Toggle 3D
Nima started with 3D.ai in 2018, an AI-powered startup that converted 2D photos into 3D models. The core insight was clear: the world is moving to 3D content, especially for e-commerce and commercial applications. However, the AI approach had limitations. Nima realized that most physical products are initially designed in CAD by engineers—so why not give creators direct access to CAD tools instead of trying to automate the conversion? This shift in thinking would define Toggle 3D's future.
In 2021, Next Tech AR Solutions Group acquired 3D.ai for approximately $9.5 million in share consideration (Nima had raised $2 million before the sale). While this might seem like a step backward, Nima saw it strategically: he could incubate the product inside a publicly traded company without chasing VC funding. As he explained, VCs were skeptical—"Does everything need to be 3D? Do you need a 3D version of a toothbrush?"—but Evan, Next Tech's CEO, believed in the vision. Rather than fight for funding, Nima could build with institutional backing.
Toggle 3D was released in beta at the end of September 2022. The product focused on democratizing 3D modeling by making it accessible to non-experts while still supporting professional CAD workflows. The core innovation: converting heavy CAD files into lightweight, web-friendly formats that could be distributed across XR platforms and e-commerce sites. The onboarding flow centered on a single key action: uploading a file and converting it into a 3D design. By the time of this interview, 145 users had signed up since beta launch, with 85% (approximately 123 users) creating and publishing at least one 3D model.
Toggle 3D adopted a freemium strategy—a free tier with limited projects, upload sizes, and features to drive virality and user addiction, coupled with a Pro plan at $29/month per seat offering unlimited designs, exports, and a 75-megabyte file size limit. Dasha, head of product, emphasized that the free tier had to be compelling enough to hook users, but limited enough to drive upgrades.
Toggle 3D is spinning out as its own publicly traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange, with Next Tech retaining approximately half the shares. The team consists of 10 people. The company is targeting multiple use cases: e-commerce product visualization, B2B sales (like Alibaba sellers presenting products interactively), AR/VR content creation, and metaverse applications. Nima positioned Toggle 3D as "the pickaxe to the gold miner"—the foundational tool for the 3D internet.
- •By solving their own pain point (converting CAD files for 3D distribution) rather than chasing an automated AI solution that users didn't need, the founders built a product with clear product-market fit from day one.
- •The freemium model with a deliberately constrained free tier created a funnel where 85% of early users validated the core value proposition by publishing models, proving demand before scaling monetization.
- •Accepting acquisition into a publicly traded company eliminated the need to chase skeptical VCs and allowed the founders to build with institutional resources and patience, removing the pressure to prove a contested market thesis.
- •The single, focused onboarding action (upload and convert) lowered friction enough that non-experts could succeed immediately, making product-led-growth viable and reducing reliance on sales teams.
- 1.Identify a specific workflow or pain point you experience personally in your own work, then build a tool that solves that exact problem before worrying about broader market applications.
- 2.Design your free tier to demonstrate core value in under 5 minutes of user interaction, but impose clear limits (file size, project count, export options) that are just restrictive enough to motivate paid upgrades without frustrating early users.
- 3.If traditional VC funding seems misaligned with your vision or market, explore alternative institutional partners (acquirers, strategic investors, corporate parents) who can provide capital and runway without demanding rapid growth metrics.
- 4.Reduce onboarding to a single, irreversible action that generates immediate, visible output—in this case, uploading a file and seeing a 3D model appear—so users experience success before encountering feature discovery or sales conversations.
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