Latest / Skin Anarchy / Revolutionizing Online Shopping with Neha Singh, CEO of Obsess: The Future of Virtual Stores
Transcript
- 0:05SPEAKER_00: Hi guys, welcome back.
- 0:07SPEAKER_00: This is your Anarchy.
- 0:08SPEAKER_00: This is your host, Ekna, and my guest today is somebody who's truly an expert when it comes to the metaverse and all of the you know buzz that's been around the new way of shopping right now, especially in the beauty industry and the way that we shop as consumers online.
- 0:24SPEAKER_00: And so I can't wait to chat with her and learn from her and also just learn about this amazing new technology that everyone is getting on board for.
- 0:31SPEAKER_00: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Neha Singh, who is the founder and CEO of Obsessed.
- 0:37SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show, Neha.
- 0:38SPEAKER_00: I'm so honored to host you.
- 0:40SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Ecta.
- 0:41SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited to be here.
- 0:42SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for having me.
- 0:44SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's my it's my pleasure, and I'm really excited to learn from you actually and and understand what is the metaverse and you know what are you guys doing at Obsessed that is just changing the game.
- 0:54SPEAKER_00: Because I know you're working with a lot of really, really great brands, and I can't wait to learn all about that.
- 0:59SPEAKER_00: But I would love to start with you, Neha, and your background and how everything began and how you created Obsess.
- 1:05SPEAKER_00: If you could walk us down memory lane.
- 1:07SPEAKER_02: Yeah, of course.
- 1:08SPEAKER_02: Um, so my background before studying uh Obsess is in engineering and fashion.
- 1:13SPEAKER_02: So I'm a computer scientist by training.
- 1:16SPEAKER_02: Uh, I got my graduate degree in computer science uh from MIT.
- 1:19SPEAKER_02: And then I was a software engineer um and tech lead at Google for five years.
- 1:24SPEAKER_02: Um I worked there on Google AdWords and on Google News products.
- 1:28SPEAKER_02: But basically, while I was there, I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer because I love fashion.
- 1:33SPEAKER_02: So I started taking fashion design classes on the side uh at FIT here in New York.
- 1:40SPEAKER_02: And um it was fun, but I realized after a couple of semesters that I'm really bad at drawing.
- 1:45SPEAKER_02: Uh so then I decided to stick to the tech side of fashion and um joined the startup that was a luxury e-commerce company.
- 1:54SPEAKER_02: And um I led engineering and product there for two years.
- 1:57SPEAKER_02: But um, I was one of the early employees, and one of my first tasks was to build the e-commerce website for this company.
- 2:04SPEAKER_02: And I really wanted to create an experience that was different because we were selling these really unique products from unique brands that all had like unique stories.
- 2:14SPEAKER_02: But what I realized was, you know, all the e-commerce platforms from Shopify to Salesforce Commerce Cloud, which back then was demandware, but they all give you this template, right?
- 2:25SPEAKER_02: Like if you go to any shopping site today, it's a grid of thumbnails on a white background.
- 2:31SPEAKER_02: And it was very difficult from the technical side to create something that was different because this was sort of like the framework that you had to work in.
- 2:40SPEAKER_02: So that was my realization is that no wonder all um shopping sites today look pretty much the same because the platforms they are built on are giving them these kind of constraints.
- 2:52SPEAKER_02: And if you want to build something different, you either have to hire your own large engineering team or a big agency and you know, basically start from scratch and build something custom.
- 3:04SPEAKER_02: So that was my learning from there.
- 3:05SPEAKER_02: Uh, and then after that, I was the head of product at Vogue for four years.
- 3:10SPEAKER_02: Um, I was the first tech person uh they ever hired.
- 3:13SPEAKER_02: And as I love fashion, it was a dream job for me.
- 3:16SPEAKER_02: Uh so I launched all of the Vogue digital properties, including Vogue.com, Vogue Runway, um, their mobile apps.
- 3:22SPEAKER_02: And I've worked with many advertisers or many brands who were our advertisers in the magazine.
- 3:28SPEAKER_02: And um, by talking to them, really kind of realized how much they were struggling with their online experience.
- 3:35SPEAKER_02: I saw them putting so much investment into their physical touch points with customers, you know, like with beautiful stores and fashion shows and events.
- 3:43SPEAKER_02: But then when you went to their website, it was pretty underwhelming because they didn't have the tools to express the create their creativity in the same way that they are able to do physically in their digital channels.
- 3:56SPEAKER_02: So that's what kind of really inspired me to, you know, solve this problem of how do we make online shopping much more engaging, you know, make it unique for every brand, just like when you walk into a real store, it's unique for every brand.
- 4:10SPEAKER_02: And how do we just make it more uh fun for consumers?
- 4:14SPEAKER_02: And then um, as I was kind of thinking about that, I discovered virtual reality as sort of a new and emerging technology.
- 4:23SPEAKER_02: And, you know, that's kind of one of the components of the metaverse, but that's sort of where it all started.
- 4:28SPEAKER_02: And I decided to quit work and um, you know, start obsessed.
- 4:32SPEAKER_02: And our mission has always been the same, uh, which is to make um online shopping more experiential.
- 4:39SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, that is such a unique.
- 4:41SPEAKER_00: I I love that you came from this background because I mean, you've seen it all, right, at this point, especially when it comes to beauty and fashion, like you mentioned.
- 4:49SPEAKER_00: There's such a culture around the way that we shop as consumers and and engage with the products and the recommendations.
- 4:56SPEAKER_00: And it's always um been baffling to me, especially now, and I'm sure you've noticed it as well, you know.
- 5:02SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you know, before even uh talking about obsessed was this idea that everything was going digital, you know, and it was a shift for even us as consumers because I mean I still remember back, you know, growing up and having a physical magazine and then finding the recommendations in the magazine and going to an actual store to purchase those products.
- 5:21SPEAKER_00: So it was a whole shift, even for consumers.
