Thea Baumann can make your fake nails pop - literally.
The augmented reality entrepreneur and 2002 QUT creative industries alumna will use $750,000 in new angel investment to crack the Chinese market with her company's nail 'appcessories' - fashionable fingernails that form striking 3D images when you scan them with a special mobile phone app.
These virtual designs can then be shared through social networks like WeChat, Weibo and Twitter.
Watch a video on how to use the holographic nails.
Ms Bauman said her company, Metaverse Makeovers, will target 93 million young Chinese women with the fashion nails and companion mobile app.
"Every street in every city in China is festooned with nail businesses," Ms Baumann said.
"These nail businesses have wifi access and are frequented by young women who are expressive on social media, active game players and mobile consumers.
"China also has an increasingly mobile-only generation active on social chat apps and seeking new ways to express their individuality amongst their friends."
Melbourne Angels, QUT Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) and private investors in China have backed Metaverse Makeovers' move on China with $750,000 in seed funding.
A media artist and technologist, Ms Baumann already has a track record in the emerging wearable technology space, having advised a number of technology giants about how young people interact with augmented reality.
Maurice Grasso from Melbourne Angels said Metaverse impressed his organisation with its "superior technical expertise, demonstrated experience and international recognition at the highest levels of industry."
"They presented a well-researched opportunity with a very tightly defined target market of early-adopters in China which is more than twice the total population of Australia."
CEA CEO Anna Rooke, said Metaverse Makeovers marked her organisation's third investment, all of which were companies led by female founders.
"Metaverse Makeovers is a great exemplar of the opportunities we want to back and accelerate. A compelling blend of creative innovation and technology-based delivery that makes possible social and commercial outcomes not previously imagined.
"Our national mandate to advance scalable creative ventures through co-investment underpins our collaboration with Melbourne Angels, one of Australia's most respected groups of early-stage investors."
In addition to the $750,000 investment, Metaverse Makeovers has earned a Commercialisation Australia grant of $262,538.
Metaverse Makers is currently trialling its holographic nails and hopes to launch them widely in China in six to 12 months.
About QUT Creative Enterprise Australia
CEA is Australia's only dedicated incubator for start-up companies in the creative industries. It invests in emerging and start-up businesses with significant growth opportunities to tackle large global markets, potential to attract other investors and scope to achieve an exit (acquisition or public listing) within a five year timeframe. CEA's Creative Enterprise Fund is the first dedicated investment fund in Australia that specialises in accelerating the growth of companies in the creative industries.
About Metaverse Makeovers
Metaverse Makeovers is a transnational, cross-cultural and collaborative tech company and brand that designs new social mobile products for emerging markets and the digital generation. The company has offices in Melbourne, Shanghai, Hong Kong and retails its products online. Its interdisciplinary team is made up of artists, technologists, developers and marketers.
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Media contacts:
Clare Treston, CEA, +61 423 170 046, clare.treston@qut.edu.au
Thea Baumann, Metaverse Makeovers, thea@metaversemakeovers.com, www.metaversemakeovers.com
