[00:00:28] Jay: Hi everyone. Welcome to The First Customer Podcast. My name's Jay Aigner. Today I'm lucky enough, you joined by Brett Tiagwad. He is the founder and CEO at Elevated Angles, a man I've chased around for a long time to get on this show.

Brett, how are you my friend?

[00:00:41] Brett: Doing great. Doing great. How are you?

[00:00:43] Jay: I'm good. we will start with the fact that, you're attending an event this weekend. do you wanna tell everybody what that event is?

[00:00:50] Brett: Yeah, going down to the Super Bowl.

[00:00:52] Jay: Oh, there it is. The

[00:00:53] Brett: ready for the Eagles win.

[00:00:55] Jay: That's right. No, no doubts. We were saying before the show. you know, we may look at this by the time it airs and, either be really happy or really sad.

So, I think we're gonna be good though. I'm very confident. So, tell me, brother, where did you grow up and did that have any impact on you being an entrepreneur later in life?

[00:01:10] Brett: yeah, I grew up in South Jersey, so Mount Laurel area. say I was always, an entrepreneur at heart, you know, growing up and doing side jobs and landscaping jobs and snow removal jobs. So, yeah, I mean, I always had the itch for sure.

[00:01:31] Jay: Was Elevated Angles, the first business you started.

[00:01:35] Brett: I would say legitimate. Yeah. I mean, like, you know, when I was 15 or so doing, my own landscaping company, I

[00:01:43] Jay: Sure.

[00:01:44] Brett: or anything,

[00:01:44] Jay: Well, I mean, yeah, I hear that story a lot though. There's a lot of, most entrepreneurs start young for sure. Well, you didn't start, out being an entrepreneur. I saw something about being a finance guy, and then I thought I saw consulting. Was it kind of like a natural progression out, like how did you go from, you know, working a job to starting your own business and then just being your own boss?

[00:02:05] Brett: a long story. I'll try and keep it concise, but, I went to school for finance, my, family's and insurance and, you know, so I, I got a degree in finance at SJU and, you know, when I came out, that was kind of the path, right? Like the nine to five job, you know. Get a job in insurance or finance or there was no true, you know, this is where, what you need to do.

But, you know, from a financial standpoint, I was in finance. I was not in, marketing, I was not in food marketing. so. Pretty much what ended up happening was got a job, went through some, life events. I am currently nine years in, in recovery,

[00:02:50] Jay: Oh.

[00:02:51] Brett: yeah, so I had some trials and road bumps. You know, a few different jobs and fired and so on and so forth. I ended up going to treatment, getting treatment. came out and my mom passed away. So, after my mom passed away, that's when I bought a drone and I bought a drone because I wanted to like, go out and just kind of be by myself and have something to do other than, you know, kind of taking your mind off things.

So, bought a drone. When I started using the drone, it was. I just a light bulb went off and was like, this was back, you know, in 2016 when you saw a drone in the air, you were, you know, like, what's going on? but, you know, bought a drone, saw the use cases from a business standpoint and, you know, pretty much just started an LLC, kind of starting off, just like selling photos here and there. and then I really went the. Instagram route. So like, you know, not to make this too long, but I got a job in, in, in insurance. So I was in marketing and insurance and then at the same time I was working my Elevated Angles job. So on nights, weekends, whenever I could do it, it was like a side hustle.

And, through that side hustle, I pretty much just built it, on the nights and weekends up to. A true revenue generator where I felt like I could leave my company that I was at. but no background in photography, no background in videography. I. You don't see that in this space a lot. Which, you know, is interesting.

Whether it's good or bad, I don't know. but I've always had a creative eye and, you know, when I started seeing what drones could see and record, that's really what, you know, I love flying drones. not a huge like ground camera guy. I just, I like being in the air. I'm a, I like to skydive.

I'm an adrenaline type of, person, so it kind of gives me that feeling and I've turned it into a business.

[00:05:09] Jay: Love that dude. I love it too. I love it. It's like such, I mean, I take it on every vacation. Just fly it out of the ocean and just like, you know, pan down and just go, you know, you see sharks and all sorts of just like crazy stuff. And I saw dolphins mating, last year. I was like, just like, you know, it's just a wild, I feel the same way about flying airplanes.

it's incredible. It's just a very freeing, experience. But, well first of all,

[00:05:33] Brett: what led me though to starting the LLC was I was taking 'em on vacations and you

[00:05:38] Jay: yeah.

[00:05:39] Brett: getting these awesome shots and it's like you could sell these like back to the resort or you know, to whoever, I was like, all right, I'll start an LLC and see where it goes, and

[00:05:49] Jay: I'm dying to know. So this is where it really gets exciting for me because, you know, I have a bunch of hobbies and astrophotography is a hobby and I've tried to think about how you monetize something that you can like sell prints or you could do lessons or courses or whatever. And it's just like a very like, boring set of things that you could kind of monetize a hobby like that.

