Niall O'Driscoll, CEO, vStream
As Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder of vStream, Niall works at the cutting edge of designing and developing new patient-centric platforms using virtual and augmented reality technology. These platforms use psychoeducation and neuroeducation techniques. To empower patients and form part of digital therapy techniques to reduce stress and increase adherence to medication administration.
In addition, the platforms represent the patient's point-of-view to address issues of empathy between patients and health-care professionals, as well as family, friends and careers, also addressing mental health issues such as feelings of isolation.
As a founding director of the Irish organisation Nurture Africa, focussing on supporting children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS and operating in Uganda. Niall spent over seven years developing the organisation as a board member, culminating in building a health centre in Nansana, Kampala, supporting over 20,000 patients a year.
Winning multiple awards for his work over the past 20 years as a writer, director, storyteller, innovator and entrepreneur, Niall continues to work across many varied verticals, including sports, retail and health care, visitor attractions and property development, pushing the boundaries of concept through continued R&D.
Companies include Mercedes F1, McLaren Technology Group, Pfizer, Novartis, Servier and Roche Pharmaceuticals. Niall's background in theatre and film, coming top of his class from Trinity College and receiving a First Class Masters. Over the past decade, he has formed the bedrock of his work with vStream, redefining narrative structures for new platforms, from stereoscopic 3D through augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality to defining how these narratives are mapped onto physical spaces to create new and unique experiences.
At the launch of Mission Control 2, Sir Ron Dennis, CEO of McLaren, referred to it not as the work of technologists but of storytellers. The award-winning experience for SAP, housed in The McLaren Technology Centre, London, imagines the future of Formula 1 racing and realises that story through gestural holograms, intelligent tables, augmented reality glasses and electromagnetic glass.
These are some of the tools and palettes of Niall's work with co-founder Andrew Jenkinson. For example, the futuristic sculpture, The Cube, in Levis Stadium, not only tells a story and redefines a space, but becomes itself, a creative platform for partner brands to tell their stories with visualisations and interactions never before possible.
A fitting response to the challenge and opportunity that Super Bowl 50 presented. Niall founded the vStream Group with Andrew Jenkinson in 2007, acting as joint CEO and the chief creative force within the group over that time. The company has offices in Dublin, London and New York. Niall works creatively and strategically with clients, including on a consultative level.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
I am signed up for Masterclass - I love the diversity of topics, the relative depth of the content and the ability to be inspired and continue to learn makes both my work and personal life more enriched.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I am a co-founder and CEO of vStream, which has subdivisions of vStream Health and vStream Virtual Events. My own key focus at the moment is the development of a Virtual Reality Mental Resilience platform for employees. This allows me to learn from and work with a wide range of people, from Counselling Psychologists and Neurologists to the people using our platform and their varied roles. It is a fascinating area working at the crossroads between creativity, technology and humanity!
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
The diversity of challenges is a wonderful thing that keeps the appetite for knowledge, the inspiration of the possible and the hope for the future alive and well.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Change the perspective to find a solution.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
The desire and belief that through creativity and technology, I can help create something with the people I collaborate with that will positively impact the lives of others in the world.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
How myself, my family and my friends continue to overcome various diversities to live meaningful, happy lives.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
The most interesting way to meet new people is in an Irish pub.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Empathy and creativity are some of the most important skills that humanity possesses, especially in an age increasingly dominated by technology.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
Accountancy.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
In business, I admire Ken Cahill of SIlvercloud and my business partner, Andrew Jenkinson, for their tenacity, positivity, drive and appetite for challenge.
In academia, I admire Professors Steve Peters and Aidan O'Driscoll, who both share a character of calm reflection, informed insight and humble leadership.
In creativity, I admire Brian Eno and James Kelly for their disinterest in boundaries and their embrace of chaos.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Creatively I like to write music and short stories and paint in oil or digitally. I am co-manger of my son's football team - which is an honour to be able to share time with a group of kids as they grow from 5 -18 - although my football management skills may leave a lot to be desired!
I am on the board of Focus Ireland and Dublinia, both of which are very fulfilling as they are both amazingly well-led organisations that teach me a lot and allow me to contribute to the social and cultural life of my home city.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
The business managed to step up to the challenge of having one revenue stream be interrupted (that of interactive, experiential installations) to be replaced by a new one, that of virtual events. The challenge of working remotely and pivoting to a new line of business showed us the strength and dynamism of both the services we offer and the people within the company that deliver them.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
We always rely on the insights of those that have gone before and are lucky enough to be incredibly well supported by many of the same people we began with to this day, including Bernie Cullinan of Pragma and Conor Sheahan of CKS. We also try and offer our help and insights when asked. Anyone who has set up and run a business will know it can be a lonely place at times, so being able to rely on and get counsel from those that can empathise and guide is essential for survival and growth.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Surround yourself with people who are passionate and excellent at what they do and don't expect someone else to do the hard work.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
People fail BECAUSE they give up. Giving up cannot be one of your options.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
"I told you I was ill." is the epitaph on Spike Milligan's tombstone.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
As one of the largest investors in the world, Enterprise Ireland is an excellent support to Irish businesses, allowing them to remain dynamic and agile as solution providers for their international clients through their presence of EI offices across the globe.
Large companies such as Cognizant and Novartis are also very progressive in adopting technology and innovation to improve life for both the customers and their employees.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success is happiness. If you are happy, then all the other elements must fall into place. If you are not, then you can identify which elements need addressing and address them to get the balance right. Coming out the other side of Covid and Brexit, the one thing I have learned is to keep your expectations low and your ambitions high. It makes happiness easier to attain.