Sam Tsang (Media District) - The Matterpod ep. 6 #matterport #podcast

00:00:03:05 - 00:00:28:20
Carson Clement
Hey everyone. And welcome back. We're super excited today to be joined by Sam Tsang coming to us from Toronto. And we just kind of as a reminder for these conversations, we just want to talk more with people in the industry. We started Openhaus because we ourselves were MSPs and wanted to see this product come to life. And so we want to basically talk with other MSPs like ourselves.

And Sam Tsang is an MSP. He has a business that does all sorts of different 3D technologies and different, you know, imaging and capture services for businesses and residential. Anyways, lots of different projects in Toronto and beyond. And anyways, we're just really grateful for you to join us today, Sam.

Sam Tsang
Thank you for having me.

Carson Clement
Yeah, well, let's get started, Sam, just by kind of giving us a brief introduction of yourself and Media District, which is Sam's business.

Sam Tsang
All right, so I'm a new import to Toronto. Been here for 12 years, used to be based out in Florida and and been doing Matterport actually for not very long. I'll say we started a concept around in the beginning of the pandemic. I myself am a commercial photographer. And because of the pandemic production was halted. So in the middle of it we're like, okay, we, we've got to continue to work.

And therefore we pivoted our business model and then branch into real estate, mainly because, you know, that was the only thing possible going on, you know, at least up here in Ontario, Canada. So yeah, it's been a learning experience and we're enjoying the ride so far.

Carson Clement
Awesome. So that's kind of an interesting take. So before you came into anything 3D related, you were just doing commercial building photography, is that right?

Sam Tsang
Commercial photography actually more into like e-comm, fashion. So nothing related to architecture whatsoever.

Carson Clement
Interesting. Very cool. That's awesome. So did you do like product photos and different things like that?

Sam Tsang
E -comm. So mainly work with models. Actually, it's quite a big production. We have, you know, all the professional on sets, makeup artists, wardrobe stylist and yeah, it's every time there's like ten or 15 people on set. Quite a contrast from what I'm doing right now. Yeah.

Carson Clement
That's awesome. So are you still doing some of that or are you doing some of that still and you know, Matterport and different architectural visualization or is that mostly all Matterport based now.

Sam Tsang
So because of, you know, my background in commercial photography, there's quite a few clients or clients of a client are in this, you know, retail world. So it was a natural response to extend the service to, you know, this type of target audience. And yeah, so my my focus has been on retail or art galleries and or even tourist attraction.

Carson Clement
So that's awesome. Way, way, cool. So when you got started, how did you first hear about Matterport? How did you even have the idea to switch over and make that jump during the year that the depths of the pandemic?

Sam Tsang
Sure. So when the pandemic hit, my wife and I were actually on a cruise ship. Yeah. So we were we the end of the cruise. We were in Florida and then we got on the plane, flew back to Toronto that very Friday. The province of states, if you will, announce a complete lockdown. So no business, no photo shoot.

No one knew what we were supposed to do. So, you know, I was just twiddling my thumb. Okay, what am I supposed to do now? I have a photography studio downtown that I can't open door to allow anyone to work with me. And so I was just bored. And the next thing I saw this app pop up, I believe it was on Facebook and it was about virtual Cadillac experience.

Sam Tsang
And so out of curiosity, I press and it and and it actually take me to this link to make an appointment to do a virtual walk through and experience a brand new lineup of Cadillac vehicles. So I made the appointment and then it actually dropped me into this Matterport Virtual showroom with all the complete line up and then when I had, you know, talked to a sales associate, it connect me live to a salesperson and the whole experience was so impressive it the person answer all my questions and at the end of it, you know she asked, hey, would you like to test drive a Cadillac?

And I was like, We're in the middle of a pandemic. What are you talking about? She was like, Oh, don't worry, we'll have a drop right in front of the house. Everything will be contactless. So it was a good time. I did not end up buying a Cadillac, but it was such a good experience. It. It piqued my interest, looking more in-depth into this Matterport thing.

And that's how I got started.

Carson Clement
That is a way, way cool story and it's pretty awesome. You know, the pandemic, it's I think it shows we were all pretty bored and not sure what to do that that basically the pandemic hits and you're like, I'm going to do some virtual car shopping. You Yeah.

Sam Tsang
That's right.

Carson Clement
I mean, that's, that's a way, way cool story. And hopefully, you know, that Cadillac comes in the coming coming.

Sam Tsang
Soon I hope.

Carson Clement
It. How did you get into photography in general? You know how it was. There's always kind of an interest of yours or.

