Profile: metaverse entrepreneur Hrish Lotlikar of Superworld

There’s no question about it: Facebook is one of the most powerful and influential tech companies in the world. This can’t be much of a surprise, given that the platform has over 2.9 billion monthly active users. When the social media giant recently rebranded to Meta, countless experts and analysts began researching the concept of a metaverse, and what it means for the future.

Facebook is spending billions of dollars betting on the metaverse. However, Facebook isn’t the only company that hopes to cash in on the concept of a “virtual world.” Many crypto entrepreneurs are interested in how NFTs will play a role in the metaverse, for example.

Our Decentral Entrepreneur profile this week focuses on Hrish Lotlikar, a serial startup entrepreneur. Lotlikar is the founder of Superworld, which plans on leveraging augmented reality, virtual reality, and blockchain technology to create a “social augmented reality app.”

Who is Hrish Lotlikar?

One of the most interesting things about Hrish Lotlikar is that he’s a digital nomad who’s always loved to travel. While an average entrepreneur may build a startup and develop that company in a city over several years, Lotlikar spends his time living in different cities all over the world. He was born in India, but grew up in Houston. 

Lotlikar began working in venture capital, specifically investing in “tech and biotech.” He credits this early venture capital experience with helping him learn how a startup is supposed to scale. He also previously founded Rogue Initiative Studios, a Los Angeles-based entertainment startup.

Introducing the Superworld

What if I told you that there was a company that’s been actively thinking about the metaverse long before Facebook? Hrish Lotlikar is the CEO and co-founder of Superworld, a dynamic augmented reality platform that has been digitally mapped over Earth’s surface. 

Users can not only buy and sell virtual real estate, but also personalize and curate their plot of land with digital assets. The platform boasts over 64 billion unique plots of land. The platform was originally focused on allowing influencers and brands to create personalized and interactive content. Superworld also boasts an NFT marketplace. Notable investors include Tim Draper and Bob Metcalfe, inventor of the Ethernet.

What inspired Lotlikar to begin thinking about augmented reality, virtual reality, and the metaverse? He noticed the immense success of Pokemon Go, and thought about how millions of people worldwide are clearly interested in a creative virtual world. Thanks to some of Lotlikar’s connections and VC background, Superworld is well-funded and well poised to benefit from the rise of the metaverse. 

Creating a movement for social impact initiatives in the virtual world

Each plot in Superworld is an NFT that adheres to the ERC-721 standard. Superworld isn’t just about buying and selling virtual plots of land, it’s about monetizing a virtual world. Superworld has also embraced social impact initiatives. Lotlikar points out that the platform is meant to leverage technology—augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain —“to actually improve the world and enhance humanity.”

The entrepreneur also makes it clear that Superworld is a movement focused on bringing people together. He understands that tokenization and the rise of NFTs can help take Superworld to the next level, but always stresses the importance of community. The ultimate goal for Lotlikar is always to create a better world.

He recognizes that it will be new ideas and technologies that truly help to expand the community. Superworld is meant to be creative and collaborative, so that even other platforms can build virtual worlds on Superworld. Hrish also believes that Superworld can be a “gateway to the metaverse” for those excited about new technologies but may not understand them fully. 

Is this the rise of the metaverse entrepreneur?

Even though Facebook and other startups are betting on the metaverse, there are some doubts about whether it will pay off. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are worried about whether the metaverse will truly be decentralized. Others worry about whether it’s a dystopian future that we should avoid rather than embrace. 

Facebook may be a massive player, but there are many opportunities for companies involved in the metaverse somehow. Decentraland, another platform focused on virtual land, saw its native token, MANA, skyrocket in the wake of Facebook’s announcement. 

We will likely see many new metaverse entrepreneurs entering the space. Lotlikar also stated in an interview that he is interested to see how tokenization technology will open up new possibilities. Superworld may not have billions of users like Facebook, but it is certainly poised for some incredible growth. 

What does the entrepreneur have to offer in terms of advice? He says that the best thing to do is to “start a great team.” He points out that being an entrepreneur can be unpredictable, and having people you can trust, with different skill sets, can be invaluable. Lotlikar also makes sure to add in: “It’s also about having fun, too.”