Launched in mid-2023 by founder Eric Margheim, BTI is a Columbia-based company that uses a Virtual Reality 360-powered platform to provide workforce development solutions for industries like manufacturing, construction, and law enforcement agencies. The company’s chief mission is to help organizations close the “Experience Gap” — the disconnect between what new hires expect and what the job actually is — through immersive recruiting, onboarding, and training content.

The technology helps companies achieve solutions to the challenges of recruiting, training, retaining, and safely employing workers, and achieving real savings in the process — in a landscape where 25–40% of new employees quit jobs at around 90 days after hiring, and where replacement costs average $12,000 (construction) and $28,000 (manufacturing) per hire.

“The engaging, immersive journey that our platform offers through 360 video is rewriting the way our clients and companies tell their story; attract, train and retain their employees, and bring their work to life. When you strap on one of our BTI headsets, you are completely inside an immersive space. You’re not scrolling past it on a phone. You’re not half-watching it on a conference room screen. You are right there, focused and present, which makes all the difference in the world.”
— Eric Margheim, CEO & Founder, BeThere Immersive

So much so that before BTI even had a team, an office, or even a product, Margheim’s vision won over its first-ever partner — Diamond Foods, in 2024. Since that initial success, the company has added some clients who are among the biggest names in the state.

“What we do is so effective, because our platform lets organizations capture real worksites and facilities using 360 cameras, putting job candidates inside the actual work environment before they ever set foot on a job site. And we are just getting started. Anything companies need to show what they do instead of explaining — whether it’s recruiting, sales, training, safety or onboarding — BTI can build it on our platform.”
— Eric Margheim, CEO & Founder, BeThere Immersive