- 5:24SPEAKER_00: So I can definitely see where there would be a huge, you know, learning curve in a way, right?
- 5:29SPEAKER_00: Um, with how fast everything went into the digital space.
- 5:33SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
- 5:34SPEAKER_02: And I think for brands, you know, they were um, you know, at that time they were still kind of catching up to digital, as you said, because it all came so fast.
- 5:43SPEAKER_02: But I feel like the other um, you know, point is also that for many brands, the way that digital was done or, you know, still sort of the main standard of e-commerce, it doesn't feel very natural, right?
- 5:58SPEAKER_02: Because they these brands are visual and you're trying to inspire customers.
- 6:02SPEAKER_02: Like it's more than just about the price point.
- 6:06SPEAKER_02: And the digital interface for shopping became very kind of transaction-oriented and it became um, you know, very operational, but it wasn't it wasn't providing the inspiration.
- 6:19SPEAKER_02: And that's why even to this day, you know, like some luxury brands like Chanel, they do not do e-commerce for their fashion because it just doesn't provide the same kind of experience.
- 6:29SPEAKER_02: And so that's kind of really the gap that I need to that I think needs to be bridged.
- 6:35SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
- 6:36SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, I wish they could have like a a try-on thing where you know how you can try on foundation now on websites.
- 6:43SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like I wish they would do that with fashion.
- 6:45SPEAKER_00: That would be phenomenal to see something like that, you know?
- 6:48SPEAKER_00: But yeah, you know, that's that's interesting.
- 6:50SPEAKER_00: So where so what was the original mission then with obsessed?
- 6:53SPEAKER_00: Like, did you know exactly like what you wanted to do from the get-go, or did it, I mean, how did it evolve into what it is now?
- 6:59SPEAKER_00: Because I know you guys are just killing it in the space, and you have some really heavy hitters with you, like brands that you've worked with.
- 7:06SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah, thank you.
- 7:07SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, I would say, like, you know, the metaverse wasn't even a concept or a word or or a trend when we first started.
- 7:15SPEAKER_02: So that that's all uh kind of come more recently.
- 7:18SPEAKER_02: But I would say our mission was clear and has always been the same, but the how we actually solve the problem and how we actually achieve that mission has evolved over time.
- 7:33SPEAKER_02: And um, as I was mentioning, so in the in the early days, we were actually building um shopping experiences for brands on virtual reality headsets.
- 7:43SPEAKER_02: And so um, if you remember, like back in 2017, 2018, there was this big hype around VR, and uh, you know, all the companies were releasing these devices that you would put on your face.
- 7:56SPEAKER_02: And that uh, you know, so that's kind of where we started because uh that really felt like a next generation in terms of being able to interact with uh your environment, but it was too early for all of that, you know, and that didn't get mass adoption, as we know.
- 8:13SPEAKER_02: And mobile continued to be and will continue to be, in my opinion, at least for the next five years, the primary device that you know we are engaging digitally on.
- 8:22SPEAKER_02: So then we kind of pivoted to um to you know building our platform on mobile and desktop and being mobile first, which we launched um in 2019.
- 8:34SPEAKER_02: And essentially what uh what we do is we create 3D virtual stores for brands.
- 8:40SPEAKER_02: So um these are immersive visual experiences that you can navigate through almost like a game, um, and you move around in a 3D space.
- 8:51SPEAKER_02: So it's a completely different construct than you know typical website shopping where you're scrolling down an infinite kind of list of you know flat images.
- 9:00SPEAKER_02: Here you're you know, you're seeing this uh fully immersive experience and you can learn about the brand, you can discover products in a similar way that you would do it um in a retail store.
- 9:12SPEAKER_02: You know, often you go into a store and it's not necessarily, you're not just necessarily looking at the things that you originally went for, you kind of discover like other things and you end up purchasing them, right?
- 9:23SPEAKER_02: And that kind of serendipity doesn't really happen in today's e-commerce interface much.
- 9:29SPEAKER_02: So we want to bring that and the brand storytelling in a very visceral way into online shopping.
- 9:34SPEAKER_02: So that's really what our platform enables brands to do, and they can have these experiences as part of their current e-commerce website.
- 9:42SPEAKER_02: So they can just create a new page on their site, and this page becomes their kind of virtual world.
- 9:48SPEAKER_02: And um with that, it's makes it really easy because the other kind of thing we learned was you, of course, have to make it make the technology super accessible to the brands and super accessible to the consumers.
- 10:01SPEAKER_02: So now, you know, any brand, whatever e-commerce platform they use, whether they're using Shopify or Salesforce or Magento, they can just add this as an additional capability and really provide a whole new experience to their consumers.
- 10:15SPEAKER_02: And the reason that it matters is actually today, more than 80% of consumers identify themselves as gamers.
- 10:23SPEAKER_00: And so I was just gonna say that.
- 10:26SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 10:27SPEAKER_02: So we are already, you know, spending sometimes hours a day, you know, in these visual, interactive, immersive 3D environments often, and that's starting to become the consumer expectation across their digital experiences for them to be that rich and that visual.
- 10:45SPEAKER_02: So that's really sort of what we are providing to brands.
- 10:48SPEAKER_02: And beauty is actually our largest kind of vertical because beauty industry is really, you know, uh forward thinking in terms of adoption of new technologies.
- 10:57SPEAKER_02: So we work with you know a variety of beauty brands from Maybelline, L'Oreal, um, Laura Mercier, um, K18, Olaplaque, so hair care brands as well, Johnson Johnson, um, you know, Neo Strata.
- 11:12SPEAKER_02: So just for every everything from makeup to skincare to hair care.
- 11:16SPEAKER_02: Um, and then we work with many other verticals as well, from fashion, media entertainment, uh, home goods, CPG, and so on.
- 11:23SPEAKER_02: But beauty is definitely sort of the biggest adopter in the space.
- 11:28SPEAKER_00: That is so interesting to me because I grew up gaming as well.
