At the moment, people are still confused about what Metaverse looks like and how it functions. There are so many unknowns that are yet to be unravelled which makes it difficult to predict how entrepreneurs can take advantage of the opportunities that arise from it. However, entrepreneurs cannot wait for the right moment to come, they must gain an understanding of the Metaverse and realize the potential it has for them.
There is no doubt that the world has become virtual and digital, more than ever. People don’t leave their homes without their phones, all their house is connected via fancy apps and they spend more time with technology than with their family members. It all indicates that the Metaverse has surely arrived. Of course, it has a lot more to offer with all the digital wardrobes and avatars. Entrepreneurs need to find how they can use this technology to improve and enhance their varied interactions and experiences with the physical world.
Metaverse has fast-tracked the progress made by science and technology. Meeting taking place in metaspaces, workspaces with hologram gears, and a lot more has already started to happen. A few years ago it felt like it was going to take years to experience but that has now become a reality. These new realities are making space in our everyday lives. It’s easy to get carried away with all the possibilities that Metaverse can bring to the table.
What is Metaverse?
The term originated from a science fiction novel in 1992, titled “Snow Crash”, in which “metaverse” was derived from the combination of meta and universe. It has become a buzzword now and it reflects the exaggerated development of related technologies. There is no clear definition of the Metaverse. Probably Mark Zuckerberg understands Metaverse better than anyone else and he defines it as “an embodied internet that you’re inside of rather than just looking at it.” In simple terms, Metaverse is a shared world that is driven by virtual experiences and products that are highly interactive and immersive.
PlayStation Home, Second Life, and Roblox are all notable examples of online games that can be categorized under “Metaverse”. The world of the metaverse revolves around avatars, VR, and media – all of which are curated within virtual places where the avatars can interact with each other and move around different places. When people think of Metaverse, the first thing that comes to their mind is immersion in virtual reality, but it has a lot more to offer.
The use of the Metaverse spiked because of the pandemic when people started spending even more time in their virtual worlds. It also coincided with the time when Facebook renamed itself, Meta. However, the metaverse has been there for more than almost two decades now, most prominently in gaming platforms. The first “Metaverse” concept was experienced in Second Life, which was a virtual world platform that was launched in 2003. It incorporated many aspects that we can see in the latest Metaverses. It had a social media element in which people can represent themselves through an avatar. Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Habbo Hotel, and Fortnite all followed the trend but probably the creation of Roblox connected the world of marketing to it.
However, with time the applications of Metaverse have expanded. In 2017, Microsoft acquired AltspaceVR, a virtual reality company. It has been using Microsoft Teams for holding virtual meetings with avatars and other features.
The most significant development in the Metaverse has been brought about by Mark Zuckerberg. In 2019, Facebook launched Facebook Horizon, a social VR world. Two years later, Mark Zuckerberg emphasized his commitment to developing a Metaverse by renaming “Facebook Horizon” to “Meta Platforms”. It’s just the beginning as most of the platforms are under development.
What is a Metaverse entrepreneur?
A Metaverse Entrepreneur identifies opportunities within the emerging Metaverse economy and develops new products, services, and businesses to meet the growing demand. Metaverse entrepreneurs leverage their understanding of the Metaverse and its underlying technologies to create unique and innovative user experiences. They often collaborate with other entrepreneurs, developers, and investors to fund and grow their businesses.
To succeed as a Metaverse entrepreneur, one must have a solid understanding of the Metaverse ecosystem, the ability to recognize emerging trends, and the willingness to take risks to create new opportunities. Metaverse entrepreneurs will play a significant role in shaping the future of the Metaverse. As technology continues to evolve, we expect to see more entrepreneurs entering the space.
Why should entrepreneurs care about Metaverse?
The proposed application for Metaverse is not just restricted to the social media or gaming industry. It has a lot to offer for education, work productivity, fashion, e-commerce, real estate, and many other industries. Entrepreneurs can predict and foresee many changes that may occur due to its applications in different fields and if they can capitalize on the first mover advantage then a lot is at stake.
The Metaverse has the potential to penetrate different aspects of life. In terms of workplace productivity, Metaverse can help in developing collaborative environments, reducing perceived differences, and uniting the workforce. It eliminates the barriers and limitations of geographical locations and can potentially impact the culture of a company. The most apparent and immediate impact of the Metaverse can be observed through the advantages it offers to remote workplaces.
Metaverse will give rise to certain types of hardware technologies such as holographic, headsets, and smart glasses. The latest addition to such devices includes virtual reality touch gloves that aim to bring the element of feel to the Metaverse. Imagine people could feel the texture of the clothes in the virtual world and the impact it can have on the purchase decision. The gloves cost around $5,000 which is almost five times the price of an average laptop. Therefore, it can have a significant influence on the e-commerce industry because the application of the Metaverse can overcome the challenges and limitations of online shopping.
The entire economic infrastructure is about to change in the Metaverse. People have to pay for services and goods in the Metaverse and that means there will be new payment methods and structures that will emerge. It will go beyond the use of cryptocurrencies as mainstream financial institutions, such as PayPal and Visa will begin to play an active role in the Metaverse. The state regulation will have to be minimized because it needs a decentralized financial structure to support the currency exchange and processing of transactions.
Another promising application of Metaverse is in the education and learning industry. The learning experience for students can be enhanced through the integration of VR effects that allows students to have a much more intensive experience of the online lecture. During the pandemic, every educational institution had to move towards online classes but many were not able to deliver effective lessons. However, the quality of lessons in the Metaverse can be quite similar to the ones delivered in physical classrooms. Metaverse promises to bring a new era to the educational world where students from all over the world can connect and attend lectures of experts in the field at affordable prices.
The experience that Metaverse provides to the users allows them to completely immerse themselves in a virtual world where they can express themselves differently. It allows them to have fun by attending virtual concerts and exhibitions that they could not have attended otherwise. Popular music celebrities have already started to embrace the Metaverse. Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber all have realized the potential that virtual online concerts can offer to them. They can be represented through digital avatars and millions from all over the world can attend the virtual concert through their avatars.
Metaverse needs companies to collaborate as they cannot build it alone. Therefore, there will be a rise in partnerships among creators, entrepreneurs, businesses, and policymakers. Many entrepreneurs can see this as an opening to bring new ideas to the table and possibly be acquired by technological giants. In this way, they can make huge earnings within a short time. The government and public offices also need to play an active role to encourage entrepreneurs to take up the challenge and come up with ideas that can be integrated with the Metaverse.
It is important to realize that a significant proportion of the world’s population has been living in a hybrid world, specifically in the past two years. Everyone is more connected than ever, from video calls to messaging. The Metaverse is aimed to make that experience even better by enhancing the physical world experiences. Business opportunities follow consumer behaviour. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to embrace the Metaverse. They have to stick to the basics but change their approach as they have to respond to the changing needs of society.
Conclusion
There are plenty of opportunities for Entrepreneurs as Creators in the Metaverse. However, they can go beyond the role of creators by identifying the opportunities and issues that will come up because of the cultural shift. Metaverse will change the world with its disruptive technology. We witnessed during the pandemic that entrepreneurs were able to capitalize on the disruption in different sectors other than just healthcare, we can expect the same with Metaverse.
Metaverse brings vast opportunities for entrepreneurs to find new businesses. Metaverse is by far the most significant development that has been made in online evolution. It has implications for all industries and entrepreneurs cannot afford to miss out on the potential it has to offer. Entrepreneurs need to focus on embracing the combination of physical and digital by identifying how Metaverse can be integrated into our real lives. It could also be the other way around as well, how can our real lives be integrated into the Metaverse? The possibilities are limitless!
