What Can the U.S. Learn from European Drone Regulations?
In this exciting episode of Drones in America, host Grant Guillot had the pleasure of speaking with a drone industry leader and influencer Eszter Kovács, Founder of DroneTalks and Board Member of the Drone Industry Association Switzerland (DIAS) to begin. However, her current resume consists of much more including Advisory Board Member of the 2022 Commercial UAV Expo; Founder and CEO of Manageld; and Steering Committee Member at AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International).
To say Kovács is at the forefront of the industry driving change, supporting diversity, and setting the stage for the future is quite an understatement. The conversation opens with an inside look at the forthcoming 2022 Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas From September 6-8. This expo is an international trade show highlighting the latest technologies and addressing various topics and challenges in the operation of commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
Kovács noted that this year’s expo has a strong focus on diversity within the industry. And, “they will focus on verticals and the use of drones in different industries which is really exciting because I think they understood that the time is here to scale the market and the question, how can we scale, which use cases are the ones which really create revenue.”
The conversation continued to look at the role diversity plays in driving revenue. “I used to say, hey, you don’t do me a favor including me in the discussion. That’s your own business benefit because if you listen to only one perspective of a product when you create it, then you’re going to have only one perspective of a user,” said Kovács.
Having only one user perspective doesn’t support revenue growth as it limits a company’s potential market. Kovács continues to note that diversity is not a favor, it’s an intelligent business decision that gives a company an advantage. She also notes that diversity goes well beyond simply including women, it includes race, education, bringing people in from different industries, etc.
The industry is only 8-10 years old so now is the time to set the tone for the future. At present, there are a lot of individuals in the industry with an aviation background. However, Kovács believes it’s important to bring people into the industry with a wide variety of backgrounds to fill roles across all business sectors such as marketing, operations, and sales. With an industry estimated to grow 20% year-over-year for the foreseeable future, it’s a great time to get into the drone game.
