Startup Spotlight: People Tech Revolution
People Tech Revolution (PTR) is a tech company on a mission to deepen people’s understanding of each other, and themselves, with immersive VR training experiences focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. Co-Founder & Joint CEO of PTR, Leonie Sanderson, sheds light on the inspiration behind PTR, the benefits of being headquartered in Australia, and provides advice for fellow entrepreneurs.
What motivated you to create PTR, and how did the team come together?
We could see how powerful VR is at giving people “a-ha moments” and wanted to create training that has an impact on people’s behaviours.
Simon is our Co-Founder and CEO of PTR — we have been working in the social innovation space for years. We began with a small team of former interns and people whose values align with ours. We’ve grown the team slowly over the past two years with a strong focus on diversity.
You’re headquartered in Australia. How are you capitalising on this location to the benefit of your business?
Australia is situated at a significant distance from any other location, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. It’s kind of like being in a big prototyping sandpit. We’re also really lucky that the extended reality (XR) community in Australia is so advanced and supportive. That’s been very helpful for us.
I would give all entrepreneurs, young and old, the same advice: You don’t have to be a unicorn. Be a donkey instead!
What is your proudest accomplishment?
It’s hard to choose! It would have to be two recent projects. We created a VR experience for a company aimed at supporting young women entrepreneurs with pitching. The app not only looks beautiful but there is also an elevator space to practice your short pitches as well as a ‘shark tank’ style environment where you pitch to a panel of investors and answer their questions. In the other project, we worked with a major healthcare company in Australia to develop VR training that integrates into their existing training. The evaluation showed great results, with a strong use case for VR to improve communication in health settings.
What has been your biggest highlight of the Aerospace Xelerated Program this far?
It has been so great to meet other businesses working in the aerospace industry. The program has opened our eyes to different possibilities and we really have enjoyed every second of networking and improving our business.
Thank you, Leonie, for sharing more about People Tech Revolution with the AX community!
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