Zia Drone Operations
Meet SCAPE 2022 Cohort Company, Zia Drone Operations. This trio has has taken flight after meeting at San Juan College and winning the Hawk Tank competition.
Q: What’s your name, title, business?
A: Wes Bond, Owner, Aerial data collection
Josh Bishop, Marketing Manager
Mark Knight, Financial Manager
https://ziadroneoperations.com
Q: What does your business do?
A: Our Business provides aerial data collection for industries from construction to the energy sector, marketing campaigns, and productions for film industry.
Q: Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey.
A: The journey of Zia Drone Operations started in February of 2021; we were all classmates in a new education program provided by San Juan College. We decided to establish an aerial systems company to serve the Four Corners region. Our first step was to enter a business plan competition called Hawk Tank presented by Fort Lewis College. We developed and enacted a business plan that competed and won the competition. With the prize we earned we were able to grow and add equipment to the business to offer more services to our area. The current services we offer range from aerial photography and videography, mapping applications, vegetation applications, and inspections for the various industries prominent in the Four Corners area.
Q: What was the most powerful lesson you learned on this journey?
A: The most powerful lesson we have learned to date is that there is a solution to every problem we have encountered.
Q: Why did you apply for the SCAPE Program?
A: We applied for the SCAPE program in order to find possible investors to acquire new technology to help energy companies with the tall task of inspecting the thousands of miles of pipeline that are found in our Four Corners area. With new regulations that are being proposed, this is a problem in need of a solution. Zia Drone Operations plans to help both the environment and the companies utilizing these new technologies.
Q: What companies inspire you the most (local, national, worldwide)?
A: Locally, San Juan College and their strive for excellence, which is what Zia Drone Operations strives for with our business. We also are inspired by some of the drone companies like DJI and Autel with their innovations in drone technology. UAVisuals is another company we look up to, to help us build our business in inspections.
Q: What do you love most about the Four Corners?
A: The Four Corners area offers so much to love from the landscape and scenery to the different cultures that are present in this area. The thing we love the most is how different each area is which makes it great to capture and explore the Four Corners area and share with the people in this region.