Sam Tsang
No, no, not at all. It was totally by accident. So as I previously mentioned, I'm a new import to Canada. So back in Florida, I used to be an exercise physiologist, so I used to work in the medical field. I went to university to, you know, do all my medical stuff. And then the company, you know, shift the my role into more business side of things.

Sam Tsang
So I went ahead and study my MBA in business. And then when I moved to Canada, you, you know, that was a process that I need to wait for the visa to, to come through. So while during that waiting period where I cannot work locally in the medical profession, my wife gave me a camera and she's like, Hey, occupy yourself, keep yourself busy, go learn something.

Sam Tsang
So that's what I did. So I picked up a camera. She taught me all the basics and yeah, that's how I got started. And then through channels on Facebook, I met some of the commercial photographers here in Toronto and they took me under their wings. I met the right person at the right time and very soon I was introduced to the industry here locally. And yeah, I left the medical field and fully into this art feel that it's very scary but quite rewarding. There you will.

Carson Clement
That's awesome. That's where else I can kind of relate. Actually, we we moved to Texas because I was going to law school for all high school and kind of a similar story. But when the pandemic hit, I had a friend that basically was into Matterport and 3D photography and I just decided, you know, I'm going to take a break from law school.

I didn't want to pay for remote learning at the time and just kind of got into it and started doing some some scanning here in Texas. And one thing led to another and decided to drop out of law school. And while all in on photography business. And we eventually had the idea for Open House. So I think I can relate to leaving a very professional track, being an entrepreneur and doing your own thing in the photography world.

So anyways, thanks. Thanks for. Thanks for sharing that. Well yeah. Right now when it comes to your media district business, what would you say is kind of the makeup of your clientele? Is it mostly residential now, mostly commercial? Who are you doing 3D scanning or photography services for right now? Yeah.

Sam Tsang
So mostly commercial. The reason is the in my opinion, just the very short amount of time that I've been in this business, I realized that, you know what, the residential side is quite saturated, at least here in Toronto, a big city. So I was like, you know what? I should stick with the clientele that I'm very familiar with, which is the commercial side, the retailers and the art galleries and and tourist attraction.

Because I used to do commercial photography for these clients, so I should, you know, keep doing what I'm what I do best and stick to the niche that I'm good at. So yeah, so we end up pretty much not touching the residential stuff at all and just purely focusing on on the commercial side of things.

Carson Clement
And of those commercial businesses, what, what's the makeup of those mostly is that you mentioned, you know, a few different categories, retail or tourist attractions, etc.. What's kind of is there one category that really stands out that you do a lot of work for or is it pretty evenly distributed?

Sam Tsang
It's quite even at this point.

Carson Clement
That's interesting. That's awesome. I think I think you're kind of spot on with that where what we've seen is residential is really, really saturated and the prices of those projects also are very competitive. There's not a ton of margin for an MSRP out there, but I think what we're going to see, especially with different overlays and different Matterport Technology Partners, I think we'll start to see more and more commercial adoption. What's what's your opinion about that?

Sam Tsang
I think so. I think that right now, Matterport, for a beginner to get into this whole virtual experience type of thing, I think a lot of times they make the mistake about, okay, when you have a machine or tool, if you will, then you have a business. It's not like that. If you have been in business long enough, you knew, you know that you do need to have a business plan in place first.

You need to do all your calculation. You need to like do a SWOT analysis, if you will, to know, you know, who are your competitors. You know, is the market saturated? What are their strength? What are their weaknesses? Do you actually have a niche to break into this? You know, carve out a little piece of pie, if you will, because if if you don't do any of that before you purchase that equipment, I can tell you that you'll be in for a wild ride.

Yeah. You know, you really need to have a business plan before you purchase anything. I mean, that's why a lot of new businesses go out of business because you essentially cannot compete for free. Okay? There are people who are out there doing the same type of work, but they are significantly under charging. They do not know what they are worth.

They just thought that, okay, if I make it up through volume or if I if I make it up through bulk or or if I do it cheaper, I'll grab that client. But as as you can see in during this pandemic, a lot of businesses just went out like they disappear, vanished without a trace because they don't have that business plan.

And when unexpected things happen, business get wiped out and they are never to be heard of again. So yeah, got to have a business plan.

Carson Clement
I think that's that's super good advice for sure because when you're starting a business, there's so much fun and exciting stuff in the beginning, you know, like buying equipment, buying a domain name, making your website, designing a of there's all this stuff that is so kind of like fun and exhilarating when you're getting started and it's like, Oh, I actually need to find customers now.