- 11:32SPEAKER_00: I grew up gaming, uh playing MMOs, uh, you know, growing up.
- 11:35SPEAKER_00: And so what I'm uh I'm imagining, and I saw the K18 store that you created, that you guys, your team created, and it's absolutely beautiful, by the way.
- 11:43SPEAKER_00: So I know that your work is so nostalgic of these old games that we grew up, you know what I mean, playing, and especially as a gamer that has been, you know, gaming since you were younger, maybe since you were a teenager or whatever.
- 11:56SPEAKER_00: Anyone in the audience can relate to that.
- 11:58SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's definitely so intuitive, I think, for our generation to be more inclined to shop that way.
- 12:05SPEAKER_00: That makes total sense.
- 12:06SPEAKER_00: I love that you um actually, you know, brought that up because I know that I had I was having this conversation, I think, very early on, like about a year ago, um, with someone from Spotify and about how they were just, you know, throwing ideas around, right?
- 12:20SPEAKER_00: And about how this needs to become this more integrated approach where we bring in the people who grew up gaming.
- 12:27SPEAKER_00: We bring those kind of uh consumers in and give them something that they can relate to, you know, a way that they can explore that's in their comfort zone, but they don't have to step out of their home and you know, all that.
- 12:38SPEAKER_00: So it was really interesting when I was talking to her, but obviously to see it come to life through your platform, that's huge, you know.
- 12:44SPEAKER_00: So congratulations.
- 12:46SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
- 12:47SPEAKER_02: I love that you were a gamer.
- 12:48SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
- 12:49SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
- 12:51SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, I I've been gaming like for as long as I can remember.
- 12:54SPEAKER_00: And um, even now, just I was just talking to some of my old friends.
- 12:58SPEAKER_00: We started gaming again recently, and it's a it's a huge thing.
- 13:01SPEAKER_00: Like, I feel like the whole gamer like culture is huge, you know, and I know with Gen Z, um, they have been even more open to it.
- 13:10SPEAKER_00: So it's a huge, huge market, I think.
- 13:12SPEAKER_00: So huge opportunity here for so many brands.
- 13:14SPEAKER_00: Now, yeah, I I do have a question though, because I know the metaverse, you know, there's a lot of people that still get confused with that word, you know.
- 13:22SPEAKER_00: And if you were to sum it up, like summarize like what is the metaverse, like what would you tell somebody if you're trying to, I guess, define it for them?
- 13:31SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
- 13:32SPEAKER_02: And I would agree that it's a very confusing term because it uh it refers to a lot of different things and different people, you know, try to use it um in different ways.
- 13:42SPEAKER_02: But the way that, you know, I would kind of describe it at a very high level is it's the next generation of the internet.
- 13:49SPEAKER_02: And what I mean by that is, you know, so far, like our uh digital interface, you know, has been 2D, has been restricted to these small screens.
- 13:58SPEAKER_02: And the reason for that is not because that's the most intuitive or that's what we want, but that's the tech limitation of the technology because of our you know, hardware and network speeds, like we weren't able to get um get digital interfaces or you know, websites, let's say, that were super rich or were, you know, even if you remember the early days of video streaming.
- 14:23SPEAKER_02: So, like, you know, we went from text to images to video, and now network is able to support like lots of video.
- 14:29SPEAKER_02: And so the next generation of the internet as the network becomes even more um faster and more powerful is the metaverse.
- 14:38SPEAKER_02: And it is basically like when everything kind of becomes 3D and becomes visual, and um, instead of sort of like flat web pages in a website, your website might be a virtual world.
- 14:51SPEAKER_02: And the reason that that's the future is because that's actually real life, right?
- 14:55SPEAKER_02: Real life is 3D, it's all around us.
- 14:58SPEAKER_02: Like we have gotten used to this very artificial interaction with our mobile phones.
- 15:04SPEAKER_02: But in fact, you know, once you see the potential of what's possible, you know, with this very more much more intuitive um interaction, like that's really you know where um how humans are wired to you know take in information visually and to interact with our hands and with our voice, right?
- 15:24SPEAKER_02: So eventually, like basically, you know, in the long term, and I don't think this is going to change in the next five years for sure, but in the long term, you know, the internet evolves into the metaverse and uh you'll be able to do all your activities, just like you do all your activities today online, now they will become like more immersive.
- 15:44SPEAKER_02: So that's like the super high-level definition.
- 15:46SPEAKER_02: But in terms of like what it means today, right, and why like there has been so much buzz about it in the last like um couple of years or year and a half or so, um, is because uh, first of all, to your point about gaming, right?
- 16:01SPEAKER_02: Like now there are these games that are becoming massively adopted and they are starting to become the first metaverses, like Roblox, where um you know kids are spending hours a day.
- 16:14SPEAKER_02: They are, you know, doing all their activities, they are socializing with their friends.
- 16:18SPEAKER_02: It's become sort of like the new mall, right?
- 16:22SPEAKER_02: And um, oh, I'm so sorry about that noise.
- 16:26SPEAKER_02: There's some kind of some kind of emergency alert that has covered everybody's phone.
- 16:32SPEAKER_02: Um, so so yeah, there we so we have the start of these metaverses, which are becoming like they have their own economies too, like you know, Roblox, you transact with Robux, and you, you know, kids are buying um clothing items for their avatars and they're spending a lot of money on that.
- 16:51SPEAKER_02: So you're starting to see the beginnings of this sort of like virtual life, and of course, other games like Fortnite.
- 16:58SPEAKER_02: Um, and so that's the reason why, you know, metaverse has become um this buzzy term.
- 17:04SPEAKER_02: And then, of course, you know, Facebook changed the company name to Meta.
- 17:08SPEAKER_02: So that's what really kind of put on the map that this is really the future of the internet.
- 17:13SPEAKER_02: Um, and it's still very early, I would say.
- 17:17SPEAKER_02: So if you are confused about what it is, like don't feel bad because it's it's a it's a very you know, rapidly evolving kind of space and it includes virtual reality, augmented reality, um, artificial intelligence, and a lot of these next generation technologies coming together to improve um our digital interactions.
