Life beyond Radford
Steven Kounnas
What does life look for you now?
Together, Trent and I run Scann3d, an immersive technology company. Our primary goal is transforming the way property is bought and sold online. We achieve this by creating interactive 3D tours of homes that are engaging, accurate and allow buyers to inspect a home from anywhere in the world. The experience is quite similar to google maps street view, however what makes it unique is the 3D data we collect with 3D scanning, resulting in an interactive 3D dollhouse and highly accurate floor plan.
Over the last 2 years we have expanded our operation by providing our services to over 100 real estate agencies in VIC, NSW, QLD and NT (ACT is next on our list!). Today, we have scanned over 1000 properties Australia wide. This has been achieved through strategic partnerships with both realestate.com.au and domain.com.au (Allhomes) to bring 3D tours into the mainstream. Outside the realm of real estate, we have been using our scanning services to help visualise event spaces, tourism locations and hotels rooms. Some of our most rewarding work has come through our partnership with The National Trust, where we have been digitally preserving some of Australia’s most iconic locations such as the Old Melbourne Gaol to help assist with the preservation and documentation of Australia’s history in a whole new light.
Whilst Scann3d started with the digitisation of properties for sale, we have since moved beyond web enabled 3D tours, incorporating new mediums that help build on the sense of presence a user can get through immersive technology. Recently, 360 videos and virtual reality have been huge for us, with both Facebook and Youtube enabling this content natively through their apps. We foresee VR as the next logical step in immersive story telling, experiential entertainment and native advertising.
Through 2016, we have been exploring the possibility of getting virtual reality into hospitals around Australia. What started as a simple idea, where VR could be used to help improve the recovery outcomes for patients trapped in hospital for long duration has quickly turned into a multi-pronged approach that encompasses research, educational content for parents, doctors and patients as well as a powerful tool for escapism. We felt as if it just made sense to get these experiences into the hands of people who would benefit most from being able to virtually transport themselves outside of their hospital bed and into an alternate reality.
What is your favourite Radford moment?
After finishing year 12 I didn’t really know what to do or what I wanted to study at university. I ended up choosing a degree that a bunch of my friends were doing, which resulted in me becoming an accountant for a brief moment in time. I was working in a corporate recovery team in Melbourne, assisting companies that were insolvent by either getting them\ back to making profits, or more often than not, liquidating their assets. I realised pretty quickly that it wasn’t for me, but had gained an amazing insight into how you can run a company with little to no money. To my surprise, this has been an invaluable skill in helping build and grow a startup.
Trent and I would always be throwing around crazy business ideas trying to come up with a new idea. Whilst still working as an accountant, Trent opened my eyes to 3D technology, and we began thinking of ways we could commercialise the tech. I was working 2 jobs for about a month until I built up the courage to jump in the deep end and pass up a reliable income.
This was probably one of the best decisions I have made to date. Since starting Scann3d we have had the opportunity to work with some amazing people and do some unbelievable things that I would never thought possible. Ranging from being dropped into the NZ back country by a helicopter to shoot a 360 video with a exploration team training to go to Antarctica, to working with the Sydney Swans creating their season launch video and working along side realestate.com.au to bring 3D tours into the mainstream.
Even now I still don’t think I know exactly what I want to do and I’m pretty sure I’ll be changing my mind every few years until the day I retire.
Anything else that you would like to share?
Our crazy startup adventure really began during a semester abroad. Where we would both spend countless evenings throwing around dozens of horrible business ideas.
