This document discusses how Iva Leon founded ARVR Women, an online network and meetup group for women and allies in the immersive tech industry, to build community in both virtual reality and real life. Iva discovered the power of social VR platforms like Facebook Spaces and Tiltbrush to connect the community and host virtual events. This enabled members to feel present with each other and collaborate across distances. The community has since grown from 3 founders to over 4,000 members through combining VR and real-world events.

1. Building Community
with Social VR

2. Hi 👋 I’m Iva!
Co-founder, ARVR Women

3. 2018 ARVR women Yearbook by Siciliana Trevino

4. Originally from
Yugoslavia
Mom- Artist "
Dad- Psychatrist #
They Taught me ✅ :
1. Self Expression
2. Compassion
Entrepreneurial Spirit 💫
The seed was plated 🌱

5. I studied apparel 👗 design
No wonder my first VR 😎
project combined
Fashion and Tech!
VR retail storefront WCL San Francisco 2014 RISD 2005

6. First VR experiences:
• Google Cardboard
• Oculus DK2 at SVVR
• Hosting VRLab
meetups

7. Not so fun fact: I was 1 of 3 women 😲

8. A field of entrepreneurs
Tiltbrush, Looksery sprouting from the community

9. VR pop-up store 2014-2016
Union Square San Francisco
Selling products built by community

10. **Women 👧 = 1. Top buyers in households
2. Most Underserved

11. We need to develop our own community!

13. This is how ARVR women was born—It was through a
garden of many plants 🌱 and flowers where I
discovered a new community! 💐

14. 🌸 🌺 🌹 🌸 🌺 🌹 🌸

15. ARVR Women
An online network and real world meetup
for women and allies in the immersive tech
industry that supports:
1. Community 👭👫
2. Connection 🌈
3. Professional Growth 🌟
💐 💐

16. I started making new VR
friends!

17. Who became Admins of ARVR Women!

18. Goal: A platform for she/he/they
entering the space to share what they
are working on and who they are. We
wanted our community to have a
voice.

19. Getting to know our
community 🦋
Normally community is in a 2D
newsfeed- with tools like Facebook
Spaces we knew that feeling of
presence and connecting virtually
with others would allow us to truly get
to know our community! 🎉

20. Paige posts to
ARVR Women
• Social VR garden 🌱 via
Tiltbrush 🎨
• Invites members to
contribute virtual drawings
• We connect and start
meeting in social VR
regularly! 😃
FB Spaces VR

21. Virtual Community Garden🦋
Connecting through social VR and Art

22. VR enabled us to connect and share a space no matter
what the distance. We met IRL and felt like we already
knew each other!

23. Change the way we
communicate

24. Image created by Navah Berg

25. • Live in VR
• Featuring new members from the group
• Headset required
• Non- VR friends to participate
Our Feature Fridays
show is born!

27. Getting Set Up 🔌
• Create your Avatar 🌟
• You have your own private dock 👍
• Saved content (photos, videos) 📷
• Timeline content 👁
• 360 photos/videos 🎥

28. “By using facebook spaces we discovered a
powerful tool to engage with our community
and showcase the creative work of our
members.”
–Iva Leon
FB spaces interview 2018

29. Best way to feel Presence 🧘
Is to go LIVE! 🎙
• Personal FB page
• Facebook groups ⭐ (We use this feature!)
• Facebook spaces Community Group
✅ TIP: Create an event for more engagement

30. MeetinVR
• Work together anytime from anywhere
• We wanted to host a bigger meetup
• Virtual collaborative workspaces

31. Tip:
Search your existing network and find a
niche specific similarities over which you
can bond.

32. Real World Events
• Interviewing superheroes
• Creating Livestreams with celebs
• Broadcasting Live on Comic-Con Fb page
Comic- Con Palm Springs

33. Breakfast 🥞 Fight Club 🥊

34. From 3 women to over 4,000
The power of VR + Community

36. From VR 😎

37. To IRL 🤓

38. ☮ 💗 VR
Join ARVR women and Allies on FB
Twitter: @ar_vr_women