Meet Peter Stolmeier, CTO and Cofounder of Futurus

12 Jul Meet Peter Stolmeier, CTO and Cofounder of Futurus

Posted at 10:00h in People of Futurus by Amy Stout

What did you do before cofounding Futurus?

I graduated from Full Sail University in 2009. Before that, I was an animator for technical training tools. Once upon a time, I did technical support for AOL, and I served in the United States Air Force from 1996 – 2000 as an Air Traffic Controller. During my service, I spent 6 months in Bosnia and received the NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia.

What prompted you to cofound Futurus (previously ATLvr)?

I’ve been interested in simulations as far back as I can remember. I bought my first virtual reality headset in 1996. It was meant for VCRs, but I hooked it up to a computer for FPS games. When the modern consumer VR headsets came out, I told everyone about them and how they would be a useful tool for just about everything. Annie was one of the people who listened, and she convinced me that we were the right people to bring this technology to businesses.

What’s something that makes Futurus different?

We’re building our company on real products, not just ideas. We are self-funded, which allows us to focus on the projects we are passionate about and build relationships with our clients.

Why Atlanta?

I moved to Atlanta after graduating from Full Sail because I saw the growth potential for the city’s tech industry. I predict that Atlanta is going to continue to grow and become the go-to city, outside of Silicon Valley, for tech companies.

Tell us about your favorite project:

I try to dedicate time each week to R&D, and a lot of that becomes things that we turn into client projects, which means I can’t show it to you! Luckily some of my favorites are public now, like what we’re doing with the HTC Vive Trackers and the Augmented Reality dance off.

What advice do you have for people looking to get into AR/VR?

My advice to anyone wanting to work in the industry is universal: Don’t be afraid to do it anyway. Throughout my life, I’ve worked on things that may seem standalone or even frivolous at first but eventually turned out to be vital to my career. The key is to be ready when the opportunity comes, and the only way to do that is to build the skills before anyone asks you to. Astronaut Commander Hadfield explains it better, but I can say from first-hand experience, it’s true.