- 17:39SPEAKER_00: That's so interesting.
- 17:40SPEAKER_00: And I I find it so interesting that you had mentioned that we started with like, you know, VR goggles and you know, here we are, where we're you found like a different way to bring this to consumers.
- 17:50SPEAKER_00: I think that's so huge because I I won't lie, you know, as somebody who was just on the outside looking into the tech world about, you know, say five years ago, I remember, you know, VR was buzzing and everybody was talking about these devices, like, you know, the goggles and the whole like I guess all the apparatus functions that you use, you know, to actually feel like you're in a virtual reality.
- 18:12SPEAKER_00: And I used to always think to myself, I'm like, I don't even, I don't think I'll ever be able to get into that because of how much equipment is involved, you know, and how much you have to do as a person.
- 18:22SPEAKER_00: But I think that what's so unique about what you've explained here with um what you guys are creating is that you know, you take all of that out of the cons, you know, out of our hands, right?
- 18:32SPEAKER_00: And you kind of do the homework for us and and create these worlds that we can just then go interact with, which is huge.
- 18:38SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that's something that I definitely resonate more with as a shopper than so just, for example, finding social media content or a creator and saying, I'm just gonna take your word for it, because that's what we had been doing.
- 18:52SPEAKER_00: I feel like that was the in-between, right?
- 18:54SPEAKER_00: Between the whole going into a store physically and then then we had the social media outburst of, you know, all of these recommendations everywhere.
- 19:03SPEAKER_00: And now we're like kind of, I guess, getting the control back to where it's like, no, go experience things through the metaverse online, you know, and try it for yourself and see what you think.
- 19:13SPEAKER_00: I think that's a huge step uh for this industry, you know, going forward.
- 19:18SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love that uh sort of um the timeline representation.
- 19:22SPEAKER_02: Yeah, definitely.
- 19:23SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, social, um social in different ways will continue to be huge and growing.
- 19:31SPEAKER_02: Like um, I think, yeah, with the influencer marketing, it's sort of as as you mentioned, it's like people are maybe questioning it a little bit now.
- 19:41SPEAKER_02: But for us, like the way that we think about social is like shopping with your friends, right?
- 19:46SPEAKER_02: It's something that you do in real life and you used to do when you were um a kid, and you, you know, either go shopping with your friends or family, and it's it's a social activity, right?
- 19:56SPEAKER_02: And it's also an entertainment activity in real life.
- 19:59SPEAKER_02: Like I often will go shopping if I'm feeling down and I want to like pick myself up and you go and um you know look at these beautiful stores and get inspired and try products.
- 20:09SPEAKER_02: And it's and the reason like why the conversion rate and purchase rate is higher because is because you're making it social and you're making it entertaining.
- 20:18SPEAKER_02: So for us, like the way that we are bringing that into the virtual experiences on our platform is that we enable um shopping with your friends.
- 20:26SPEAKER_02: So you can actually invite your friends into the virtual world and you can just do it either on video or you can do it as avatars and you know, avatars over time.
- 20:36SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 20:37SPEAKER_02: That's so cool.
- 20:38SPEAKER_02: I was just gonna ask, can you party up with your friends?
- 20:41SPEAKER_02: A shopping party.
- 20:42SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's cool.
- 20:44SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
- 20:44SPEAKER_02: And you can definitely actually party because we also have music in all the stores, because that's also an important part of the shopping experience, right?
- 20:52SPEAKER_02: Like is every brand can identify themselves through the kind of music or um the time of year and stuff.
- 20:59SPEAKER_02: So the social shopping, um, it's early because people are not sort of used to that behavior online yet, but it's something that most of our um, you know, brand customers are now including in their virtual stores the ability for you to invite your friends, um, you know, shop together.
- 21:16SPEAKER_02: And you can basically, if you're avatars, you can chat via audio and then you can see each other as avatars.
- 21:22SPEAKER_02: And if you choose to do it on video, then you know you can just look at each other on video and talk and you can see like where your friend is and you know which section they might be in, and you can kind of jump over to that section.
- 21:34SPEAKER_02: So it's very much again like bringing a lot of real world as well as a lot of gaming practices that people are very used to, um, but now into online shopping.
- 21:45SPEAKER_00: That is so, so cool, Neha.
- 21:47SPEAKER_00: I am so excited to hear about this.
- 21:50SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is like a whole revolution because I'm just thinking like, what if you started like a whole mall?
- 21:55SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
- 21:56SPEAKER_00: And then you have like this living world going on, you know, and people.
- 22:00SPEAKER_00: Running around and with their avatars and everyone's shopping.
- 22:03SPEAKER_00: That's so cool.
- 22:04SPEAKER_00: It's a really innovative thing.
- 22:05SPEAKER_00: And I I would love to see so much, so many more brands get, you know, on top of this because I think especially, you know, I cover a lot of skincare um content as you know, skincare is in the name of our podcast.
- 22:17SPEAKER_00: So I know there's a lot of brands, you know, that are in the skincare world that could really benefit from this, I feel like, you know, especially if you're able to bring your friends in, you can talk.
- 22:26SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's so interactive.
- 22:27SPEAKER_00: And I think that is where, as me as a consumer, like just listening to you explain the technology, I'm immediately just interested because if I could bring, you know, my favorite person to shop, whether my person that I speak to about my skincare picks or we share recommendations, right?
- 22:46SPEAKER_00: And we bring that whole component, that whole interaction, we bring it into this virtual reality and this world, and we're able to do that together.
- 22:54SPEAKER_00: I mean, that even further solidifies, you know, shopping and looking at options and spending more time actually understanding what you're buying.
- 23:01SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's a whole uh, you know, culture that you're gonna create around what it means to then share recommendations, which is absolutely amazing.
- 23:10SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited for what this is gonna bring.
- 23:13SPEAKER_02: You know, and um and yeah, you're like spot on.
