The Story of 3D Cloud: Building the Future of 3D Commerce

The story of 3D Cloud begins not with 3D visualization, but with a graduate student analyzing alumni donation patterns at Purdue University. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, founder Beck Besecker shared how a data project in the university’s fundraising office sparked a journey that would lead to multiple successful companies.

From Email Marketing to Receipt Tape Innovation

“I got a job in the fundraising office there, helping them with sort of like a big data project,” Beck recalls. The goal was analyzing which alumni to target for a billion-dollar funding campaign chaired by none other than Neil Armstrong. This early exposure to data-driven marketing would shape Beck’s entrepreneurial journey.

Together with his brother Barry, Beck launched his first company in the late 1990s, focusing on targeted email marketing. “Our thesis for the first business was, hey, all these emerging online companies, Amazon, Pets.com at the time, are all going to need a targeted marketing platform.” While the thesis proved correct, timing proved challenging as the dot-com bubble burst.

However, this apparent setback led to an unexpected pivot. The company discovered their targeting technology could revolutionize physical retail: “When you scan a loyalty card and you get offers on your receipt tape based on your current and previous purchase history, we’re the guys that invented that.” This innovation caught the attention of NCR, leading to a successful acquisition.

The Birth of 3D Cloud

After successful exits from multiple companies, the brothers launched 3D Cloud in 2011 with a bold thesis: “Eventually, three D will eat the Internet. Every single product on the Internet will be in 3d because it’s easier to maintain, it’s transportable.”

But translating this vision into reality wasn’t straightforward. The company spent nearly four years exploring different market segments, from fashion to industrial equipment, before finding their sweet spot in home improvement and furnishing. The patience to find the right market came from their unique approach to funding, focusing on entrepreneurs-turned-investors rather than traditional venture capital.

Creating a New Category

The breakthrough came when they identified a critical problem in the home improvement space. As Beck explains, “If you’re going to buy a high consideration product like in the home category… they’re expensive, they have a lot of configurable parts that have to be put together in a shared scene, it’s a complex data model.”

Traditional design processes were frustrating for both customers and retailers. 3D Cloud’s solution revolutionized this experience: “Imagine that our experience is you scan your space with your cell phone, create a floor plan, select a photo of an inspirational kitchen that you like from a library that people think of like Pinterest kind of experience. And then our software automatically builds a kitchen in your space based on that design, in that photo, in about 2 seconds.”

The Road Ahead

Looking to the future, 3D Cloud faces a strategic decision that could shape the next phase of 3D commerce. As Beck explains, “Our current decision that we have to make is, do we want to stay focused vertically in the home category and kind of move out in concentric circles, go to maybe real estate or new home builders, or do we want to go sideways and start looking at other categories?”

While expanding beyond home improvement offers potentially unlimited opportunities, it also carries greater risks. As Beck notes, the economics of 3D content creation still don’t make sense for all product categories: “Do you really need to see a shoe in your hand before you buy it? Plus the cost of creating that content, the turnover of that content doesn’t quite make the economics work, but eventually it will.”

This measured approach to expansion reflects the same patient, methodical strategy that has defined 3D Cloud’s journey from the beginning. As 3D visualization technology continues to evolve and become more accessible, 3D Cloud’s early bet on the future of digital commerce appears increasingly prescient.