creates a centralized authority and puts users’ data privacy at risk along with many other issues.

• A dystopian future.

Sci-fi movies have portrayed the metaverse as the beginning of a dystopian future where people do not engage in the physical world any longer. While that seems like it may be a distant future issue, we can work against this by building complementary experiences in the real and virtual world that will entice users to engage with both.

• Impact on younger generations.

Much like social media, this will be a new place for young people to engage with each other; however, as with any new platform there can be unforeseen long-term risks with development, trolling and mental health. We won’t be able to see most of these issues until they are happening, but we can do our best to not repeat the mistakes that have been made by current big tech companies and their business models.

I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?

During the pandemic, we saw the kind of burnout and Zoom fatigue remote workers could face from interacting with colleagues through a screen all day. Remote work is here to stay, so being able to adapt to this new way of interacting virtually and create new tools to make it feel more normal is something exciting that is on the horizon.

Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?

Fashion is one of the least sustainable industries, creating waste through production, shipping and ever-changing trends. Through AR and VR, more value will be placed on digital clothing items, therefore greatly reducing the vast amount of waste currently created.

There are also multiple ways that we can avoid creating unwanted waste from live events and retail experiences. With AR and VR technology, real life experiences can be completely designed and enhanced digitally, creating less waste than current event production.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?

One myth is the idea that no one will ever live in a virtual world, but if you look at how much time people spend looking at their screens, we are already there. VR and AR will only enhance people’s current digital experiences and hopefully make us more present when not plugged in.

What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”

• Collaborative mindset.

Creating the future of the internet requires a variety of skill sets, which is why developers, designers, producers, and creators all need to collaborate. Learn how to work with others, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and then fill in the gaps with other people who can meet those needs.

• Community.

Surround yourself with like-minded people who believe in this vision of the future and believe in you. Sharing information and excitement about where we are heading is important when dreaming of the impossible.

• Ability to dream.

There are infinite possibilities with no physical boundaries in the metaverse, so it is important not to get stuck on current conceptual limitations because those will not exist in this new world. Is location that important in a world where you can teleport? Does virtual clothing have to have a zipper? Should you walk when you can fly? Don’t forget to dream.

• Agility.

In order to find success in this industry, it is important to be flexible and adaptable to the constantly changing environment. There are new products, tools, and innovations being launched and developed daily, so being agile and willing to adapt to new technology is crucial to thrive in this space.

• Focus

It’s easy to get distracted by what other people or companies are doing, but it’s necessary to focus on the consumer or business need you set out to solve and stay committed to your vision.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The movement I would like to inspire is exactly what I’m creating right now with EMCEE. At EMCEE, we are on a mission to democratize Web3 by offering a platform without gatekeeping that is accessible to all. We’re creating user-friendly consumer entry points to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3, and empowering our users to realize their limitless potential as creators without overwhelming them.

Behind the scenes, we’re also working on a series of US pop-ups and eventually a flagship destination as well as international locations so we can expose people from a wide range of backgrounds to everything that Web3 has to offer. These spaces will be physical hubs for Web3 and Metaverse education, commerce and community building.

We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

I would have lunch with Tim Sweeney because last December he tweeted: “Life’s short, so challenge the world’s most powerful tech company and fly a pirate flag above your headquarters.” That really stuck with me and I would love to continue the conversation about the fight for a fair and open metaverse.

Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!

---

Makers of The Metaverse: John Aghayan Of EMCEE On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.