1. Business Development
Businessdevelopmentforthe burgeoningdrone industryrequiresmore thanjustcoldcallingand
generatinginterest.Itisactuallyafairlymethodical processthatinvolves:
 Developingand/oradaptingthe product/platform
 Identifyingcustomers
 Presentingopportunities topartners andstakeholders
 Conductingcostanalysis
 Arrangingdemonstrationsof services
 Deriving/codifying/drivingmarketvalue
 Negotiatingcontracts
 and finally,closingonthe contracts
I have developedderivativesof thisprocessspecificallyforthisindustrybefore there wasanindustry,
and have a thoroughunderstandingof the market,andhow toidentify,educateandsecure new
customers. Whatfollowsisacase studyof thisprocessin action.
Overa 10 yearperiodIdevelopedaprovenaircraftdesign thatwasbuiltto meetasmany FAA
requirementsaspracticallypossible. Itwasn’tenoughtohave identifiedaneed,Ihadto ensure thatthe
UAS applicationwaslegal andcertifiable. Itooka forwardlookingapproachtodesignthatensuredmy
applicationwouldbothfill newandexistingneeds,while alsoremovingasmanybarrierstoUAS
legalizationaspossible.
Duringthe periodof developing myaircraft’sdesignIsoldseveral airframestomultiple clientsinseveral
countries.Withthe sellingof unmannedaircraft itwasnecessary todevelopatrainingprogramtailored
to my designsandintegrate mysystemsintothe USandforeignairspace.Overthe yearsIgradually
shiftedmycompanyfromsellingproductstoprovidingservices.Ifoundalargermarketinthe aerial
broadcastingfieldand haddesigned myunmannedsystems tobe able tocarry industrystandard
camera equipmentcapable of filmingtothe client’sdesired quality.Thisprovidedthe abilityto
seamlesslyintegrate intothe customers broadcastingformat.Aswe were usingthe same equipment
utilizedbymanned aircraft,mysystemswere turnkeyandable tobe usedonlive broadcasts.
Withbeingable toidentifyaneedinthe market,andhavingthe abilitytoperformthe neededservice,I
thenpresentedthe concepttoaninvestmentfirmandsecuredfundingtobuildthe systemsusedfor
thisparticularaerial broadcastingapplication.Whetherthe applicationisself-funded,utilizingcurrent
inventory,paidforbyfuture sponsors,orsimplypurchasedbythe venue,itisnecessaryto ensure that
the UAS platformiswell suitedforthe application.Sometimesthisrequiresdesignoptimizationsthat
incurupfrontcosts or a needforadditional investment, thisisessential inmaximizingfuture revenue
while ensuringasmoothrolloutand/ormarketentry.

2. Cost comprehensionand analysis are critical factorstothe earlysuccessand profitabilityof an
application,andtypically include:
 productbuildcosts
 facilitiesneedsandrequirements
 day to dayoperations
 jobperformance costs
For thisapplication Iran the day to dayoperationsof the company while managingthe budgetof the
venture. Iwasable to analyze,source,andallocate resourcesto build,house,staff,andprojectjob
resourcingrequirementsnecessaryto performfuture demonstrationsandclient services.
In the broadcastingworld,nonewcamerasystemisconsideredforuse withoutfirstgoingthrougha
thoroughevaluationbythe relevantnetwork. Accordingly, Iarrangedseveral demonstrationsof our
capabilitiestothe targetnetwork.We didthisat live eventsandattheirnetworkheadquarters.The
networkwasso impressed withourapplication,ourunmannedaircraft’sfootage was utilizedontheir
actual live broadcastfeedwithin fifteenminutesof feedingthemlivedemonstrationfootage.This
immediate implementation, insuchaveryshort evaluation time,ismostlyunheardof inlive
broadcasting.
Withthe successof the demonstrations Ithensettodetermine the value of ourservicestothe
sponsoringclientele.They wouldpayusto advertise theirproductinthe formof live “videoisprovided
by...”pops duringthe broadcast.A pop consistsof a thirtysecondon airmentionof the client,which is
spread-outthroughoutthe course of the broadcast.I hiredtwobroadcastinganalysisfirmstoassessthe
value of the popsduringa show.Isecureda clienttosponsorthe unmannedaircraft forthisstudy. The
reasonI chose to use twoindependentanalysisfirms wastoensure accuracyand correct for any
perceived biases.Withthe resultsfromthe studyIwasable to justifyandcodify the marketvalue of our
services.
Armedwiththe value of myservicesprovidedbymyunmannedsystemInegotiated acontract with
boththe networkthatwoulduse ourfeedandthe sponsorwhowouldpayfor our services.