- 23:17SPEAKER_02: And I think skincare is one of those categories.
- 23:19SPEAKER_02: We have a number of customers in skincare, and you know, they one of their goals is how do you explain the science behind um the products?
- 23:28SPEAKER_02: And it's hard to do that in sort of just a traditional 2D kind of window.
- 23:33SPEAKER_02: I mean, yes, you can have it, but it's not gonna be as like memorable.
- 23:37SPEAKER_02: So, one example that I can actually share that's really cool is um I mentioned Neostrata as one of our customers, right?
- 23:45SPEAKER_02: And they are um they are one of the first kind of dermatologist um recommended brands, but they uh they were really looking for more brand awareness among, especially among a younger generation of consumers and looking to really educate um customers on skincare and on their products and the science behind it.
- 24:04SPEAKER_02: So they created this.
- 24:06SPEAKER_02: Um, you can see it on their on their site on neostrata.com, but they created this four-level, super cool, uh beautiful virtual experience.
- 24:15SPEAKER_02: And of course, our technology is completely visual.
- 24:17SPEAKER_02: So I'm trying my best to describe it in words, but uh you should you should go and check it out.
- 24:23SPEAKER_02: But the but they were super smart about it too, because they actually started with one level first and they released it, and then they used the data they saw, like how consumers were behaving in that because you know, our platform also will give the brand all the data in terms of uh spatial data.
- 24:40SPEAKER_02: So, like, where is the customer going in your virtual experience?
- 24:44SPEAKER_02: Which section, which room, how much, how many people are going there, how much time they're spending there.
- 24:48SPEAKER_02: So you can basically see like, are people going to the parts that I want them to go?
- 24:53SPEAKER_02: Are they looking at the content that I want them to look at?
- 24:56SPEAKER_02: Are they clicking on the products I want them to click on?
- 24:59SPEAKER_02: So they created this first level that was actually just about education and wasn't even pushing their product.
- 25:05SPEAKER_02: And it had four different sections.
- 25:08SPEAKER_02: And for example, there was like a sun, you know, section, and you could learn all these different facts about how over time, you know, sunlight affects your skin.
- 25:18SPEAKER_02: And it was just a super interactive and visual way.
- 25:21SPEAKER_02: And then based on the data from that, they created the second level, uh, which was more a little bit more about their products, and then they created a level which was in a lab, so that was explaining the science, and then they have a gift shop where you can also purchase and gift.
- 25:36SPEAKER_02: So um they actually have, I think, 10 different quizzes also in the experience.
- 25:42SPEAKER_02: So that's kind of the education part.
- 25:44SPEAKER_02: So as you are um, you know, going through this experience, like you kind of get to answer um the facts and then you actually get prized for each of those things.
- 25:55SPEAKER_02: Like you might get a free sample or a free shipping.
- 25:58SPEAKER_02: So it's just really smart the way that they have utilized um the platform to create this super unique um experience for their customers that they could not even have done in real life because they created like this desert environment for the sun.
- 26:14SPEAKER_02: And this, like there was one category for pollution, and it's this like super polluted like environment.
- 26:20SPEAKER_02: So it's very, you know, visceral and it like it's very memorable because you know, you are like in it and you interact with it.
- 26:27SPEAKER_00: So that's one really it brings the it brings the feel to you, like what they're referring to.
- 26:33SPEAKER_00: It really wow, that's so cool.
- 26:35SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm just blown away right now.
- 26:36SPEAKER_00: That's really amazing, and I can definitely see what how this would really, really resonate with so many people.
- 26:42SPEAKER_00: I mean, I know um, you know, going back to like the gaming thing, I know that like people can spend hours on a good game, you know, and it really becomes a part of that that experience, right?
- 26:53SPEAKER_00: Is this idea of like you immerse yourself in these virtual environments and then you take a part of that with you, you know, even after you're done interacting with that world, you take a part of that with you.
- 27:03SPEAKER_00: And I think this is such a great opportunity for brands to connect with people in a meaningful way.
- 27:07SPEAKER_00: Because I think that's also a problem right now with social media, is that I mean, we have so much content that it's so hard to make that personal connection.
- 27:16SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where I think a lot of brands, from what I've heard, you know, just the feedback I've gotten from founders is that that is where I think so many founders could benefit by utilizing you guys' services because this is a whole different level that you're taking it on now, you know.
- 27:33SPEAKER_00: And I think especially with the new generation, we have this.
- 27:36SPEAKER_00: We oftentimes I think brands, especially, I don't know if you've noticed it or not.
- 27:40SPEAKER_00: I know you have a lot of different clients you guys work with, but I've noticed with the more old school approach to beauty, it's so much about um, you know, old relationships that people have or old customers, but it's like, you know, how do you bring new customers into a wonderful brand that's been around for so many years, right?
- 27:59SPEAKER_00: And it's all about connecting, it's all about forming new types of relationships.
- 28:03SPEAKER_00: And this is absolutely amazing.
- 28:05SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, you've really created a hub here for that.
- 28:08SPEAKER_00: So I really applaud you.
- 28:09SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is very, very novel.
- 28:11SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
- 28:12SPEAKER_02: And yeah, I think the brand storytelling piece and connect that personal connection is so important because that's what we are really missing, you know, online in general, especially in a traditional e-commerce website.
- 28:26SPEAKER_02: You're going through this massive database essentially, right?
- 28:28SPEAKER_02: So for us, like we really encourage our customers to tell the story of their brand and do it in, you know, whatever way makes sense.
- 28:37SPEAKER_02: So, for example, um, you know, one of our customers is Laura Mercier, and it very much fits like just what you were saying, is like it's a it's a heritage brand, it's this amazing brand, and they're trying to reach a younger generation of consumers.
- 28:50SPEAKER_02: And so when you go into their virtual store, it actually starts with an audio soundtrack of Laura herself telling the story of how she started the brand.
