Imagine evaluating possible college choices or exploring a local pub is without ever setting foot on a campus or the restaurant. That’s exactly what Virtual Compass provides for its clients by creating virtual tours of their spaces.

Jonathan Fox and Daniel Sullivan became friends while taking a computer science class together at John Carroll University and soon discovered they both had the entrepreneurial bug. So, after they graduated in 2014 the two set about designing an application for virtual tours.

“Entrepreneurship to us is making what you want to make and not caring what other people think,” says Fox. ”We focused around destination marketing to take an exciting place and make it look cool with 360-degree photos and virtual reality.”

Fox and Sullivan launched Virtual Compass and moved into Flashstarts’ StartMart to perfect their tool. “It was more of a general idea we had, making something for ourselves under our own guidance,” Fox recalls. “We thought: what if we can help people explore places they haven’t been to?”

That’s exactly what they did. Virtual Compass recently launched easy to use, Cloud-based software that allows for quick creation of virtual tours. The software is aimed at marketing exciting places in Cleveland.

The problem was, Fox and Sullivan struggled to make any sales and didn’t really know how to market their company. So they brought on former classmate Christine Fleig and St. Ignatius alum Matthew Zupan to round out the team and help with getting the word out.

The move helped Virtual Compass thrive. The company now does work for local universities, restaurants and event centers. The virtual tour of Ursuline College in Lyndhurst, the company's first client, is one of which Fox is particularly proud.

“The admissions and marketing team use it to encourage students to visit,” Fox explains. “We turn any exciting place into a virtual reality experience.”

Now, Fox says 10 other schools have contacted Virtual Compass. Flat Iron Café in the Flats East Bank also uses a virtual tour on its website, Passengers Café in the Cleveland Hostel is another client. The company has expanded by targeting the real estate market and other local watering holes.

With a solid team in place, Virtual Compass needed new office space. So this summer Virtual Compass moved to a 600-square-foot space in Tenk West Bank, 2111 Center St. Fox says they are putting in new chestnut wood floors to go with the 15-foot-high ceilings and exposed brick walls in the historic building, which dates back to the 1880s. They have also commissioned a local artists to paint a mural of the Cleveland skyline in their space.