PreviewLabs

Time for another installment of ‘Meet The Team’ – introducing Jordan Lipton: PreviewLabs Inc‘s first employee and Business Developer. Since joining us in December 2017, Jordan has hit the ground running, and scaled up from a part timer to a fully-fledged team member soon after.

Let’s find out what makes him tick…

Q: First up – before we get into work stuff – let’s start the day right: describe your perfect breakfast.

A: Easy! If I’m going to pick up breakfast it’s bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll, or a bagel with smoked salmon (lox). Oh – but if it’s a sit down breakfast at a restaurant, I’m getting eggs, bacon, and a side of well-done hash browns. And some toast with butter and jelly. Maybe some ketchup or hot sauce with the eggs – now we’re talking!

Q: Well, that’s kickstarted our bellies! Moving onto career matters; you had quite an interesting start to your time at PreviewLabs. Care to tell us more?

A: For sure. Originally I was en route to get Bachelor and Master degrees in accounting at Pennsylvania State University. But, as time went on, I was exposed to other aspects of business through different classes and internship experience.

Accounting, it seems wasn’t quite enough for me. While I enjoyed the challenge of solving complex issues, I wanted to do something more creative.

After graduating, I chanced upon this PreviewLabs job post and was fascinated by the fusion of gaming, virtual reality (VR), and prototyping.

“My primary role is to facilitate the sales process, guiding our potential clients along the path from first contact to prototype development.”

I started off part-time handling the social media and marketing work. However, my position shifted into more of a business development role as I began working closely with our founder Bernard to help PreviewLabs stay on top of its game.

Now my primary role is to facilitate the sales process, guiding our potential clients along the path from first contact to prototype development.

Q: That’s quite some journey in a short period of time! What motivates you to bring out the best in your work?

A: Helping people and leaving something better than I found it is what really motivates me. Many of the prototypes we develop are for health researchers or medical technology companies, who aim to improve the lives of people around the world. My father was a surgeon, and while I didn’t follow him into medicine I’m pleased to be improving things for others in my own way.

The best part of my job is working with intelligent, motivated clients and helping turn their ideas into a prototype. The response we get from clients is incredible. One time a client came to the office to playtest the first iteration of his prototype; it was awesome watching his excitement when he saw it.

Q: What are your coworkers like? Do you work with the US and Belgium-based teams? What’s it like being part of an international squad?

A: I’m lucky to work alongside an incredibly talented and hardworking team. They all genuinely aim to be the world’s best in game prototyping! I got the chance to work in the Belgian office in Wetteren last summer and it was amazing to get a look at what actually goes into the prototyping process. It amazes me how the team there are able to solve complex issues on a daily basis.

“I’m lucky to work alongside an incredibly talented and hardworking team. They all genuinely aim to be the world’s best in game prototyping!”

That said, I haven’t noticed too many differences between the American way of business compared to the way it’s done over there. We all get where each other are coming from  – although I did find myself explaining American Football and the Super Bowl quite often though!

Q:  That makes sense. What does the future hold for PreviewLabs? What innovations are in store for 2019?

A: I couldn’t be more excited! Not just about the amazing projects we’re starting in 2019, but also about what’s planned further down the road. We’ve laid out a strategy and my job is to make sure we reach these goals. With Bernard’s leadership and the talented team we have, I see our headcount growing as we continue to specialize in rapid prototyping with game technology.

From a tech perspective, augmented reality (AR) and VR in particular will be used more to solve serious, real-world issues in the not-too-distant future, such as helping people with disabilities overcome everyday obstacles. Just look at what we’re doing now in the KneeVR project, designed to help those who’ve had knee surgery as a result of an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear perform rehabilitation exercises in virtual reality.

Q: So what is your favorite video game and why?
A: That’s a tough question! In the late 90s I was obsessed with Age of Empires, Red Alert, and RollerCoaster Tycoon. But once I got my hands on the original Xbox, I started playing more games like Halo, Gears of War, and Call of Duty. I’m more of a PlayStation guy now, currently into Battlefield V – but I’ve played every game in the NBA 2K series (the most popular basketball game) since NBA 2K7.

Q. And finally… is it true you kick your colleagues’ asses in Fortnite? Any tips to share?
A: Ha! I’ve had some great moments with Fortnite… and some really frustrating ones! My favorite part about Fortnite is the intensity everyone in the room can feel when someone is among the last 10 people playing! My biggest tip is to BE PATIENT when jumping out of the bus to start the match. I like to find a place I know others aren’t frequently going towards, so I can gather more loot!

Thanks Jordan. Great talking with you. Keep up the good work!