Barry & Beck are changing how we design our spaces

August 8, 2023

Brothers Barry and Beck Besecker launched 3D Cloud by Marxent a decade ago with a little whiskey and a bet. Today, the company is a leader in Augmented Reality and 3D product visualization. The cutting-edge tech makes it possible for consumers to “see” online products or fixtures in their own homes and spaces.

Next month, Barry will be speaking at Launch Dayton Startup Week Presented by Fifth Third Bank. Read on for a sneak peek, then snag your ticket!

Introduce yourself — who are you and what is your company?

We are brothers who love building things together. We were raised in Tipp City and have been building things in the Dayton area since we were boys, always inspired by the Wright Brothers. Our current company is 3D Cloud by Marxent, an enterprise SaaS specializing in 3D product visualization. We primarily serve the furniture and home improvement industries with 3D configuration and design tools that make it easier to configure and buy furniture, decks, kitchens, bathrooms, and closets.

How did your company start?

Two brothers and an idea. There might have been some whiskey involved or a bet. That’s how it started! We had a vision to create a social shopping app, but ended up being one of the first companies to develop Augmented Reality apps for retailers. The focus on furniture and home improvement was opportunistic. Both categories were late to e-commerce because of the combination of configuration and logistics challenges. It’s simply more difficult to buy customizable furniture and remodel a kitchen online than it is to buy books or an air fryer. Visualization has been hugely important to these categories and made sense for them before it worked for fashion and other retail categories.

Why this idea?

There were lots of pivots along the way, but we stuck with 3D visualization for furniture and home improvement because we could see that it was making a difference for our clients and for the consumers who shopped with them. A lot of ideas don’t end up working out. However, there is a moment when you know an idea is so good that it is going to work.

Did you always want to be an entrepreneur?

Some people are born entrepreneurs and some people become entrepreneurs. I don’t think we had a choice. We’ve been making things together since the 1970s. Our dad was an entrepreneur and it’s what we knew growing up. While we have both worked for other companies throughout our careers but it’s in our DNA to hatch a plan and make it a reality.

The Launch Dayton community values are: 1. Be Bold 2. All Are Welcome 3. People First 4. Give First 5. Remove Barriers. How do you embody one or more of these values?

Be bold: You have to take risks in order to make anything worth making. Give first: We have a community spotlight program that we use to feature local charities and causes such as CoolTechGirls in Dublin, The FoodBank of Dayton, and Mental Health America of Ohio. Also, last year we instituted a policy where employees who donate blood can get an extra day of PTO. We’ve given hundreds of liters of blood through the program (and a lot of days of PTO!) Remove barriers: We grew up in the area, Barry wanted to live here, and we wanted to take advantage of talent coming out of Wright State. While it’s gotten easier and there are more resources now, back in 2011, it was challenging to access tech venture capital in Ohio. Even when things were tough, we were gritty. We stuck with it and found investors who aligned with our worldview and desire to build a company in the Midwest.

What identities or life experiences do you bring to entrepreneurship that helped prepare you for this lifestyle?

Play is central to everything we do. Playing with ideas, playing with potential. The time spent outside, building and destroying treehouses, then re-building them again, and playing in the creek make us who we are. We also grew up on a farm, so we aren’t afraid of hard work. Of course, we owe a lot to our parents. Our mom was a nurse, savvy, and down to earth. Our dad was an entrepreneur and a coach. They set the example.

What is the biggest barrier you’ve faced on your entrepreneur journey?

So much attention goes to companies coming out of Silicon Valley and people who went to Stanford. We don’t fit that profile, so we had to get creative when we were raising money and when telling our story.

Why do you love what you do?

It was important to us to build a company that we wanted to work for and that had a culture that felt good to us. Really, the best part of starting a company is creating jobs by bringing people who enjoy together to innovate and make great products.

What advice would you offer fellow or aspiring entrepreneurs?

Be a true believer in your own ideas but not to the death. Some ideas don’t work, and that’s ok. Even if you have to pivot, never give up.