Luftfahrt-Sicherheits-Startup: Von der Idee zu Investoren

0:00Unternehmer/Gast I am trying to scale aviation safety. Uh-huh. Um back when I was working in [ __ ] Kentucky, Your words not mine. Yeah, as a air medical helicopter pilot, people were crashing all over the place. Yeah. Yeah. And >> Why isn't this on the news? >> Yeah, well, it is. And Kobe Bryant, you know, that's >> You know, he's probably Too close to home. Anyway, so um I came up with this bright idea back in 2013 to create a tech company that uses AI when I found out about Watson um to to solve all the knowledge gaps that cause these problems. Okay. And so

0:33>> That cause crashes. Uh yes. >> Okay. I think I can solve I think I can prevent all of them. Okay. And so I ran to a bunch of investors and they said good idea, build it, we will then probably buy it. Sure. >> Um each crash usually they spend about a hundred million the the insurance underwriters Yeah. for the crash and death. Um so I don't know really how to quantify money that wasn't lost if I solved the problem before they lost it Mhm. uh via the product. And then I feel like that's super quantifiable.

1:02Yeah, yeah. >> Insurance is based on it being predictable. >> Yeah, there's been 363 air medical crashes and you take the number for one. Yeah. Yeah, okay. Um so anyway, uh they rejected me, so I said what can I control? Uh-huh. Which is the the education piece. I'm I'm in the I'm in the education model now. Uh basically the school.com before school.com That's right. I found out about them.

1:26So, I do uh I do coaching. I do courses [snorts] and um content on all the phases of the aviation Okay. career all the way through interview prep. All right. And and I train airline pilots, helicopter pilots, the whole thing. So, um >> [snorts] >> the question is like how to How not to die while flying a plane carrying Yeah, yeah, basically, but it's a very long process. >> else. Sorry, you can go ahead. It's like fitness, right? It takes a long time to acquire a goal. And

1:53>> Right. then they're also broke. So, the average flight instructor makes like 20 grand and I scaled it I'm making like 500 grand doing doing teaching doing the same stuff I've always done just using the online models and stuff. So, what's the issue? We're going to be the problem. How do I how do I sell to pilots that are broke for one as a bunch of minnows? Yeah. Um and then um cuz I'm doing I do the dot com billionaires. I train all those guys in helicopters. So, that's that's not the problem.

2:18Alex Um What's the goal? The goal is to to close the knowledge gap for all pilots. >> Say it differently. How much money do you want to make? I think I think there's I think there's a >> There's a real difference so I'm asking. If you're like, "I want to get to 2 million." I'm like, "Okay, we can just keep doing this do it better etc." If you're like, "I want to get to 100." I think I'd say we got to go back to the insurance company and you get a better pitch. Yeah. Cuz functionally like if cuz the way you force it like if you want to make the quote biggest impact if you're like really really gungho on that part then it's like you want it to actually get implemented. Um and I would like if I were you I would probably say you know, beg, borrow, steal, do whatever you can to get into one insurance company and say, "I'll do it for free."

3:02And then you can use the case study to then say, "Well, cuz as soon as they save 100 million times 10 crashes a year, they save a billion dollars." Yeah. You just need to demonstrate that once. And then you have a money printing machine. So, they give the my my helicopter owner clients an insurance break like 50% by doing the training with me. Mhm. So, they're doing that now? Yes, I'm doing that now. Okay. >> I need it the tech thing is a whole 'nother thing. It's out of my wheelhouse.

3:28>> you charge the clients and do they feed you leads? Uh I charge the helicopter owner 10 grand for an initial. How much is the insurance to the pilot? 180,000 a year. 180 a year? Uh-huh. And I can get them down to like 90 for for doing my mentorship program. Right. >> [laughter] >> And then I get them on the recurring, you know, so but then I'm gone all the time so that's why I'm trying to do this online model. Yeah. Uh and you know, so So So

3:56>> [sighs] >> To what degree do you you think you could prevent all of them? Functionally, is this just a very long checklist that if this were just added to the pre-flight checklist, then no crashes would occur? No, cuz there's too much data to to consume. Like even the pilots you fly with you know, they've done their due diligence. It's impossible. Okay. You know, the NTSB has released 17,000 safety recommendations. And if you try to read them all at a college level speed, you'd never get through them. And so If you did every health recommendation, you'd have no time to actually

4:25>> Yeah, you'd never have enough time to do it. So, so we need data to to give what is essential. That's essentially the product I'm trying to create is is in real time, how do how does the So you can't create a checklist that could solve a billion dollar share as it cuz that for sure is a high probability. Yes. Um okay. So The checklist is training. >> Yeah, well, how much So you're charging 10 grand a pop, you're selling 50 a year, so you're selling one a week roughly. What percentage of leads uh from the insurance agencies are you converting? No, those come from me selling the aircraft as a broker.

4:58Okay. So you said the the insurance So the insurance company, like, why don't they send you leads? Because I bring them the leads. I I send I send an insurance broker a client who bought an aircraft who uses me for a trainer, a training provider, to then Why don't they send you leads? He does. I do get leads that way. It's back and forth. And he gives me a little bit of a But you're getting a bro you're having a broker who's who's setting but not like the carriers.

