When people hear the words “virtual reality,” one of the first things that probably pops in their minds are sci-fi movies set in the far future. What they don’t realize is that, nowadays, a lot of this technology has already started to blend with our daily lives — from video games and education to medicine and manufacturing.
Indeed, numerous businesses are already exploring the opportunities presented by the fusion of the real, physical world, and the virtual world. According to Capgemini, 43% of manufacturing companies believe virtual reality will become mainstream in their organization within the next three years, and 82% of companies that have implemented AR/VR report that the benefits have exceeded expectations.
On top of that, Facebook’s rebranding as “Meta” led to the rise of one of the year’s most popular buzzwords — the Metaverse. For those unfamiliar with the term, Metaverse is an innovative concept that allows users to interact with other users and a computer-generated environment in a virtual-reality space. For Jessica Stocker, the Metaverse is a brave new space brimming with entrepreneurial opportunities.
Jessica Stocker is an accomplished real estate agent who recently began to explore an emerging trend inside Metaverse — a virtual real estate market. “Three years ago, I was looking for new exciting entrepreneurial projects, so I started investing in crypto,” she said. “That’s when a friend, who was an early investor, introduced me to Decentraland, and I discovered the concept of virtual real estate.”
Decentraland, founded in 2015, is a software platform based on the Ethereum blockchain. It enables users to purchase digital real estate using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and participate in a variety of games within the virtual world.
While the concept of virtual real estate is relatively similar to real-world real estate, Stocker points out that the technology behind Decentraland is quite new and that people who want to explore these kinds of ventures should exercise caution. “The Decentraland technology is so exciting, but it’s still super new,” shared Stocker. “It will certainly evolve and change over time. There is a possibility that Decentraland won’t be the Metaverse that has the best graphics moving forward. There may be another Metaverse that comes out with better graphics, which is more accessible to the everyday person and easier to monetize. Who knows.”
In the meantime, she shared with us what she believes are three key components of being a successful entrepreneur.
Be Creative and Think “Outside the Box”
For Jessica Stocker, creativity and entrepreneurship are like peanut butter and jelly — they’re always a winning combination. “Those who are creative and think outside the box will surely succeed in everything they do,” she said. “Metaverse opens so many new doors and business opportunities, and it can be an excellent opportunity for both existing and future entrepreneurs.”
Do the Research and Always Stay Up-to-Date
Stocker points out that an entrepreneur’s greatest enemy is fear of the unknown as unknown and uncertainty are things that every entrepreneur is waging war with on a daily basis. However, she explained that whenever she encounters something new, she remembers Ralph Emerson’s quote: “Knowledge is the antidote to fear” and starts doing research and educating herself on the topic.
“No matter how hard the first steps are, and no matter how many obstacles are in your way, there is nothing you can’t overcome if you have enough knowledge,” she said. “Even though I am a real estate agent in the physical world, the Metaverse has slightly different rules, and I had to learn them. I spent countless nights doing research on what works and what doesn’t, comparing strategies with other people. That’s the only path to success.”
Don’t Be Afraid to Seize the Moment
On top of that, Stocker has one more piece of advice for those starting out in the entrepreneurial world. “Things don’t happen over the course of one night; it’s not possible,” she shared. “Time management, repetition, consistency — those are the three things you need to have. Also, don’t measure results right away. Success is a compounding effect. It may not happen immediately, but if you are not afraid to seize your moment, it will definitely happen.”
It’s necessary to keep in mind, however, that Jessica Stocker is not a financial advisor and that anyone looking to begin investing does so at their own risk.