- 29:00SPEAKER_02: So as you're kind of in their first beautiful room, like you're hearing her story and you're seeing, you know, her picture on the wall.
- 29:08SPEAKER_02: And it's, you know, the feedback we got from customers was that was just so personal.
- 29:12SPEAKER_02: And they felt like Laura Mercia herself was talking to them.
- 29:16SPEAKER_02: And that's not something they would ever, you know, get anywhere else.
- 29:19SPEAKER_02: Um, and then we also have um this ability to do um basically like a person inside um inside the virtual experience.
- 29:29SPEAKER_02: So the person can be shot on a green screen like video background, and then they can be in the virtual experience.
- 29:35SPEAKER_02: So in the Neo Strata one, for example, their chief scientist is in the level, in the lab level, and she explains to you, you know, while you're in this immersive lab environment, there's a real person who's their chief scientist who's explaining to you, you know, how it all works.
- 29:51SPEAKER_02: So I feel like those types of personal connections and brand storytelling, um, you know, there are so many options that kind of open up with this new medium and with these new technologies that brands can really take advantage of.
- 30:05SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
- 30:05SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that sounds that sounds so cool.
- 30:07SPEAKER_00: And I like that you mentioned the Laura Mercier example because I think it is about, you know, also about understanding like why does this brand even matter?
- 30:15SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean, Laura Mercier is such an iconic brand.
- 30:17SPEAKER_00: And um, I even now like I see people on TikTok, for example, rediscovering like her setting powder, for example, which we all know about, you know, and it's so interesting to watch the younger generation rediscover these like tried and true products, but then also again, you know, to be able to hear the story and to be able to hear all of these little details that really solidifies it.
- 30:38SPEAKER_00: But you know, I I'm really curious.
- 30:40SPEAKER_00: I mean, Neha, you know, you guys have been, you know, you have some uh great uh brands working with you, but if I were a small brand founder, right, and I wanted to work with you, I wanted to really build this into my DNA, um, especially if I'm getting started, how does that work?
- 30:55SPEAKER_00: I mean, do you guys is it still fairly expensive to create such a you know virtual store or how how does that work if you could walk us through that?
- 31:05SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, that's a great question and super timely because yeah, it has been historically on the expensive side, just because this is, you know, obviously very advanced technology.
- 31:17SPEAKER_02: And if you think about sort of the curve of um the adoption of any technology, it starts off as kind of being, you know, more kind of custom built and more um difficult to set up, and then eventually it moves to more of a self-serve where you know anyone can um do it themselves.
- 31:36SPEAKER_02: So we are actually moving in that direction.
- 31:38SPEAKER_02: And while um, you know, so far mostly we have been working with sort of large enterprise brands because of the cost of it, um, we are actually going to be launching some self-serve options um in the early next year for smaller brands.
- 31:53SPEAKER_02: And the way that will work is like one of the biggest um sort of efforts that and the the thing that takes a lot of time is actually the design of the space.
- 32:04SPEAKER_02: And right now, you know, for the larger brands, we are doing very custom designs because you know they they are very particular about exactly what what they want their store to look like.
- 32:16SPEAKER_02: But ultimately the way to really scale this is having a lot of different kind of template options where then you can decide um, you know, the color of the walls or do you want marble floor or wood floor, just you know, as an example.
- 32:30SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like workforce link.
- 32:31SPEAKER_02: Like workforce link.
- 32:32SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
- 32:33SPEAKER_02: So we are moving in that direction and we have been actually working on um our kind of internal content management system or editor that's called Ava, which we announced earlier this year.
- 32:44SPEAKER_02: And so far, our team has been using it to create stores, but we are going to be opening that up um to any brand, you know, that wants to kind of do it themselves, and that way the cost will become much lower.
- 32:56SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, keep uh keep an eye out on that, but it should be within the next like couple of months.
- 33:02SPEAKER_00: That is so cool.
- 33:04SPEAKER_00: Wow, that sounds so, so fun.
- 33:05SPEAKER_00: And I I I'm really excited, honestly, to see more brands hop on board with this.
- 33:10SPEAKER_00: This is amazing, and I I really want that mall to happen.
- 33:14SPEAKER_00: The one I was mentioning.
- 33:16SPEAKER_00: I would love to see like a virtual mall that you could just like go into with like you know your online friends, and that would be so cool.
- 33:23SPEAKER_00: But I I'm I'm such a fan, Nehan, what you're doing is I mean, it's revolutionary.
- 33:27SPEAKER_00: This is really cool stuff.
- 33:28SPEAKER_00: And um, for everyone listening out there, if you guys haven't seen some of these storefronts, I really urge you to check them out.
- 33:34SPEAKER_00: We're gonna definitely list them in the episode.
- 33:37SPEAKER_00: Um, like the what do you call it?
- 33:39SPEAKER_00: The caption and the details.
- 33:40SPEAKER_00: So make sure you check out the different storefronts because they're very cool.
- 33:43SPEAKER_00: Like I said, I checked out K18's.
- 33:45SPEAKER_00: I remember when I had hosted Souvine, I was checking out theirs and it was so amazing, like very immersive, very, you know, eye-catching.
- 33:54SPEAKER_00: You definitely feel it.
- 33:56SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
- 33:56SPEAKER_00: Like you definitely feel it.
- 33:58SPEAKER_00: So I love it.
- 33:59SPEAKER_02: Yeah, K18.
- 34:00SPEAKER_02: Um, actually, it's super cool because um probably it was after you had seen it, but very recently we also added a whole new section.
- 34:09SPEAKER_02: And that's what's cool about you know it being virtual.
- 34:12SPEAKER_02: It's it's not like you have to go and get more real estate to expand your store.
- 34:16SPEAKER_02: If you want to add a new room, you can add a new room.
- 34:18SPEAKER_02: But you know what they did, and this is so cool, is like now they actually take you on this journey down the three sort of layers of a hair strand.
