In Los Angeles, a vision of the future unfolds, one where technology uplifts humanity across its diverse spectrum, nurturing financial, social, and creative inclusivity. This vision is encapsulated in “Once Upon Tomorrow: Harnessing the New Opportunities the Metaverse Creates” (Forefront Books; March 5, 2024) by Shurick Agapitov, the founder of Xsolla.
Agapitov paints a picture of a future where every consumer-facing industry, be it fashion, healthcare, or entertainment, undergoes a profound transformation. For entrepreneurs lamenting missed opportunities during the emergence of e-commerce and the mobile internet, Agapitov offers a silver lining — the opportunities within the Metaverse today are even more expansive.
Just a few years away from widescale adoption, the digital revolution of the Metaverse will be more powerful than the internet or mobile phones and will not be dominated by big Silicon Valley companies. Anyone with a brand to sell, a story to tell, can use the Metaverse now to build a hugely successful business.
Since its start in 2015, Xsolla has been the gaming industry’s leading platform, now worth, according to Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, as much as $3 billion. Agapitov has accelerated its growth (operating in more than 200 countries and territories and in more than 20 languages) with innovation after innovation. His latest innovation is X.LA, with the goal of ensuring that the concepts of Web3 are within everyone’s reach. Shurick is a visionary, creating frontiers for investors and entrepreneurs and showing how, in the Metaverse, everyone can create their own.
Agapitov delineates how:
– In the Metaverse, we will immerse ourselves in a growing global community that will change forever how we work, play, shop and explore, and engage brands, and how we interact and literally live our lives.
– While large companies such as Nike, Adidas and Gucci are already creating their digital footprints across the Metaverse, as technology continues to become a commodity and its price declines, anyone can get into the game. Anyone has the chance to create his or her own mega brand.
– The opportunity to own “real estate” in the Metaverse is like buying land on a nearly empty beach today, developing it, and watching a massive community build around you.