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May 19, 2017 · 26m · 20vc

20VC: The Future Business Model For Drones & Why Enterprise Drones Need To Be As Boring As Possible with Jonathan Downey, Founder & CEO @ Airware

Jonathan Downey · 17m spoken Harry Stebbings · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Jonathan Downey, Founder and CEO of Airware, about the transformation of commercial drones from hobbyist gadgets into essential enterprise software tools. Downey discusses Airware's software platform, enterprise business models, key technological drivers like machine learning, and the future of automated aerial data collection.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 30.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 2.0 Guest teaching 2.6 Guest disagreement 0.1 Harry pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:0020:002:48–5:36 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Jonathan Downey's Background and Founding Airware Harry asks a standard conversational opening about Jonathan's background and path to founding Airware. Jonathan details his MIT electrical engineering education, his family history in piloting, his work on autonomous helicopters at Boeing, and identifying the software gap in commercial drones.5:36–7:44 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 The Evolution and Enterprise Adoption of Commercial Drones Harry asks an insightful question about the shift from consumer hobbyist drones to commercial potential over the past four years. Jonathan elaborates on how enterprises are using drones for digitization of physical assets in insurance, mining, and construction to drive concrete ROI.7:46–10:51 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Commercial Drone Market Structure and Emerging Business Models Harry asks about technological advances and the present state of the commercial market. Jonathan educates the host on the three dominant business models that have emerged: hardware manufacturers like DJI, enterprise software providers like Airware, and drone service providers.10:51–15:10 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Consumer vs. Enterprise Drone Software Requirements Harry asks how enterprise software requirements and pricing models differ from consumer software. Jonathan contrasts consumer desire for fun flying with enterprise demand for software that is 'as boring as possible' and integrated into existing ERP systems.15:10–18:32 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Transformative Technologies and Industry Dynamics Harry probes using standard enterprise terminology around upsells, expansion, and whether innovators will displace traditional incumbents. Jonathan explains how machine learning applies across multiple verticals and how incumbents choose between core competencies and context partnerships.18:32–23:21 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Quick Fire Round Harry runs through rapid-fire questions covering books, interviewing techniques, mentorship from John Chambers, blogs, and the Redbird acquisition. Jonathan shares detailed anecdotes and leadership lessons in a supportive tone.23:21–24:30 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Five-Year Outlook for Airware and Commercial Drones Harry prompts for a five-year outlook for Airware and the commercial drone industry. Jonathan outlines a future where manual asset inspections are viewed as archaic because drone data integration is standard.2:48–5:36 · Guest teaching 2/10 Jonathan Downey's Background and Founding Airware Harry asks a standard conversational opening about Jonathan's background and path to founding Airware. Jonathan details his MIT electrical engineering education, his family history in piloting, his work on autonomous helicopters at Boeing, and identifying the software gap in commercial drones.5:36–7:44 · Guest teaching 3/10 The Evolution and Enterprise Adoption of Commercial Drones Harry asks an insightful question about the shift from consumer hobbyist drones to commercial potential over the past four years. Jonathan elaborates on how enterprises are using drones for digitization of physical assets in insurance, mining, and construction to drive concrete ROI.7:46–10:51 · Guest teaching 4/10 Commercial Drone Market Structure and Emerging Business Models Harry asks about technological advances and the present state of the commercial market. Jonathan educates the host on the three dominant business models that have emerged: hardware manufacturers like DJI, enterprise software providers like Airware, and drone service providers.10:51–15:10 · Guest teaching 3/10 Consumer vs. Enterprise Drone Software Requirements Harry asks how enterprise software requirements and pricing models differ from consumer software. Jonathan contrasts consumer desire for fun flying with enterprise demand for software that is 'as boring as possible' and integrated into existing ERP systems.15:10–18:32 · Guest teaching 3/10 Transformative Technologies and Industry Dynamics Harry probes using standard enterprise terminology around upsells, expansion, and whether innovators will displace traditional incumbents. Jonathan explains how machine learning applies across multiple verticals and how incumbents choose between core competencies and context partnerships.18:32–23:21 · Guest teaching 2/10 Quick Fire Round Harry runs through rapid-fire questions covering books, interviewing techniques, mentorship from John Chambers, blogs, and the Redbird acquisition. Jonathan shares detailed