EP 35 —  Ultraview’s Colby Harvey on Mentorship and Startup Success

On this week's episode of the DIB Innovators podcast, David speaks with Colby Harvey, CEO & Founder of Ultraview, to explore his entrepreneurial journey and the innovative solutions his company is bringing to the aviation sector. Colby shares valuable insights on the importance of listening to customer feedback, which has been pivotal in shaping Ultraview's product development. 

He also discusses the transformative role of mentorship, particularly through his experience with the Techstars accelerator program. Additionally, Colby outlines his vision for integrating advanced AI technologies into drone inspection processes, positioning Ultraview as a leader in the industry. 

Topics discussed:

• The critical role of listening to customers in shaping product development and ensuring that solutions address real industry pain points.
• How mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and participation in programs like Techstars provided invaluable guidance and support during his startup journey.
• The specific challenges that the aviation sector faces, particularly in maintenance and inspection processes.
• The difficulties in collecting and managing data traditionally gathered through manual inspections, which can lead to inefficiencies and errors.
• The pressing issue of technician shortages in the aviation industry and how Ultraview aims to alleviate this challenge through innovative solutions.
• The iterative process of developing Ultraview's products, focusing on continuous improvement based on customer insights and industry needs.
• The complexities of operating in a regulated industry and the importance of compliance in developing new technologies.
• The significance of creating strong relationships within the industry, which can lead to collaboration and new opportunities for growth. 

Guest Quotes: 

“Understanding when to pivot is a good, definitely a great trait to have because you never know where things can lead off. I mean, I've been kind of fortunate not to have to pivot too much in my business, but there's definitely have been a lot of ups and downs in it that I had to learn from. Definitely stay hungry for it. If you believe that this can change something, don't listen to investors. Listen to your customers.”

“There's, again, there are people that are resistant to change, that don't want to change the status quo. And that's, I'd say, where we've experienced probably the most friction, but they're also with those people. They're also the people that are excited about these new capabilities and excited to bring in these innovations and the data that they have access to that they didn't, that they can do so many new and creative things with, they just couldn't do before.” 

“So extending and scaling that capability and then ultimately more artificial intelligence, being injecting more AI into the platforms, making it a lot smarter, making the reports a lot more succinct, and just overall making a user experience that is above anything else.” 

“But how we're using AI is in a couple different areas. The first you can think of is our autonomy stack. So how the drone is actually navigating in a three-dimensional environment, same like you see, like a Waymo car or Cruise when those are driving around. Ensuring that it's essentially in the defense terms of position, navigation and timing.” 

Get in touch with Colby Harvey:  

LinkedIn 

Website 

Get in touch with your host, David Graff: 

LinkedIn 

Listen to more episodes: 

Apple 

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