Jeremy Dalton: 2 Things That Determine Whether an XR Pilot Succeeds or Fails
In this episode of the XR Industry Leaders Podcast, Brad Scoggin and Will Stackable sit down with Jeremy Dalton, founder of XRHQ and the person who spent five years convincing PwC to build what became their global immersive technology practice. Over 14 years in the industry, Jeremy has seen XR from every angle: building programs inside a skeptical enterprise, delivering over 150 projects across more than 50 countries, and now tracking real-world XR use cases globally through XRHQ. The sharpest parts of this conversation are about what separates XR programs that stick from ones that quietly die. Jeremy breaks down his CECE framework (Cost, Education, Content, Experience) and makes the case that education and user experience are the two barriers organizations most consistently underestimate. He also names the two things he has seen in every pilot that succeeds: a genuine internal champion and someone grounded enough to actually manage the headsets day to day. Whether you are in the early stages of a pilot or trying to scale what is already working, this episode gives you a clear-eyed framework for where programs fail and what to do about it. Jeremy also covers the AR spectrum from assisted reality to mixed reality, why a bad demo can do more damage than no demo at all, and why after nearly 14 years he is still bullish on where XR is headed. Key Moments Start with the Problem, Not the Technology: How Jeremy Pitched XR Inside PwC (01:21) Why Jeremy Built XRHQ: The XR Industry Needs a Real-Time Proof Library (04:15) Stop Asking for the Killer App: VR Is a Platform, Not a Single Use Case (15:16) The 4 Barriers Every XR Program Hits: Cost, Education, Content, Experience (18:39) Why a Bad Demo Can Do More Damage Than No Demo at All (21:00) The Internal Champion: The Strongest Indicator a Pilot Will Succeed (24:37) Why Headset Fashionability Is a Serious Business Problem (27:48) Assisted Reality vs. Mixed Reality: Don't Go Up the Technology Chain Just Because You Can (31:28) The Future of Enterprise XR: Seamless, Understood, and Easy to Manage (39:42) "If nobody is managing the pilot in a deep way, it is absolutely guaranteed to fail. Evangelization gets the hardware and the solution through the door, but what keeps it there is the very boring task of maintaining things." - Jeremy Dalton "There is no point in asking what is the killer application of VR. It is the same thing as asking what is the killer application of your mobile phone. What is the killer application of your laptop. A nonsensical question." - Jeremy Dalton About Jeremy Dalton Jeremy Dalton is the founder of XRHQ, a free, real-time library tracking XR applications and use cases across every industry and country globally. He previously led PwC's first global Immersive Technologies team, which he spent five years campaigning to establish before delivering over 150 projects across more than 50 countries. He is also the author of Reality Check, published by Kogan Page, with a second edition released in 2025. One of the XR industry's most recognized global voices, Jeremy has been working in immersive technology for nearly 14 years. Links and Resources Jeremy Dalton on LinkedIn XRHQ Brad Scoggin on LinkedIn Will Stackable on LinkedIn





