Visit it virtually: student Alexis Murat wins ‘Pitch it easy’ business competition

Alexis Murat wants to digitise the world.

The virtual tour agency easyVirtual.tours (previously Vizion), which he co-founded in 2021 aged 21, aims to do just that. That digital future is looking ever likely after his company won the ‘Pitch it easy’ business competition last week.

‘Pitch it easy’ business competition

The ‘Pitch it easy’ business competition is held at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) in collaboration with Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of easyJet and a Bayes alumnus.

As part of the win, Alexis’s startup was awarded £30,000 in cash prizes and the company is now part of the ‘easy’ family of brands, taking on the new name easyVirtual.tours.

“Winning the ‘Pitch it easy’ competition means a lot. It shows that all the hard work and long hours pay off,” Alexis said. “It’s an honour to join the ‘easy’ brand group. To know that someone like Sir Stelios believes in our idea and capacity to achieve our goals further strengthens our belief that we will make it.”

Last weekend, he joined a reunion weekend in Monaco with fellow business leaders from the ‘easy’ brand group to network, share progress and discuss collaboration opportunities.

“I was hugely impressed at Alexis’ determination to take advantage of the latest technology,” Sir Stelios said. “At just 23, he is a fine example of how young entrepreneurs are not afraid to step up and take on the big boys. The fact that he has already landed premium clients is a testament to his commercial grit. I wish him every success as part of the ‘easy’ family of brands.”

Entrepreneurship at City

Aurore Hochard, Head of Entrepreneurship at Bayes, was part of the competition selection panel and cited the product’s multiple usages and scalability as factors.

She also highlighted Alexis’ drive and passion for entrepreneurship as being a key factor in his winning.

“Bayes is proud to collaborate with Sir Stelios and the ‘easy’ group on such competitions as this is a way to motivate our community of past, current and future entrepreneurs,” she said. “We are happy to support the next generation of entrepreneurs, the way Sir Stelios has done over the years.”

She believes that what makes the ‘Pitch it easy’ competition so valuable is the combination of its networking possibilities as well as the funds injected into startups.

“By joining the ‘easy’ group, Alexis has gained access to a wide group of ambitious entrepreneurs with whom he can do business or develop partnerships,” she said.

Alexis is studying towards a triple master’s degree from Bayes, Bocconi University and the Yale School of Management.

At Bayes, he is studying towards an MSc in Corporate Finance and is keeping busy as the President of the Students’ Union City Entrepreneurship Club.

His company is also part of the City Launch Lab, which is University’s business incubator programme.

“Bayes organised many events which allowed me to meet amazing and highly motivated people who are also passionate about entrepreneurship,” said Alexis.

Working towards becoming a virtual tour sector leader

EasyVirtual.tours is a virtual tour agency which uses virtual reality (VR) technology.

The company’s goal is to offer virtual tours with greater immersion and interaction with high-quality imagery. They are a B2B product.

Their clients provide tours such as the visit to a castle, for example, or a tour of a museum, or a shop.
The startup differentiates itself from competitors in the real estate sector by focusing on culture and tourism, retail and education.

Some of their top clients have included Carrefour, a leading French supermarket, and Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. They have clients in Germany and Italy and their product has been used by firefighters as part of their risk assessment training.

The company does not believe in using VR headsets – all tours are visitable from phones, tablets and desktop computers.

Their virtual tours have already had a tangible impact on their clients, leading to an average increase of 14 per cent in their revenues. Clients have also seen a 37 per cent increase in their Google rankings, pushing them higher up search engine listings.

“We aim to allow each and every one to access the world from their home and feel a true immersion through our virtual tours,” said Alexis. “We want to become the world leader of virtual tour agencies.”