And that's where what you're talking about having that business plan. And I guess even just also like validating that there's a customer segment that you can actually service from the beginning. Yep. So, so important. So it's pretty counterintuitive, you know, I think starting Open House or other, you know, things that we've done in the past, the first thing you think is like, okay, to start a business, I need to create my LLC or whatever, you know, like you think that's step one, but actually step one is making a business plan and validating that there's people that you even give a crap about what you think you can do, you know?

Sam Tsang
Yeah, totally agree.

Carson Clement
Yeah. So on the topic of purchasing equipment, I kind of want to wrap up with this. We're going to have to obviously have another conversation, Sam, because. All right, so we'll come back for an episode too soon. But on the topic of purchasing equipment, I have to ask, when it comes to the Matterport Press re, I think a lot of people are excited.

A lot of people aren't so excited and don't see how it will benefit their specific business. I'd love, especially with your background and what you're doing, commercial space, I'd love your your reaction or what's your opinion on the Matterport Pro three and are you guys looking at buying one, etc.?

Sam Tsang
So we were one of the first people who, who received our unit. I ordered mine on launch day, I believe I it took me 4 hours to, to make that decision, mainly because we've done commercial projects that are big enough and through just one job or even have a job or even a quarter of a job, the price of that equipment pays for itself.

So it's a no brainer for us. And I don't I think a lot of people make that mistake of comparing Pro two with the Pro three because in my opinion, the Pro two and the Pro three are two. Well, first of all, it's two different technology and they are for different type of uses. So for us, you know, on the commercial side of things where we very often would do, you know, outdoor scanning pro three as a no brainer, we we got to have it because otherwise we would have, you know, we've been renting the Blake the like a Blake 360 and after using the pro three, it's a confirmation that we made the best decision.

Carson Clement
Yeah. I mean, I, I agree with what you're saying. We, so we've used that on some projects. We ordered it early and basically the same day it was announced like, like you did. And just the first project we used that on, we actually did it for a pretty big haul and I think we were just so pumped about how quick it was and how fast and it just cut down our time that we needed to be in the home and scanning.

And then we went outside and just scanned this. Excuse me, we went outside and just scanned this big backyard with no shade and nothing super sunny day. And it was just magical. It's like, holy cow. I don't I don't know if you've experienced this. I'm sure you have. But trying to scan an outdoor space, even just a patio that was shaded with the pro to just what you're just scanning over and over like, oh, a light.

Yeah. Oh, you have to, you know, not enough data. And the fact that you could just walk outside and scan an outdoor space was a huge unlock for us, for sure.

Sam Tsang
Yes, absolutely.

Carson Clement
So awesome. Are you are you using the Pro three now as kind of the primary camera for all your projects now? Or are you still using or to what.

Sam Tsang
I still use to pro 2 you know, it depends on the project. If it warrants the use of a pro 3, we definitely will use it. But I strongly believe the Pro 2 has its place and for I'll say 80% of the projects out there, the Pro 2 can just do a fantastic job. You know, only if you if if the environment you know a light our technology would work better then you know by all means use pro 3.

So when we use Openhaus with with our Ripley's Aquarium of Canada's project, the pro at that time pro 2 what's the main camera. Pro 3 wasn't even announced yet, and it was such a challenge to get that place scanned because, you know, in the, in the building itself, there's so many glass surfaces, reflective services, it's an aquarium, everything is glass and mirrors.

And then we also needed to to capture the the art installation outside of of of the aquarium. And we had to time it just right so that there's significantly lower infrared bouncing around outside. And it's a it's a tourist place where there's thousands of people outdoor. And and it was such a challenge to do that. But I can imagine with the Pro 3 it would be much faster production time will be will be much shorter.

Sam Tsang
We won't have to get like special permit to scan that area for, for a longer period. Yeah.

Carson Clement
That's awesome. Yeah. We've, we've experienced the same thing. We're still using pro to on some spaces as well. I'd say. Yeah the majority, the majority don't necessarily need the upgraded the pro3 but the ones that do it makes a huge, huge difference. That's just a game changer. So anyway, Sam, we got to we got to cut short now all right.

And we appreciate the time people can find you at mediadistrict.ca Is there anywhere else they should that should find ya’ll

Sam Tsang
That's it or Instagram Media District ca

Carson Clement
Awesome. Great. Well, we'll definitely be having more conversations in the future because there's lots to talk about. And like I said, we just want to have more discussion in the industry with people like yourself. So thank you for taking the time today.

Sam Tsang
Awesome. Thank you.