Mesh Training

Mesh Training helps make Virtual Reality accessible, practical, and transformative for modern design. As well as running workshops in schools and colleges to engage young people with Virtual Reality, they provide consultancy for design teams. Priten Chauhan, Director of Mesh Training and Allia Impact programme alumni, spoke to us about the company’s journey.

What is your company’s mission?

The foundations for Mesh Training were laid during the COVID-19 pandemic when design students like myself were unable to access physical workshops and studio spaces. This hindered our ability to prototype at a 1:1 scale, collaborate and conduct the in-depth design reviews vital to effective concept development. As restrictions began to ease, yet with the uncertainty of returning to full lockdown, we discovered that our university had a set of unused Virtual Reality headsets equipped with Gravity Sketch, a 3D modelling software that offered a perfect solution. We quickly learned the tools, shared our knowledge with coursemates and embraced the ability to work together from our respective student accommodation, digitally replicating a traditional studio while completely bypassing the physical limitations of one.

Throughout our growth our central mission has remained clear: to make Virtual Reality accessible, practical and transformative for modern design through impactful training and support. We are now achieving this on a global scale, collaborating with local industry professionals across fashion, robotics, automotive design, and interior architecture to develop specialist courses that introduce VR into these sectors with true purpose.

Why did you sign up for an Allia Impact programme?

The primary challenge facing Mesh Training was determining the safest way to scale the business. We needed to meet growing demand from the education sector without disrupting our existing services or reducing cashflow. Having operated the company independently for two years, I signed up for the Allia Solo to Scale up programme to learn the core skills required for sustainable, strategic growth. Specifically, the goal was to understand how to build a robust team, successfully raise investment and protect intellectual property and assets as the company grew.

What was your experience of an Allia Impact programme like?

The experience was a highly valuable and well planned programme by Sheridan and the Allia team, providing clear insights into the core considerations for scaling. The workshops and guest speakers delivered in depth information that allowed us to plan our expanded offering of hardware, software and consultation services directly alongside the training sessions. Additionally, the networking opportunities were great, directly resulting in project partnerships like our collaboration with Robotics for Good CIC, presenting at a Built in Notts social event and eventually leading to our participation on the ‘Education and Skills’ panel at the Allia Tech for Good Impact Summit.

How did your company grow after receiving support from Allia?

Following the programme, Mesh Training expanded its operations into five new countries and secured clients including Falmouth University, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (Canada), Nottingham Trent University and St Mary’s Anglican Girls School (Australia). We moved into our own office to develop our hardware offering and hired our first full time employee to act as a VR Implementation Specialist. Furthermore, we successfully secured a grant from Santander Universities, which funded new PC hardware for 3D modelling, development of our website and marketing materials allowing us to exhibit at industry leading events such as Graduate Fashion Week and the Engineering Design Show.

What support do you need now to take your business to the next stage of growth?

To reach our next stage of growth, we are seeking £50,000 in funding to expand our team further and bring our workshops into more schools and colleges. This investment will enable us to offer sessions to secondary education students for free, actively engaging them in STEAM subjects and activities through VR, kickstarting their prospective career pathways. Crucially, we plan to use this funding to deploy VR resources within localised ‘tech hubs’, eliminating financial and physical barriers to entry for students while supporting peer-to-peer learning through new student and teacher-led ambassador networks.

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