If you could travel back in time, what would you do?
I’d go hear Jimi Hendrix play live…
Then I’d stop by Wrigley Field for the 1932 World Series and wait for one of Babe Ruth’s most famous homeruns…
Then I’d sit at the southern tip of Manhattan and take a good long look at the Twin Towers.
Most of us dream about time travel, but we assume it’s impossible…
We figure it’s strictly the stuff of science fiction, or old Michael J. Fox movies.
But recently, a tiny technology start-up based in California has cracked the code:
It’s created a time-travel machine that actually works.
Today I'll tell you about it — then I’ll show you how you could profit from it.
Just Like Being There
But first, a caveat:
The type of time travel we’ll be exploring today isn’t what sci-fi writers or Marty McFly had in mind.
Instead, it’s a form of time travel enabled by a technology you might already be familiar with…
I’m talking about Virtual Reality.
Virtual Reality (or just “VR” for short) is a computer-generated simulation of a 3D environment.
Just put on a special helmet with a screen inside — and you can instantly be transported to another time and place.
For example, here’s a picture of someone using a VR headset called the Oculus Rift:
As you can see, this user is amazed. He’s fully engaged in the virtual world he’s experiencing.
Unfortunately, Oculus is expensive, and it still isn’t ready for mainstream use.
But we recently discovered a VR technology that’s easy enough — and affordable enough — for anyone to dive into…
Introducing Owlized
It’s called Owlized.
Owlized is a California-based start-up using VR to enable virtual time travel.
Basically, it’s created the world’s first outdoor VR kiosk.
Its kiosk is called “OWL VR,” and it looks similar to the old coin-operated viewing stations you can find at the top of the Empire State Building.
After you pay between $3 to $5 to unlock it and start moving it from side to side and up and down, instead of seeing your environment as it looks currently, you see a 3D “time travel” image of how it looked in the past.
It’s like you're standing in the exact same spot, but 100 years ago.
For example, imagine that you’re visiting San Francisco…
After unlocking the OWL VR, you look towards the Golden Gate Bridge.
You know the bridge is right there — you can see it in the upper right of this picture:
But as you can see in the image below, as you start moving the device, the bridge disappears…
It disappears because you’re traveling back in time one hundred years — the bridge hasn’t been constructed yet!
And now Owlized is creating time-travel experiences like this at some of the most popular destinations on Earth.
The Opportunity
To start, Owlized is going after cities, parks, tourist attractions and historic sites.
This is estimated to be a $4 billion addressable market.
This is a big opportunity for Owlized — and potentially a big opportunity for tourist destinations.
You see, Owlized believes that its patent-pending kiosks will help tourist destinations attract new customers…
And since the destinations share in the revenue from the devices, they have a very good reason to give it a shot.
Quick Progress
Owlized might be onto something:
It quickly locked down contracts with the City of San Francisco, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, and the City of Santa Monica…
It’s attracting national press including NPR and Fast Company.
And it’s already brought in about $450,000 in sales…
All that being said, this is a risky new venture, and it could face challenges.
For example:
Obsolescence — With all the innovation that’s happening in VR right now, Owlized could quickly be overtaken by a competitor.
Content Creation Challenges — To create 3D videos for its kiosks, Owlized relies on content partners. It doesn’t pay them upfront; instead, it shares its revenues with them. If revenues are light, these partners might quit.
Hardware is Risky — As we often point out, hardware-based start-ups can be riskier than digital businesses because of their high operating costs.
But if these risks don’t scare you off, here’s some news:
Owlized just opened a $1 million investment round, and all investors are welcome to participate. The minimum investment is just $50.
To learn more, click here to review Owlized’s funding page »
Just remember: investing in start-ups is risky, so you need to do your research!
Happy Investing
Please note: Crowdability has no relationship with Owlized, or with any of the companies or platforms we write about. Crowdability is an independent provider of education, information and research on start-ups and alternative investments.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
