swissVRexperience brings simulators to Switzerland

From Croatia via China to Switzerland: we spoke to Matthias Cueni from SwissVRexperience and learnt how he and his business partner Marc Oestreicher jumped on the VR bandwagon. The two young entrepreneurs have been pushing ahead with their VR simulator business in Switzerland with express speed for a good year and a half.

What exactly is your business model?

On the one hand, we set up VR simulators in shopping centres throughout Switzerland to offer visitors a further experience in addition to shopping.

We also hire out our simulators for occasions, events, exhibitions, etc. We currently have up to 8 VR cinema and 4 racing simulators available for hire.

How did you come up with the idea for this business?

It's a classic story that everyone who wants to set up their own business wants. We came across it by chance.

I saw these VR simulators in a shopping centre 4 years ago during the summer holidays in Croatia and just thought to myself: OK, something new; VR must really be on the rise. But I didn't even try it out myself. After that, it was forgotten again.

In spring 2018, my business partner Marc and I put our heads together because it was clear to both of us that we wanted to set up a new, independent business. That's when this moment from Croatia came back to my mind and that I had never seen this in Switzerland before. After doing some research, we decided to pursue this idea in more detail. No sooner said than done, we travelled to China in June 2018 to visit various companies and test devices. Shortly afterwards, the first simulators were ordered and already in use. 

Can you both make a living from it?

Marc also has his own company and I have been making a living from our business since May 2019. Every beginning is difficult, but we believe in our business. 

What can you experience with your VR simulators?

With the VR cinema, also known as the Egg because of its appearance, you can experience over 50 different themed worlds, such as rollercoaster rides, horror videos or flights through space, etc. With this large selection, there is something for everyone from children aged 4 and up to adults.

The racing simulator offers a choice of over 20 different cars and tracks. Whether DTM or Formula 1, everyone will have fun here too.

And what does the fun cost?

The basic rental price for a simulator is CHF 500 per day.

You can buy an adventure for CHF 5 per person in the shopping centres.

Who is your target group?

As the range is very large, we also have different target groups. Whether children's birthday parties or companies for events and exhibitions, we have it all.

And who has actually booked so far?

We have already been able to set up our simulators for several banks at trade exhibitions, companies for Christmas parties, we were at the FitnessExpo Basel, events such as Hüpfburgenfunpark and now in September 2019, we have 8 simulators at the SAG Automotivshow in Fribourg. The simulators are an absolute highlight for exhibitions. They attract people to the stand in droves and the companies have time to talk to these people.

What has been the best feedback so far?

Every time a child or even an adult gets off the simulator and laughs, it's great feedback for us.

Likewise, when we receive new bookings for the next events or exhibitions, this shows us that our simulators have been very well received.

Was there also negative feedback?

Sure, we've had people who got dizzy after a short time. It wasn't exactly a pleasure for them. 

Do you have any further plans for the future that you can reveal to our readers?

We are in the process of adding more simulators to our range, keeping up with the new technology and are already in talks for a Switzerland-wide VR event. But I can't reveal any more about that yet.

Well then, good luck!