4. As women founders do you feel that VR has offered new opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups to find a place in tech? And how has it?

Jordan. Although VR as a technology isn’t actually “new,” most of the major hardware players didn’t introduce VR consoles until last year, so it does feel like the industry is still pretty greenfield, with opportunities for everyone to make a mark. VR, AR and mixed reality are domains ripe for equal representation of women and other diversity groups. We’re a female-led company, and we believe that we can build an amazing game with an amazing team that really reflects the diversity of society we live in. I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t met some female applicants who didn’t have the same confidence level as some of their male counterparts; I’d say their skills were the same, but the confidence wasn’t, and as an employer, I want to address that.

5. How does the VR community in Vancouver compare to the many places that you traveled to in order to do your initial research? How are you as a team helping to grow it?

Lee. Vancouver has just been an awesome city to grow our company. It’s got a unique combination of the technology know-how from Silicon Valley and the entertainment skillset of LA, but in Vancouver – which, if you haven’t been, is just a beautiful city. We, along with our kids, came to Vancouver from Australia on the Canadian government start-up Visa program. We are hiring a lot of young employees who are developing VR expertise on the job.

6. What resources and groups helped you to get to where the team is today?

Lee. The VR community seems to be pretty collaborative; it’s in all of our best interests to see VR technology take off, so we’re all rooting for each other. We’re part of the global association for VR/AR, the Vancouver VR Community, and the awesome tech accelerator program SFU VentureLabs that has hooked us up with a ton of connections. Plus, the local universities and design programs are full of great co-op programs and graduates with solid design skills.

7. What issues did you face in developing Run Dorothy Run?

Jordan. VR is still relatively new, so there’s a lot to be learned – and most of it without a manual! We worked incredibly hard to overcome the motion sickness challenges some experience with VR. Almost no one has years of experience doing VR yet – so whether our team is students or seasoned developers, we’re all learning together, and what really matters is the belief that you can do what you haven’t seen done before.