Without a doubt technology is transforming the way businesses are run on a greater scale than ever before. New digital tools and creative implementations of technology have disrupted many industries like finance, healthcare and logistics, and are threatening to disrupt many more.
However, technology alone cannot disrupt an industry, it takes the convergence of the creative and business industries to facilitate change. Without creativity or business, technology is for the sake of technology. But with every exciting step forward there are consequences, risks and endless opportunities.
For Pause 2017, the second day of the three-day festival will focus on the technology industry, with the theme of ‘Develop Successful Products.’ Pause aims to deep dive into the technology industry and highlight why technological innovations are relevant to today’s industries and how they are also disrupting them.
Founder of Pause, George Hedon says the festival will look at the some of the technology that creatives are using to transform concepts into real business outcomes.
“Technology has become the fabric of people’s everyday lives, internet is the bond between all industries, we’re all relying on the internet,” said Hedon.
In looking at how companies use technology to go from concept to market, Pause will be hosting a workshop with HAX Accelerator, the world’s first and largest hardware accelerator. Representatives from HAX will work closely with attendees, offering them a behind the scenes look at how to build a successful product for global domination.
Attendees will also gain insight on how to use China to bootstrap a products developments and how crowdfunding can be leveraged to get quick product iteration and boost market penetration.
Tech day will also play host to a panel on ‘Empathy and Emotion in VR.’ Sitting on the panel will be Stephanie Andrews, creative director at Liminal VR [Virtual Reality]. Andrews will lead a discussion around how VR tech products can be taken beyond the entertainment industry. She will look at how creativity is fuelling this sector and how businesses can tap into this tech to improve customer service and outcomes.
Liminal VR is part of the new frontier of VR tech and at Pause, Andrews will be talking about where the potential of this technology lies. With the convergence of creative and technology industries, Andrews will discuss how immersive media gives people the opportunity to understand other people’s positions in the world. To provide people with an understanding of culture, place and time, VR can recreate environments, emotions and real-world events to put people in the scene of action.
“I think they’ll be a discussion on either side of the idea of whether or not VR can be effective,” said Andrews. “Is there too much hype around this idea and how do we get people to want to have these transformational experiences that may change their mind or perspective on these things?”
In looking at empathy and emotion in VR, the panel will present ideas around how businesses can use emotion to generate brand awareness and activation. “If it’s something like tourism, archaeology, history or if your business has anything to do with those subjects than VR is a perfect medium.”
Liminal VR is also currently working on a range of projects that look at how to build experiences that change a person’s cognitive and emotional state.
“For instance if someone is feeling anxious and they want to calm down, we’re developing products that people can use for a brief period of time, and it might help get them back on track to where they want to be mentally and emotionally,” explained Andrews.
In looking at tech products as a whole, Tech day will also give entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their ideas, whether they be in VR, artificial intelligence, machine learning or any other tech field.
Entrepreneurs will have the chance to pitch at Pause’s Cube venue in front of a range of judges working at some of Australia’s leading investors from Pozible, Rampersand, EM Advisory and Carthona Capital.
Pause Tech day will help entrepreneurs discover whether or not they have built successful products that display the fusion of creativity and technology. Judges will also be looking for ideas that have the potential to transform into viable business models.
Pitches will encompass everything from seedling ideas to fully formed startup strategies, and social enterprise to academic exploration.
Pause Fest 2017 will take place at Federation Square on the 8th-10th of February 2017. Apply here to Pause 2017 StartUp Expo.
Image: Pause 2017. Source: Hexo+.