5:27Alex >> He's He sets it up with the carriers. He's like drinking buddies with all the underwriters. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I would like So I don't think you answered the question. How much money do you want to make? Uh Like this is all driven that the opportunity for pilots is driven by a retirement wave. So which is like a 10 number It's a 10-year window. So I So I don't know. So that's why I'm here. The question is, there's 600,000 pilots coming into the market in the next 10 years then it stops. Okay. So,

5:53>> Cuz then AI and stuff. Because of retirements. So, so it's like a $500,000 a year job. I prep them to get into the airlines and then they don't move cuz that's a great job and you never have to go to work really. So, Okay. So, So, like how do I sell to the broke pilots is the question. I mean, I don't really love selling to broke people in general. Yeah. But, yeah, but I have to because they're part of the safety piece of the end of result goal. I knew I was going to Yeah.

6:20No, it's it it's like the path that you forsook. Um I think it's still that like you have to get If you wanted to make Again, we still don't have the answer of how much money do you want to make? I keep coming back to like Should we all try to taking your bait? It's on me. [ __ ] it. How much money do you want to make? I guess you could say total for just training courses online. 60 Let's just say $65,000 over the next 10 years.

6:49Or sorry, $65 million. One >> [laughter] >> $65,000. Okay. 65 million. So, you want to You want to get to 5 million a year. So, you want to 10x what you're currently making. Okay. Thank you. Um Okay. So, you have brokers who feed you leads.

7:14Correct? Yes. How do you get brokers? Um just word of mouth. Right. So, you don't have metrics on your outreach method. Like why can't you do more? There's only three of us in the whole space that can do what I do in the whole in the whole business. There's three people who said I just don't even believe that. Or you can go to the OEM, right to the factory.

7:42There's for sure more than three people who sell insurance for No, I but insurance approved training. Like underwriter approved. Yeah, like if you bought a helicopter >> think not dying is still a pretty strong one. I mean, we have the whole like $90 a year savings, which I mean, don't get me wrong, that really gets you out of bed, but uh I do think not dying and not killing people is pretty high tail. Somewhere in there. But fundamentally, we just have to ask like you literally only have to answer one question, which is how do I get 10 times the leads I'm currently getting? You can literally ignore everything else that we talked about today.

8:12Alex To get to this point, which is I just need you to give me an offer. That's only touching the the rich guys who own helicopters. Yeah. I'm trying to train all of the world's pilots. >> million. That's what we're solving for. So But that's what that's what I what I'm that's the other side of the house that I'm talking about. Online courses to pilots so that they can then be good operators, profitable employees, and good and good airline pilots. There's 600,000 operators that are going to retire. 600,000, yes. Right. You need to sell So, to make 65 million at $10,000 pop, what's that? 60,000? 6,000?

8:45Alex 6,000? 6,000? 6,000 * 10,000. There you go. So, you need 1% of them to buy your thing. And get this, all of them end up buying a house later, too. >> [laughter] >> Jesus, focus. Like you're like there's the all these people in the rich people and then there's the carriers and then there's the brokers, these are drinking buddies, this guy's under underwriting this thing, but there's this opportunity but like I don't have to fly anymore, but I would have to sell [laughter] my plane. First of all, dude, get 10 times more customers than you currently are. So, your current advertising method we need to increase.

9:16So, have you maxed out your current method? Can you do any more to advertise and let more people know about your thing? Yes. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Forget everything else. Before I advertise, I'd like to know how to structure the payment. Like do I do re- recurring or reoccurring? >> the same rate right now, right? No, no, no. Yeah, for the helicopter owners, but I'm trying to train the pro pilots. We're talking about online training for for for airline owners.

9:43>> Yes. Yes. Yes. The private kids, the kids who coming up to to to replace them. >> $10,000. No, no, no. A thousand bucks or what do I a recurring, you know, like fee? Like what do I That's the question. The model is the question. Oh god. Exhausting. You do the You do it You give it away for free. Like it's it's no different than the business model that you sell that you sell. Like like you train us idiot business owners Those are the idiots. how to be how how to be acquirable. Mhm. Right? And so those soft skills that we're learning today in the in this course, that's what I'm selling in my course, but for pilots.

10:22Mhm. What do I charge for it? You charge free. Yeah. I mean, it's hard to be free. I I do like the idea of like can we just sell 6,000 people a $10,000 thing? I do like that and I do think not killing people and not dying is a pretty strong motivator. Like You currently sell it for how much? >> [snorts] >> Your $500,000 thing. Um like 1750, but but I'm maxed out one-on-ones. I'm trying to do a group coaching model.

10:52>> Yeah, yeah. So $1,750 is what you're charging? >> You could probably charge the same amount. For for the group group model? One-on-one? You I mean, fundamentally you sell the same product. Like the vehicle doesn't really matter that much. Yeah. Like if they get the thing and it's more convenient and faster and on demand, that's better, not worse. Arguably. Yeah. 1750 is also a random number, by the way. It's kind of It's kind of an interesting thing, too, cuz like they they earn less than their student loans already, so that So, yeah. Okay.

11:26Alex So I think the model you have is fine. Okay. You're doing 500,000 a year. We need to do 10 times more than that. That is all. That is all we have to do. And even though you feel like your model is quote broken, you're making $500,000 a year. The only issue is that your delivery mechanism. So like us going through this entire process is what we should have done. It just took a long time to get here. All right. We should have done is that you were supply constrained. You can't do more than one on one. And if I found that out earlier, this would have been a 2-minute thing and I would have said we need to change your delivery ratio. And then advertise more.

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