Why the #50 haunted me
Power Zone Member – Simone Clow
I think of Tory and the Power Zone like a Personal Trainer for business! Not only has my profile increased, but I have met some amazing women in the network with whom I am collaborating. I am so inspired by this group of women supporting each other to rise.
This is her story:
Why the #50 haunted me
At age 48, after a long and rewarding production career in New York, London and Sydney, I was managing a VFX studio in Sydney. I loved the team I’d built and the job, working on VFX shots for feature films including The Great Gatsby and Hacksaw Ridge. But in the back of my mind that number 50 was haunting me—because in Australia, production is a young person’s game.
One day, during a management meeting, I made a split second decision to just leave. I went to Italy and Greece for a month, with no plan. But when you open your heart to opportunity, it comes. An old colleague messaged on LinkedIn, asking if I’d be up for producing experiential content for Motor shows. And suddenly I found myself traveling the world to motor shows and working alongside a VR team.
I wasn’t really interested in this new technology—it felt like it was for young gamers—but one day I agreed to try it. And it was transformative. I’d spent my entire career building CG worlds for 2D screens. But with VR I was able to be immersed in those CG worlds and interact with the content. I could see so many use cases for it from immersive brand activations, hard skills training and soft skills training.
That VR team was made up of three exceptionally talented men at least a decade younger than me. They were determined to build a business, but unlike so many entrepreneurs who think they can build a business on talent alone, they realised what they did not know—the business of business. That’s where I came in.
We started Virtual Immersive (later rebranded to Zebrar) with a bang, building world first augmented reality technology for World Square Shopping Centre’s Lunar New Year activation. It went on to win several awards and is still today a great example of best-in-class AR.
From there we moved global, building immersive interactive experiences for Salesforce, IBM, Visa, Meta, and other brands, as well as continuing our local work with Westfield, Cadbury, CUB, Accenture and others, including an interactive, personalised experience for LG at the Vivid Festival of Light in 2023 #MoodUPbyLG., and a world first interactive stage show, The Metaverse of Magic, currently traveling internationally.
Has it been easy? No of course not! According to Deloitte, only 22% of Australian start-ups are founded by women, we make up only 28% of the STEM workforce, including technology-related roles, and occupy only 16% of executive positions. So, I’m in a minority. I credit my business partners for taking the brave step of going into business with an older woman, with decades of production expertise, experience in running businesses and P&L’s, but zero tech knowledge at the time. It’s worked out well for us all.
I’m now 55 years old and learning new technology every day (often slowly, to the frustration of my tech savvy team, and the amusement of my two children). I am exceptionally passionate about immersive technologies – I am a founding member of the Australian Metaverse Advisory Council; a member of several women in tech groups; was named as one of Trailblazing Women Making a Footprint in Business 2023 by Fortune Time Magazine; judge Women in Tech awards and mentor younger women to try and change those STEM stats! I speak at events (including SXSW in 2023), on panels and podcasts about XR, Metaverse, and the positive effects these technologies can have on our lives when built for good, with purpose, and user experience at the heart.
I am living proof that you can have a new career at 50. I know it’s a cliche but age is just a number, and I’ve only just begun to shine.
About Simone Clow, CEO Zebrar
After a long international career in visual effects (advertising and film) Simone Clow co-founded Australia’s award-winning creative technology company Zebrar in 2017. She and her team merge art and technology to create immersive, interactive experiences that elevate global brands (IBM, Disney,Salesforce, Meta, Accenture) and captivate audiences. As CEO of Zebrar, Simone is at the cutting edge of global tech. She speaks on panels, podcasts and events about the power of immersive technology including XR, Spatial Computing and Metaverse. A founding member of the Australian Metaverse Advisory Council and named as one of Trailblazing Women Making a Footprint in Business 2023 by Fortune Time Magazine she loves creating purposeful experiences that add value in a transformative industry. A mother of two who loves boxing and travel, Simone has a personal life evolution story as powerful as her business and technology credentials and achievements.