anecdotes and leadership lessons in a supportive tone.23:21–24:30 · Guest teaching 1/10 Five-Year Outlook for Airware and Commercial Drones Harry prompts for a five-year outlook for Airware and the commercial drone industry. Jonathan outlines a future where manual asset inspections are viewed as archaic because drone data integration is standard.2:48–5:36 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Jonathan Downey's Background and Founding Airware Harry asks a standard conversational opening about Jonathan's background and path to founding Airware. Jonathan details his MIT electrical engineering education, his family history in piloting, his work on autonomous helicopters at Boeing, and identifying the software gap in commercial drones.5:36–7:44 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Evolution and Enterprise Adoption of Commercial Drones Harry asks an insightful question about the shift from consumer hobbyist drones to commercial potential over the past four years. Jonathan elaborates on how enterprises are using drones for digitization of physical assets in insurance, mining, and construction to drive concrete ROI.7:46–10:51 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Commercial Drone Market Structure and Emerging Business Models Harry asks about technological advances and the present state of the commercial market. Jonathan educates the host on the three dominant business models that have emerged: hardware manufacturers like DJI, enterprise software providers like Airware, and drone service providers.10:51–15:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Consumer vs. Enterprise Drone Software Requirements Harry asks how enterprise software requirements and pricing models differ from consumer software. Jonathan contrasts consumer desire for fun flying with enterprise demand for software that is 'as boring as possible' and integrated into existing ERP systems.15:10–18:32 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Transformative Technologies and Industry Dynamics Harry probes using standard enterprise terminology around upsells, expansion, and whether innovators will displace traditional incumbents. Jonathan explains how machine learning applies across multiple verticals and how incumbents choose between core competencies and context partnerships.18:32–23:21 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Quick Fire Round Harry runs through rapid-fire questions covering books, interviewing techniques, mentorship from John Chambers, blogs, and the Redbird acquisition. Jonathan shares detailed anecdotes and leadership lessons in a supportive tone.23:21–24:30 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Five-Year Outlook for Airware and Commercial Drones Harry prompts for a five-year outlook for Airware and the commercial drone industry. Jonathan outlines a future where manual asset inspections are viewed as archaic because drone data integration is standard.2:48–5:36 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Jonathan Downey's Background and Founding Airware Harry asks a standard conversational opening about Jonathan's background and path to founding Airware. Jonathan details his MIT electrical engineering education, his family history in piloting, his work on autonomous helicopters at Boeing, and identifying the software gap in commercial drones.5:36–7:44 · Harry pushing back 0/10 The Evolution and Enterprise Adoption of Commercial Drones Harry asks an insightful question about the shift from consumer hobbyist drones to commercial potential over the past four years. Jonathan elaborates on how enterprises are using drones for digitization of physical assets in insurance, mining, and construction to drive concrete ROI.7:46–10:51 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Commercial Drone Market Structure and Emerging Business Models Harry asks about technological advances and the present state of the commercial market. Jonathan educates the host on the three dominant business models that have emerged: hardware manufacturers like DJI, enterprise software providers like Airware, and drone service providers.10:51–15:10 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Consumer vs. Enterprise Drone Software Requirements Harry asks how enterprise software requirements and pricing models differ from consumer software. Jonathan contrasts consumer desire for fun flying with enterprise demand for software that is 'as boring as possible' and integrated into existing ERP systems.15:10–18:32 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Transformative Technologies and Industry Dynamics Harry probes using standard enterprise terminology around upsells, expansion, and whether innovators will displace traditional incumbents. Jonathan explains how machine learning applies across multiple verticals and how incumbents choose between core competencies and context partnerships.18:32–23:21 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Quick Fire Round Harry runs through rapid-fire questions covering books, interviewing techniques, mentorship from John Chambers, blogs, and the Redbird acquisition. Jonathan shares detailed anecdotes and leadership lessons in a supportive tone.23:21–24:30 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Five-Year Outlook for Airware and Commercial Drones Harry prompts for a five-year outlook for Airware and the commercial drone industry. Jonathan outlines a future where manual asset inspections are viewed as archaic because drone data integration is standard.

speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Harry 99.4% · guest 0.6%0:00 · Harry 99.4% · guest 0.6%3:00 · Harry 14.9% · guest 85.1%3:00 · Harry 14.9% · guest 85.1%6:00 · Harry 12.1% · guest 87.9%6:00 · Harry 12.1% · guest 87.9%9:00 · Harry 8.3% · guest 91.7%9:00 · Harry 8.3% · guest 91.7%12:00 · Harry 16.7% · guest 83.3%12:00 · Harry 16.7% · guest 83.3%15:00 · Harry 24.7% · guest 75.3%15:00 · Harry 24.7% · guest 75.3%18:00 · Harry 14.5% · guest 85.5%18:00 · Harry 14.5% · guest 85.5%21:00 · Harry 7.8% · guest 92.2%21:00 · Harry 7.8% · guest 92.2%24:00 · Harry 85.2% · guest 14.8%24:00 · Harry 85.2% · guest 14.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:06 Enterprise software contrast

Jonathan politely reframes consumer expectations of drone software by stating enterprise software needs to be the exact opposite and 'as boring as it possibly can be'.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 13:43 Probing adoption barriers

Harry shifts the friendly narrative by directly prompting Jonathan to address the alternate side of the table regarding corporate barriers to enterprise adoption.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:49 Structuring the drone market landscape

Jonathan breaks down the commercial drone market into three distinct, structured business models (hardware, enterprise software, and service providers), giving the host a clear framework.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 15:10 Enterprise SaaS expansion terminology

Harry demonstrates strong domain knowledge in traditional SaaS mechanics by framing questions around upsell opportunities, feature expansion, and market expansion.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Jonathan Downey's Background and Founding Airware 1200 Harry asks a standard conversational opening about Jonathan's background and path to founding Airware. Jonathan details his MIT electrical engineering education, his family history in piloting, his work on autonomous helicopters at Boeing, and identifying the software gap in commercial drones.
The Evolution and Enterprise Adoption of Commercial Drones 2300 Harry asks an insightful question about the shift from consumer hobbyist drones to commercial potential over the past four years. Jonathan elaborates on how enterprises are using drones for digitization of physical assets in insurance, mining, and construction to drive concrete ROI.
Commercial Drone Market Structure and Emerging Business Models 2400 Harry asks about technological advances and the present state of the commercial market. Jonathan educates the host on the three dominant business models that have emerged: hardware manufacturers like DJI, enterprise software providers like Airware, and drone service providers.
Consumer vs. Enterprise Drone Software Requirements 3310 Harry asks how enterprise software requirements and pricing models differ from consumer software. Jonathan contrasts consumer desire for fun flying with enterprise demand for software that is 'as boring as possible' and integrated into existing ERP systems.
Transformative Technologies and Industry Dynamics 3300 Harry probes using standard enterprise terminology around upsells, expansion, and whether innovators will displace traditional incumbents. Jonathan explains how machine learning applies across multiple verticals and how incumbents choose between core competencies and context partnerships.
Quick Fire Round 2200 Harry runs through rapid-fire questions covering books, interviewing techniques, mentorship from John Chambers, blogs, and the Redbird acquisition. Jonathan shares detailed anecdotes and leadership lessons in a supportive tone.
Five-Year Outlook for Airware and Commercial Drones 1100 Harry prompts for a five-year outlook for Airware and the commercial drone industry. Jonathan outlines a future where manual asset inspections are viewed as archaic because drone data integration is standard.

Statements from this episode (9)

Disclosure
Andreessen Horowitz made the commercial drone space's first $10 million investment
“And that led to the first ten million dollar investment into the drone space with Andreessen Horowitz.”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 6:20
Insight
Jonathan Downey says consumer drone innovation enables the commercial drone market
“I think we've seen a ton of innovation actually come from the consumer space, which is proving to be an incredible enabler for the commercial market, because at this point, the consumer drones, which, you know, started as fun flying toys under our Christmas tr…”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 7:54
Disclosure
Early commercial drone startups attempted to build hardware and software simultaneously
“A couple of years ago, it was a extremely early market, and so almost every company in the space was doing a little bit of everything. Some amount of kind of building hardware and building drones and software and data and analysis and a lot of manual work and …”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 8:50
Assertion Supported
DJI dominates drone hardware manufacturing through vertical integration in China
“One is actually building the drones, and this is a space that's dominated by players like DJI, which are vertically integrated in China, really focused on being operationally excellent when it comes to manufacturing, and really focused on kind of rapidly itera…”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 9:17
Insight
Jonathan Downey argues enterprise drone software must be as boring as possible
“This needs to be as boring as it possibly can be. You want your team member to be able to show up with a drone, do as little as possible, have that drone just fly the pattern that's required to collect the aerial data, and then transform that data and deliver …”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 11:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Large enterprise CIOs now evaluate drone technology like standard enterprise IT
“Large enterprises are making kind of enterprise-wide decisions, you know, in the CIO's office about adopting, evaluating, and implementing this technology just as they would a lot of other enterprise IT.”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 14:23
Prediction Open · timeframe May 2022
Jonathan Downey predicts the FAA will enable beyond visual line of sight
“Today from the FAA you're not able to fly drones beyond a visual observer's ability to see the drone, but that is going to be changing, and the FAA is going to come out with rules enabling you to do that, and there is a number of key technologies that are goin…”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 16:51
Insight
Enterprises prefer partnering with aerial data experts over developing in-house technology
“I would say most companies, while they may begin thinking this is core to their business in terms of developing some of the drone technology, really realize this is context for them, and it's best for them to partner with a company who really brings that aeria…”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 18:06
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Manual roof and tower inspections will seem archaic within five years
“I think in five years, companies are going to look back on the way things are being done today as part of their business and think about how archaic it is. People climbing up on towers, climbing up on rooftops, waiting days and weeks sometimes for accurate inf…”
Jonathan Downey May 19, 2017 ▶ 23:25
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