- 34:29SPEAKER_02: And um, I'm totally not gonna remember the right names, but it's like a cuticle and like three different things, and you are actually like going down this big um sort of tunnel, and you're like learning about each uh layer of the hair strand, which I thought is just so unique and you know they're so creative.
- 34:47SPEAKER_02: And then what's super interesting is also um, you know, of course, the experience like lives on their website, but they actually um to bring the conversation back to the beginning, um, you know, now um that virtual reality headsets are starting to become um, you know, a little bit more accessible.
- 35:05SPEAKER_02: What they have done is we have also created the same experience for them in the Oculus uh MetaQuest headset.
- 35:13SPEAKER_02: And they had a pop-up uh in LA, like outside Sephora, where they actually branded these different headsets, like in their K-18 magic science bus.
- 35:23SPEAKER_02: And people could go and try out this experience in the headset, where it's also like, you know, obviously in the headset, you feel like you're fully inside it.
- 35:32SPEAKER_02: So obviously everyone can access it on their phone at any time or on their desktop.
- 35:36SPEAKER_02: But at this pop-up event, they took the same assets, you know, and this is just a way to increase ROI from the experience.
- 35:43SPEAKER_02: And now you have like a whole pop-up that's built around there around that concept.
- 35:48SPEAKER_02: And so it was super successful for them.
- 35:50SPEAKER_02: And now they have kind of made it like a traveling show, and they take, you know, they take it to like different cities.
- 35:56SPEAKER_02: And I just think like their branding is so cool, as you said, and they have done such an amazing job.
- 36:02SPEAKER_02: I love their store.
- 36:03SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's so cool.
- 36:04SPEAKER_00: It's like an arcade.
- 36:06SPEAKER_00: I love that.
- 36:08SPEAKER_00: That's really, really neat.
- 36:09SPEAKER_00: No, I I love that.
- 36:10SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, this is something that's what I mean.
- 36:13SPEAKER_00: Like it's such a such a unique experience for consumers.
- 36:17SPEAKER_00: I mean, it really shows that the brand wants to connect with you.
- 36:21SPEAKER_00: You know, I that's how I take it as a consumer.
- 36:23SPEAKER_00: If I see a brand doing something like this and investing their dollars into, you know, experiences for consumers to have and and understand and engage with so that they can not only understand the brand more, but also understand why they need that brand in their life, like that is absolutely huge.
- 36:40SPEAKER_00: So I think it's definitely an investment that anyone should be looking into.
- 36:44SPEAKER_00: If you're, you know, if you're an entrepreneur, if you have a business, if you're somebody who wants to take it to the next level.
- 36:51SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is going to be next level, you know.
- 36:53SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, I can't tell you how many times I've literally, you know, seen social media and now I don't even pay attention to it anymore, you know, in terms of recommendations because you don't know who to trust, you know, and it really kind of falls in this interesting space where we now turn back to the brands as consumers and say, give us something more, you know, give us something else to understand so that we can then get behind you because sometimes it's not it's not about word of mouth, you know what I mean?
- 37:23SPEAKER_00: It's more about personal experience, personal realization that this is a great brand for me, you know, and these kind of something like this could really make or break it for so many consumers.
- 37:33SPEAKER_00: So I absolutely love it.
- 37:35SPEAKER_00: I think it's absolutely brilliant.
- 37:37SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, Neha, I want to actually ask you, you know, as a round out question, I know you guys have so much going on, but what um is in the future for Obsessed?
- 37:46SPEAKER_00: You know, uh what are you guys working on or uh, you know, working on the near future that we can uh look forward to?
- 37:53SPEAKER_02: Yeah, definitely.
- 37:54SPEAKER_02: So I our biggest kind of next area of focus is around personalization.
- 37:58SPEAKER_02: And to your point of, you know, the brand sort of trying to make a connection with the customer, how do we make that more and more personal?
- 38:07SPEAKER_02: And what we mean by that is so, you know, my eventual vision for these virtual stores is if let's say you and I are going to the same link to the same virtual store, we may not get the exact same experience.
- 38:19SPEAKER_02: Like the experience might be completely different for you in terms of the products that it shows you and the products that it shows me.
- 38:28SPEAKER_02: And then maybe even the environment, you know, and how you like to shop versus I like to shop.
- 38:32SPEAKER_02: Like a very simple example could be like asking the user, like, oh, do you want to shop in Paris or Tokyo today?
- 38:39SPEAKER_02: And then the outside, you know, of the virtual experience kind of changes to that city, or um, you know, actually, based on your prior purchase history, we can show the most relevant products.
- 38:52SPEAKER_02: So obviously, these kind of recommendation technologies already exist.
- 38:55SPEAKER_02: What we are working on is how do we dynamically in a 3D environment, and this is kind of like technical, but basically, how do we dynamically change what we are showing with real-time 3D rendering, which is actually more much more complex than what we are already doing?
- 39:13SPEAKER_02: And our current technology is patented in terms of showing these rich visual environments, you know, on a mobile browser super fast.
- 39:20SPEAKER_02: And this kind of dynamic and personalized experience is sort of the next level of technology for that, is how can we actually render different things for different people?
- 39:30SPEAKER_02: So I'm super excited about that.
- 39:31SPEAKER_02: Like that's something we'll be rolling out next year.
- 39:34SPEAKER_02: Um, and then more kind of looking more long-term, um, you know, just going back to kind of devices and headsets.
- 39:42SPEAKER_02: As we know, Apple announced um the Apple Vision Pro headset earlier this year.
- 39:47SPEAKER_02: And, you know, when Apple enters the space, like of course they're going to do it really well.
- 39:52SPEAKER_00: And that's it's like game over at that point.
- 39:56SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 39:56SPEAKER_02: So I think this is going to mark the start, like next year when the device, when their device launches, is going to mark the actual start of the mass adoption of um, you know, kind of more immersive devices, but it's still going to take some time.
- 40:11SPEAKER_02: But we are also super excited to build experiences, you know, for that device and just test it out in the next year or so and then eventually see kind of what really works well for customers.
