Herman DeBoard of Huvr Inc.
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Herman DeBoard (co-founder and CEO) of Huvr Inc., which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Huvr – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
In late 2019, I was watching the movie Avatar, and I thought how cool it would be to be able to teleport into another part of the world and walk around. So I put together a preliminary concept outline and sent it to my two current partners, Jaime-Lee and James. At first they thought I was crazy, but after letting the idea sink in for a bit, they both agreed that we had something if we could just build it. So we did.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
Shortly after we launched the company, COVID hit the US. Our development firm overseas was hit with COVID several times, setting our development timeline back. So for me, COVID has been our biggest hurdle.
What does the future hold for Huvr?
We are on track to sign 300+ clients to Huvr Pro in the next 12 months. We also believe we will be live in 100 countries with more than 20,000 Walkers and 400,000 downloads of the app. From sports, to education, to virtual travel and shopping, we have great things planned for the Huvr App.
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Colorado Springs?
Colorado Springs and the front range in general has a tech startup scene that is buzzing for sure. I attended Denver Startup Week and met several founders who all had great concepts they were trying to launch.
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Get your idea up and running in beta to prove your concept before giving your equity away for an unreasonable valuation. Venture capital firms want to see traction anyway, and if you have it, then you are in the driver’s seat for negotiating your next round of funding. Protect your equity by proving your concept has legs in the marketplace.