Our mission is to remove the fear of

Our mission is to remove a fear of driving

Best friends Jens Vanmechelen (Engineering) and Rick Wolfs (Communication and Multimedia Design) both love cars and virtual reality (VR). So, they thought, why not join forces on a graduation assignment and combine their shared passion? They researched how you can treat a fear of driving using a VR driving simulator. They received so much positive feedback that they set up a business after graduating this year: Bool Studios. However, a graduation assignment and building up a business are two very different things.

‘Our research showed that one in seventeen people has a fear of driving,’ says Jens. ‘So there’s definitely a market for our idea, but there’s still quite a taboo around it. Our aim is to break through that taboo. As part of their graduation assignment, they developed a prototype dashboard with VR glasses that simulate real-life traffic situations. In practice, the development and production costs are a few hundred thousand euros higher than expected. It also won’t take 20 weeks, but a couple of years.

Making money

‘To make sure we secure funding, we’re doing some things on the side,’ Jens added. ‘We can both program, so we’re building apps for customers during the day. Our evenings and weekends are spent working on our driving simulator. To make extra money, we also started a VR Arcade where people can play games,’ says Jens. Rick continues: ‘I work as an employee for three other days – someone’s got to pay the rent! We’re also looking for investors and grant schemes to help us raise the funds we need.’

Golden tips

Do they have any tips for budding entrepreneurs? ‘Make sure you have a unique idea,’ says Rick. ‘Follow your heart – don’t waste too much time investigating. Talk to people in your network and try things out. Ideas might sound fantastic in your head but might not be that great in reality.’ Jens adds: ‘Take a step back once in a while to see whether it’s still a good idea. Don’t be afraid to change it. We were over-optimistic when it came to timelines and costs. As an entrepreneur, you shouldn’t be afraid to put in a lot of hours and take risks. But always make sure that you can pay your bills at work and at home, or that you have a financial buffer to live on.’

Stubborn

Since they became business partners, their friendship has changed. Rick continues: ‘If you work together every day, you have less to talk about at weekends.’ ‘Besides, with both of us being so stubborn, we have our disagreements,’ says Jens, laughing. ‘But we always find a solution.’ Before embarking on their adventure, they agreed that friendship goes above business. If necessary, they’ll continue as two sole traders. But so far, that’s not on the cards at all. They’re doing what they like best: building something and working together to make their dream come true. Get ready for the driving simulator! h