- 40:24SPEAKER_02: But ultimately, you know, our goal is for a brand, they shouldn't have to start from scratch for every you know new 3D platform or every new device that comes along.
- 40:34SPEAKER_02: Like they should, you know, they can invest once and create a virtual store on Obsessed, and then we can publish it to their website, to their mobile app, you know, to Oculus, like for example, for K18 or um to Apple Vision Pro in the future, or to even Roblox.
- 40:50SPEAKER_02: Um, so that's kind of what we are working towards as well, is just increasing the distribution of your virtual experiences to as many 3D platforms as we can.
- 41:01SPEAKER_00: Wow, that is quite a task.
- 41:04SPEAKER_00: And I I wish you nothing but the absolute best with the.
- 41:07SPEAKER_00: I know you guys were gonna call it.
- 41:09SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I mean, I you you're really, you're really doing it.
- 41:12SPEAKER_00: And I I'm so behind everything that you guys are kind of spearheading in this space because we need it, you know, we really need it and it's time.
- 41:19SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're in 2023, and like I said, you know, some of us have been gaming for years and it's been there, you know, it's been in those online games, this idea.
- 41:28SPEAKER_00: And to bring it to life in such a meaningful way and and bring it to so many more people.
- 41:34SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's absolutely huge.
- 41:35SPEAKER_00: So truly hats off to you, Naha, and your whole team for doing this.
- 41:39SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm such a fan.
- 41:42SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, absolutely.
- 41:43SPEAKER_00: And I I want to actually ask you before we go, I want to get some career advice from you because I have to ask, you know, whenever I host um such accomplished individuals, I have to get some advice from you guys for all the young professionals out there.
- 41:56SPEAKER_00: I know there's a lot of people in uh tech, and I know tech is such a biz it's such a fast-paced world, right?
- 42:02SPEAKER_00: And everything's always changing.
- 42:03SPEAKER_00: So any words of wisdom you might have for aspiring um, you know, computer science majors or somebody who might have graduated looking for a job, uh, whatever you can offer as words of wisdom.
- 42:14SPEAKER_02: Yeah, of course.
- 42:16SPEAKER_02: And, you know, as I kind of told my career story, it's taken a lot of different turns, but I wouldn't say that I had planned for any of it.
- 42:23SPEAKER_02: So my first advice or planned like way back for any of it, but um, my first advice is usually, you know, I think don't kind of plan too much and really in the early years of your career, like try to learn and understand yourself to see what your actual interests are, because tech is, you know, tech is a means to something, usually.
- 42:46SPEAKER_02: Um, for the most part, I believe that, you know, let's say you're interested in art or in fashion or in travel or beauty or you know, whatever it is, like basically tech is a tool that can help you get into any of those spaces that you're really interested in.
- 43:03SPEAKER_02: And so kind of think about you know that piece and how technology can improve, like whatever or change any problem that you might be having in those spaces and something that you're passionate about.
- 43:16SPEAKER_02: Um, and then the second advice, at least for me, is like, you know, if you're not doing something, if you're not in a role that you're really passionate about and that you really care about, then you know, life is short.
- 43:30SPEAKER_02: And so why are you doing that?
- 43:31SPEAKER_02: There are there are plenty of like opportunities in this world, like with companies or things that you can create on your own.
- 43:39SPEAKER_02: And I just feel like when I meet people who are like unhappy with their jobs and all of that, or not liking what they're doing, I'm like, why?
- 43:46SPEAKER_02: Like there's no reason uh for you to so like follow, you know, follow that.
- 43:51SPEAKER_02: And um, and there's a way to kind of like make it happen if even if it was wasn't the path that you thought you were gonna take or the way it was gonna work.
- 44:01SPEAKER_02: I feel like if you're um if you're passionate about a space, then um you can use tech as a as a tool to enter it.
- 44:09SPEAKER_00: That is so cool.
- 44:10SPEAKER_00: I love that.
- 44:11SPEAKER_00: That's really solid advice.
- 44:12SPEAKER_00: And I hope um someone listening out there, you know, that resonated with you because it's so important to understand.
- 44:18SPEAKER_00: You know, I I know that I grew up in a world with like very little mentors, so it's so important to have advice and good advice from people who are really doing it.
- 44:26SPEAKER_00: And yeah, you're truly a game changer.
- 44:28SPEAKER_00: You know, you're you're out here doing the real work.
- 44:31SPEAKER_00: And I really applaud you for everything that your company has created, is continuing to create.
- 44:37SPEAKER_00: It's so needed, and we are so behind you.
- 44:39SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, truly hats off.
- 44:41SPEAKER_00: And for everyone listening, I hope you love this episode.
- 44:44SPEAKER_00: Um, again, I will be adding all of the wonderful companies that we can um that we have, you know, known about that obsesses working with in the episode notes for this episode.
- 44:56SPEAKER_00: So make sure you check them out and interact with their online worlds and their um wonderful storefronts.
- 45:02SPEAKER_00: And I let us know what you think.
- 45:03SPEAKER_00: You know, I would love to hear from you guys uh what your feedback is, and if you know something like this really changes your perception of how you shop and how you choose products, we'd love to hear from you.
- 45:13SPEAKER_00: But Naya, thank you so much.
- 45:14SPEAKER_00: This was such an honor to host you, and I really, really loved learning from you.
- 45:18SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Ekta.
- 45:19SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate it and I was honored to be on your fabulous podcast.
- 45:23SPEAKER_02: You're doing such an amazing job with it.
- 45:26SPEAKER_02: And um, just to everyone, if you do want to reach out for any more advice um or questions, like feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn.
- 45:33SPEAKER_02: Uh, but yeah, this was really fun and really amazing.
- 45:36SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for having me.
- 45:37SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
- 45:38SPEAKER_00: Uh, and everyone else, I will be back next time.
- 45:42SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
- 45:45SPEAKER_00: Please make sure to hit subscribe if you're tuning in to us on any podcast platform.
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