1. Let’s start from the beginning. Please introduce yourself and tell us what’s unique about your company and what you’re building? And what’s the driving vision behind it?

I’m Tom Zerega, Founder & CEO of Magnetic 3D, where we’re pioneering the future of glasses-free 3D and immersive XR solutions. What makes our company unique is that we’ve taken decades of R&D in autostereoscopic technology and combined it with the latest breakthroughs in AI and real-time rendering to create a seamless, scalable platform producing displays from tablet size up to 100” displays and video walls. We’re creating an ecosystem that allows the world to experience 3D content without the friction of wearing glasses or headsets.

The driving vision has always been to make 3D as easy to experience as 2D, bringing a sense of depth and realism into everyday communication. Whether it’s digital signage, healthcare, or enterprise collaboration, our goal is to empower industries with quasi-holographic capabilities that feel like science fiction but behave intuitively.

2. Building an XR company from the ground up is no easy feat. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the early stages, particularly in terms of funding and securing initial investment?

Building an XR company from the ground up comes with no shortage of challenges, especially in terms of funding. Convincing investors that glasses-free 3D was not a pipe dream but a viable commercial solution required a lot of persistence. Hardware is capital-intensive and investors are often concerned you’ll build something no one wants and be unable to pivot. 

We had an amazing angel investor that backed us from the start – Norman Jacobs, founder of Starlog and Fangoria magazines. Jacobs saw our first prototypes, which were funded with sales of a 2D digital signage network, and the rest was history.  We raised some capital but spent most of our energies on finding early adopters and iterating in the real-world with those customers. Demonstrating the technology live — letting people experience it for themselves — generally turned skeptics into believers and gave us the traction we needed to keep innovating.

3. How have you found the right talent to expand and scale your company’s team?

For the most part, we’ve been fortunate to meet the right people at the right time during our journey. Like most business start-ups we made some mistakes and “kissed some frogs” along the way…but we’ve always landed on our feet attracting talented technologists that are passionate about the mission of bringing glasses-free 3D into the main-stream. There are many smart futurists around the world who also believe that glasses-free 3D is not only the next evolution in displays but an essential component of the next computing revolution in displays, especially in the world of spatial. These passionate adherents often seek us out for the opportunity to collaborate on something groundbreaking in this field. You may have noticed that 2D products have become a bit mundane, introducing only limited feature changes. There has been nothing revolutionary about the launch of “new” products each year by the largest names in tech. Conversely, people are excited about 3D as a leap forward into the future. We’ve been around a long time, and this longevity works for us allowing us to leverage our network having built relationships in the digital signage industry with DOOH, ProAV, VR/XR and tech communities. I still have some business cards from 20 years ago and do my best to keep in contact with my network, never know when you need to phone a friend.

4. Sales can be a significant challenge in the XR space. What strategies have been most effective for your company in finding new clients and growing your business?

Sales in XR is a challenge because it requires educating the market as part of the sale. For us, the most effective strategy has been to focus on vertical-specific use cases where our value proposition is crystal clear and clients are seeking immersive solutions. Verticals where we’ve had the most success to date include theme parks, higher education, healthcare, and experiential marketing. Demonstrating how our tech solves problems is the fundamental key. When you show how the tech addresses a real challenge, adoption follows naturally.

With 3D more so than other products, “seeing is believing.” The ability to show prospects the value of depth perception and give them the ability to “test drive” the technology clearly demonstrates the benefits, so they can experience it for themselves – that has been a big help along the way.

5. The XR landscape is constantly shifting. Can you discuss a significant pivot or strategic decision that was crucial for your company’s growth? How did it impact your business trajectory?

A significant pivot for us was moving beyond pure hardware and developing a platform strategy. By integrating software, cloud tools, and AI into our offering, we have transformed what was a display company into a true ecosystem.  We now offer clients more than a screen, providing real business solutions that address pain points across verticals. With these additional capabilities opportunities are expanding exponentially.

6. Looking back, what was a breakthrough moment for your company—something that validated your hard work and signaled you were on the right path?

