The Munich startup Fairfleet brings drone pilots together with those who Aerial images including smart data analysis A wide variety of industries, including real estate, insurance, energy, and agriculture, use Fairfleet for damage assessment, inspection, and monitoring. In 2016, the startup was founded by Florian Waubke, Marco Kreuzer, Dario Manns and Alexander Engelfried and has several donors Florian Waubke, co-founder and CEO of Fairfleet, answers our 7 questions.
Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do?
Florian Waubke, Fairfleet: We are a full-service provider for drone services. Our platform offers a one-stop shop for the entire process: from booking and flight approvals to flight operations and subsequent data analysis. Anyone who wants to book a drone flight, including data analysis, in 30 seconds is in good hands with us.
Interview with Florian Waubke, co-founder and CEO of Fairfleet.
Our B2B customers benefit from our global network to licensed and insured drone pilots with guaranteed legal security for every flight. In the future, we also plan to conduct autonomous flights.
Since its launch in mid-2016, the network has grown significantly. Today, with over 2,500 verified, insured, and professional drone pilots in over 52 countries, we have the largest European network.
Drone flights as a “unique service”
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Florian Waubke: No, the way we offer the service is unique, at least in Europe.
While there are successful examples in the US, the field is still in its infancy in Europe. Currently, it's either highly specialized providers or very local networks. So, apart from Fairfleet, no one else offers comprehensive drone services across industries with a simple ordering process. Ultimately, we've transformed a complex product into an easily bookable service.
“Fairfleet opens up the market for Europe”
Munich Startup: What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Florian Waubke: Startups generally face many challenges. One of our biggest challenges is standardizing our service products as much as possible. This is the foundation for even better scaling.
This brings with it the problem that we are, of course, subject to certain regulations when flying. We always adhere to these. At the same time, we are further accelerating and digitizing these very processes with the appropriate departments.
Furthermore, as Fairfleet, we are developing the market in Europe. This requires a lot of convincing from customers, partners, and investors, but that's also why it's a very exciting topic.
And our biggest customer challenge? That was a pipeline flight last year. It required dozens of applications and forms in advance, and the approval process took over a year. It's also worth noting that it was the first beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flight in German aviation history.
Standardize processes to scale
Munich Startup: How is business going?
Florian Waubke: Our revenue doubled in 2019 compared to the previous year. We now operate in 52 countries with over 2,500 professional pilots. And we've expanded into additional industry segments with approximately 30 standardized services.
Munich Startup: What does Munich mean to you?
Florian Waubke: Munich is our home. The majority of our team is native Munich residents, and our office is located in the beautiful Sendling district, overlooking the wholesale market hall.
From a business perspective, Munich offers us many large corporations with potential points of contact for our services right on our doorstep, as well as a startup scene that is becoming increasingly stronger each year, with helpful networking events.
“Uber model for drone flights — with data intelligence”
Munich Startup: How can your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Florian Waubke: Fairfleet must continue to expand its internal and external structures so that standardized products are processed via the platform using standardized processes with a high degree of automation.
Then we'll get to the point where we can offer international flights in a truly mass-market model. We have to be a bit cautious with that, but ultimately we'll build an Uber model for drone flights—with some data intelligence on top.
We don't have an epic fail night. To keep it that way, we always have to listen carefully to our customers and partners, gather feedback, and act in a very customer-centric way. It's better to take a step back, analyze, and reflect than to rush straight into disaster.
Munich Startup: Early riser or late sleeper?
Florian Waubke: Definitely an early riser!
