{"id":37674,"date":"2023-10-20T14:51:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/metaverse-makeovers-tells-how-to-nail-an-expansion-into-china-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:51:36","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:51:36","slug":"metaverse-makeovers-tells-how-to-nail-an-expansion-into-china-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/metaverse-makeovers-tells-how-to-nail-an-expansion-into-china-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Metaverse Makeovers tells: How to nail an expansion into China – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Australian entrepreneurs need to stop thinking their tech startup will immediately go \u201cgangbusters\u201d in the Asia market, Metaverse Makeovers<\/a> CEO Thea Baumann says. <\/p>\n

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The augmented reality wearables startup has been focusing intensely on China of late, and Baumann says this is a long process that requires finesse and expertise.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn China there\u2019s always a perception that if you introduce a tech product it\u2019s going to go gangbusters,\u201d Baumann says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt actually takes a lot longer just in terms of the relationships you have to build. It really takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Translating everything<\/b><\/h2>\n

It has involved having to virtually redesign and localise every aspect of the startup, right down to its name after it turned out there was no Chinese translation for \u201cMetaverse\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are trying to integrate using Australian expertise and quality in the way we design, develop and produce products in China,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\"metaverse-3_445\"<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe want to scale here in China in a way that is localised and genuine, built on true collaboration partnerships, rather than coming over as a foreign force going gangbusters in your country.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Baumann will be discussing her experiences in the Asia market and lending her expertise at the Creative3 conference in Brisbane later this month<\/a>. The forum aims to bring together creative, inspiring and influential entrepreneurs across two days.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s never smooth sailing<\/b><\/h2>\n

The going hasn\u2019t always been easy for the young startup though, and Baumann says this is down to the difficulties of operating in China, and its unique products.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s always incredibly hard,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s no benchmark or model for what we\u2019re doing. We\u2019re literally introducing a new augmented reality product designed for the Chinese market.<\/p>\n

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\"metaverse-2_445\"<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen you\u2019re doing a really new thing in a very emergent and quite volatile market, there are constantly new obstacles and things you could have never foreseen or predicted.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere are very choppy waters and it is never smooth sailing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Baumann says the secret to being successful in a new, international market is making an effort to truly understand the culture, making sure all products and marketing techniques are localised and most of all, hard work.<\/p>\n

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The expansion was on the back of a $750,000 investment led by Melbourne Angels<\/a> at the end of last year.<\/p>\n

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A niche but increasingly growing market<\/b><\/h2>\n

While the startup has its basis in wearable technology and virtual reality, Baumann says she wants to separate it from this market.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s still very, very niche,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe don\u2019t really call it wearable technology, we call it glam tech.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe act as a counter-voice to what is perceived as wearable technology. We don\u2019t see ourselves as sitting in that quantified space.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re embedding wearable technology in the growing nail industry and adding value to what is already a vibrant nail and beauty sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Metaverse Makeovers\u2019 first release focuses on fashion nail accessories. These can interact with a smartphone app that uses augmented reality technology to create a hologram.<\/p>\n

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This technology has proved especially popular in Asia and particularly China, and the startup now has an office in Shanghai.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a cool way of getting augmented reality to Asia\u2019s social mobile ecosystem,\u201d Baumann says.<\/p>\n

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The startup is aiming to combine wearable technology and fashion consumables, and this extends far beyond just nails.<\/p>\n

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The possibilities for what this technology can be applied to are wide-ranging, Baumann says, and many new products are already in the works.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have a range of fashion patterns, garments and concepts that we\u2019re looking to roll out,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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Exciting times ahead<\/b><\/h2>\n

The startup has gained a foothold in the Asia market, thanks largely to organic growth and attending some of the biggest marketing and gaming conferences in the world.<\/p>\n

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Metaverse Makeovers is also on the verge of signing some big partnerships with online-to-offline manicure networks.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat will drive our adoption rates,\u201d Baumann says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey have 3000 nail technicians in the network with huge potential reach. It has real scalable potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A \u201cworld-first\u201d in-app store for the startup has also just launched, providing a purchasing environment to buy the 3D holograms for the nails.<\/p>\n

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Baumann says all the hard work in China is beginning to pay off.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEveryone is pretty excited about it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe possibilities are quite limitless.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Want to grow your business with Instagram? <\/i>StartupSmart School can help<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australian entrepreneurs need to stop thinking their tech startup will immediately go \u201cgangbusters\u201d in the Asia market, Metaverse Makeovers CEO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37674"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}