Tech Startups – Norway: Moviemask to go forward in the VR field

Eirik Wahlstrøm, CEO and Co-founder of Moviemask, explains his take on his startup, the pace of technology and what kind of cradle Norway is in this field.

How much do you think accelerators, incubators and various programmes influence startups like yours? 

Can have huge impact, and can do nothing. All depends on the given incubator and accelerator.

What is the most valuable help you can get – contacts, money, expertise…

For most startups, ours included, the contacts was the definitive most important, followed by expertise, followed by money.

Why do you think your product was missing from today’s market?

Because the technological revolution happened so quickly that “everyone” jumped on the trend of VR and skipped one natural step where we found our way.

How much do you think technology can keep accelerating life for everyone?

Barely no limits. The technological revolution will continue its exponential development, while we humans are (still) limited to our linear development. However, that too might change as we are entering the age of cyborgs (which has allready started). However, I believe the more important question to ask is “to what purpose do we want technology to accelerate our lives”.

What do you think the next big step will be in your field?

In the VR and AR field. For the VR field, I believe pressure censors that lets you feel the environment in a realistic way is the first step towards a more immersive and full fledged VR experience, with the ultimate goal being something like Black Mirror s4e1. For AR, I believe Magic Leap is heading in the right direction.

What do you think about Norway as a cradle for startups?

I think Norway has all the right preconditions as a fantastic cradle, but that is has been dormant the past 40 years due to a culture recognizing “safe paying jobs”, well aided by a flourishing oil economy. Now however, that has changed dramatically, and the past three years there’s been a boom in the Norwegian startup environment, with major successes. However, I’m unsure if Norway has what it takes to keep, preserve and grow the best startups into Unicorn, as the big VC capital is missing.

How much do creativity and talent count in the world of startups and how much do you think is due to enterpreneurial skills? 

I think creativity means a lot for many fields, but I think it’s even more important to have a “can-do” attitude on every issue you face along the way. At the same level, I believe the ability to see opportunities and be able to pursue them 100 %, while still maintaining the ability to change direction if necessary. I find it hard to decipher “entrepreneurial” skills, but there is no secret that serial-entrepreneurs has en enormously better chance at succeeding with their startups than first time entrepreneurs, so there’s something there.

Here is the previous interview of the series.