​David Whelan was stony broke after the 2008 financial crash, but after a €1,000 loan from his sister, and an investment into Oculus headsets he is now the chief executive of dual-listed virtual reality software company ENGAGE XR Holdings PLC (LON:EXR) which is dedicated to the deployment of the metaverse.

The metaverse, according to Whelan, is the evolution of how we communicate online. Currently the internet is like a flat page filled with text and video. Compare that to the metaverse which is about engagement and a breakaway from the internet which can be solitary and divisive.

He talks to Master Investor about the company’s pathway to profitability, how everybody should have a stake in the metaverse and the customer profile which tellingly includes Facebook.