Welcome to our Yulio VR Employee Highlight Reel where we introduce to you to an on the team - and the people whose ideas and sense of how VR and AR should work have shaped Yulio from the ground up.
The Yulio VR expert team are working in roles that for the most part didn’t exist 5+ years ago, the VR job market was pretty minuscule. So the variety of experiences that led people here have created both expertise and variety in our team. And our history may lead you to the perfect VR job.
Jim is essential to our wonderful team at Yulio!This week, we're sitting down with our Presdient, Jim Stelter! Jim is our out-of-the-box leader who effortlessly connects with our clients, and is currently paving the way for VR adoption. One aspect that Jim is passionate about is demonstrating how our Yulio software can truly transform visualizing a project. With his dedication for making VR as accessible and easy to understand, Jim's demo of our Yulio software helps everyone in any stage understand how truly transformative VR is. Our commitment to our clients and prioritizing their needs is a testament to the quality of Jim's outstanding leadership.
So, Jim tell me a bit about yourself.
I went to Michigan State University, and I absolutely loved it. Paid my way through college by working as a security guard and janitor at a department store and learned a tremendous amount from that. When I was studying at Michigan State, I played soccer, also known as football for our European friends, and was their team’s captain for 3 years. With soccer, I had the opportunity to travel around the US, playing on different teams, and to also fall in love with the woman who would one day be my wife! I have three children, three grandchildren, and three grandchildren dogs.
How did you find Yulio?
So Rob Kendal is one of the co-founders of Yulio and founder of their sister company KiSP. I’ve known Rob for some time, and over the years I have been very impressed with KiSP -- they have proved to be a leader in technology across the board. Since becoming friends, about a year ago, we started talking about Yulio which has led me to my role here. It was watching the company grow, and really taking the lead in technological applications in the furniture world where I became excited about Yulio.
Tell me a bit about your role at Yulio
I’m leading the charge on customer integration with the large account base that we have -- Steelcase, Herman Miller etc. Being on the front line, I help dealers and manufacturers understand how VR can help achieve their business goal, ultimately benefitting their business. With our focus always being on the customer, we want to make sure the experiences we are giving to our clients are innovative and immersive. Although it's not always clear, it's my job to work with the dealers and manufacturers in helping them understand how VR will make a world of a difference. We need to make sure that virtual and digital reality is something they need to be pursuing, which will ultimately help their own customer experience. It’s getting easier since cost is coming down, it’s more accessible, and other applications are emerging.
One of the biggest lessons I have ever learned was that above all, you must concentrate on the customer experience. This has been reinforced over the years in terms of the success I had at Steelcase and Enscape, but also personal experiences I had and I’m sure everyone has in dealing with products that you buy.
From the standpoint of leadership, you must involve the entire team and keep it simple and understand their point of view. Empathy -- or the ability to understand -- how people feel about you and what your skillset is, you must understand yourself and others to achieve your goals.
Tell me a bit about your first experience with VR?
My first encounter with VR was at a museum where I got to experience the Amazon river. It was a truly transformative experience. Of course, you can read about the Amazon river and you can look at pictures, but VR took that learning experience to a whole new level. When you put on a headset and you’re paddling a canoe down a river, that learning is tremendously deeper in the immersive experience, and helped me understand the Amazon river more.
Even before that experience, I was already interested in education and how people learn in the most effective manner. VR offers that learning experience, through experiential learning. Take, for example, tieing a shoe. If you describe the process versus going through the process with someone, they will learn much better with experiencing it. My time at the museum had a real lasting effect on me and how I view VR.
If you got to dream up any VR experience and immerse yourself into it, what would you choose?
I think it would be having a conversation with my dad who passed away around 20 years ago -- that would be great. Those interactions are the most important experiences of my life and I would love to be able to go back to them when I feel lost and talk it over with my dad. I read recently you can keep people alive in your dreams, and it’s much more realistic if you do this in virtual reality. People are now using 3D videography with their loved ones, recording their memories in a more realistic way. I would love it if I could do a 3D recording of having a conversation with my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren for them to look back to in the future.
Outside of your VR job, what are your hobbies?
I love photography! One thing I love to do is photographing my family jumping off buildings and seeing our reactions. Some may call it strange, but I absolutely love it. I also love cycling, road bikes, and working out every morning. It doesn't show but I do!
What’s your favorite Friday afternoon office game that we’ve played?
Run around ping pong! I made everyone start to run around, hit the ball and run around. Here’s a picture of it!
Got our blood pumping for the weekend!
We’d like to say a big thanks to Jim for taking the time to sit with us for a little Q&A about himself! Stay tuned for some more interviews with the staff that power Yulio, and discover how we’re all learning more every day about our VR job!
If you want to learn more about the VR/AR industry, and things to consider when you’re looking into VR solutions, then sign up for our FREE 5-day email course to get up-to-speed with VR. Want to try Yulio for yourself? Sign up for a free 30-day trial with full access to our feature set!