One breakthrough moment was our participation at Super Bowl. We had the opportunity to present our technology to legendary real estate mogul Steve Ross of Related Companies. Once he saw the tech, he instantly wanted it in all the NFL team owners’ suites for the game. That kicked off the “Suite of the Future” program partnering with Cisco and Microsoft. Today, the advances in AI are demonstrating a colossal shift in cost of production of content both offline and in real-time creating tailwinds that are going to be huge for 3D adoption.

Consistent positive feedback from clients is the fuel that keeps us going – seeing viewers stop in their tracks and engage with our displays validates our purpose.

7. As a leader, personal growth is as critical as company growth. How has your role as evolved over the years, and what have been some personal challenges you’ve overcome along the way?

As a founder, my role has evolved from participating in the optical engineering process and early product development, to bigger picture initiatives now that the production challenges of the past have been solved.

Delegating can be tough when you are a hands-on type A personality. I still find myself jumping into other lanes from time-to-time but letting go is the skill most founders need to work on. It’s essential to put people in place you can trust and empower to allow the organization to scale…it’s part of business and personal growth. I’m excited about what we have achieved as a team, we’re growing, so we must be doing something right!

8. The future of XR is incredibly promising but also uncertain. How do you stay ahead of the curve, and what trends or technologies do you believe will shape the future of our industry?

We stay ahead of the proverbial “curve” by keeping a close eye on emerging technologies like AI, real-time 3D engines, and spatial computing. These are rapidly converging, and in the near future, will redefine how people interact with digital content. For us, it’s about being at the intersection of these trends and making sure our solutions are future-proof while providing value across verticals.

Looking forward, I believe the XR industry will be shaped by interoperability, accessibility, and the shift to truly glasses-free immersive experiences. The companies that succeed will be those that can blend cutting-edge technology with practical, scalable solutions that can be integrated into everyday workflows. You have to meet consumers where they are – if adoption is stymied because clients don’t want to wear headsets, can’t collaborate, or become ill from the experience, you have to innovate and find another way.

Glasses-free 3D is not the only way, but it certainly should be part of the well-rounded immersive customer journey that accounts for the varying consumer preferences when it comes to consumption of 3D / AR/ VR / XR content.

9. Innovation often comes with failure. Can you talk about a time when something didn’t go as planned? What did you learn from that experience, and how did it change your approach?

Innovation is synonymous with trial and error, but we believe in “learning by doing” and have had our share of prototypes and partnerships that didn’t pan out as we would have liked. We’ve built software and tech that was impressive but hit a dead-end or just didn’t meet a client’s needs. Those lessons can be painful, but they are invaluable lessons on which to build success.

What we’ve learned is to keep the customer at the center of what we do in order to have them steer our development roadmap. It slower, less risky path, but it has led to a greater rate of customer adoption.

Over time we’ve managed to gain a ton of market intelligence and insights that are allowing us to build solutions that will immediately serve a purpose for the customer and address their pain points.

Every failure is an opportunity to learn something, and smart innovation leads to overall success.

10. Finally, what advice would you give to fellow XR entrepreneurs? What are the key factors they should focus on to build a successful company?

My best advice to XR entrepreneurs is to focus on solving real problems rather than chasing hype. The XR industry is full of exciting concepts, but building a successful company requires balancing vision with execution and business fundamentals. Persistence, adaptability, and flexibility are just as important as innovation.

I also stress the power of storytelling and partnerships. If you can clearly communicate your vision and surround yourself with the right collaborators, you’ll find the support you need to scale. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but the rewards of shaping the future of XR are well worth it.

Investors want you to focus on one thing – and one thing only. From experience I’ve learned that this prerogative is somewhat biased because investors spread their risk over lots of companies. They calculate loss into their equation prior to making any commitment. If you have something truly special, be persistent, keep iterating, but never bet the farm on one thing to be sure you can live to fight another day with or without investors.  This will slow your process, but it will be battle harden your company and you’ll know precisely what your customers want. This path will lead to the most coveted moment in your company’s life cycle – “Product Market Fit” – and then investors will find you.