So I want to hear like. How did you brainstorm it? Like which, what are some that you tried that didn't work? Like how did you start getting to the point where you're now, where you have a service offering and you have some, you know, where did you start?

[00:06:18] Brett: Yeah, lot,lot of trial and error. I originally, I went directly at construction 'cause I just saw, I. You know, the use case from a construction standpoint, right? Whether it's just like progress photos, or mappings or, you know, safety issues. You know, getting that type of angle from a construction standpoint was really, you know, back then when nobody really had a drone, it was like, oh wow, we could really use this.

So, I went that route first. pretty hard to get in the door with, construction companies, especially ones that you'll find out they don't really have true marketing departments.

[00:07:02] Jay: you know, like I. Back when I first started this, social media videos weren't really even like a thing. So, you know, these companies didn't even have profiles.

[00:07:15] Brett: you know, some didn't even believe in it, you know, as you've seen over the course of, you know, 10 years. Everybody has a brand on social media now, but back then, you know, they didn't. So,

[00:07:26] Jay: Right.

[00:07:27] Brett: I went that. I went that route. Not too successful. I started going the route of, the failures I would say is like, I really thought that there was gonna be a bigger market for like, I. Public entity business where it's like have to inspect the beach or we have to inspect, you know, the water towers and the bridges. Like there's all different, laws and rules on when you have to inspect them and how long, and, you know, I was privy to that from my insurance job and, What ended up happening was these pub, you know, the townships were just buying their own drones, you know, to see what they wanted to see.

And then at the same time, you know, I wasn't like a true, I couldn't give a detailed analysis on like, what, you know, what I'm looking at. So it was more so just like sending them footage and,that didn't really go anywhere. I don't think currently to date I have any. Public entity business, but I know there's a market there for like true, surveyors and true like sections.

but I, what I found was I had a creative eye and I spent hours and hours and hours learning YouTube on how to create really cool videos. and what I mean by that is I. How to edit you know, editing is a very big part of my business. It's, you know, what's kind of, I'd say separated myself, you know, from other competitors.

Not only, I. You know, flying styles and like actually being on set or being on site and being like, Hey, around this tree, or fly over it. You know that's one part of it. But the other part is, you know, actually editing it. And if you have, if you can edit really well, you know, you can make, you know, decent footage looked good.

So, I spent a lot of hours into that. and why I'm going that way is 'cause I. I'm pretty much about, like, I pretty much went in the marketing. So like of, you know, or like measuring dirt piles or like, there's a lot of drone companies that do that and we can do it. It's not a big part of our business. But, I went the route of like. Companies coming to us because they really want a professional, creative video photo. and make them stand out from a brand standpoint on social media. so before I keep going, what is, does

[00:10:06] Jay: No, that's, yeah, no, that, I love that. That's, I mean, that's, I mean, lots of questions, but, I mean, I've seen stuff with, you know, I think the Phillies and maybe the Eagles and like, all sorts of just like really cool stuff. And it's an interesting angle to take. I mean, and like you said, I think there's certainly a.

Tons of greenfield with like analysis using drones. But that's like, like you said, like you almost need to have, you have to be a water tower inspecting expert company that uses the drone. Right, right. Yeah. So yeah, that makes a lot more sense. so, but going the creative route and then like learning it yourself is pretty impressive.

And the videos look awesome. how do you plan on scaling that?

[00:10:47] Brett: we're in the process right now, so, I actually have another drone pilot starting next Monday. and then I have an editor that probably will start within the next week, month too. now, currently I've been historically doing. Everything. I mean, I do have a marketing assistant. I do have another full-time drone pilot, and then I have like a creative producer, jack of all trades type of, subcontractor that I use that's, you know, on retainer. but in general, to get like this market. Squared away. I would say in terms of like building my team right now, you know, we have, you know, almost 20 construction projects going every month. We have, you know, requests with all different types of industries, like whether it's a nonprofit, that is looking for a beau.

Like right now, currently what's really hot and why we're really busy is the city's lighting up green. And like, what's the best way to capture that? And it's through a drone. So like we have a lot of companies and businesses coming to us saying like, Hey, our building's being lit up, or hey, like, this venue's being lit up.

Can you film that? so, you know, a lot of different avenues of industry within just this market. I mean, we. We dabble in New Jersey and New York City and Baltimore as well, but not, you know, not as much. the idea of scaling for me is more so once I get this editor and other pilot in the place, I can then look from a geographic, you know, standpoint, whether it's Nashville, Florida. Out west, you know,

[00:12:40] Jay: pick somewhere nice. You just gotta pick the nicest place where you wanna go spend some time. Right. I think that's, I think that's the rule of thumb. Yeah. Those are all in the very nice places. no, it's so funny. I, like I tell this story so often. I actually told it I think yesterday.

there's a guy who told me that he wanted to be the business connections guy of Rochester, New York. And on its face I thought. That's kind of dumb. Who wants to be that? And then I like, as it sat with me, I'm like, that's genius, right? Like you have to own your backyard. Like you have to own the place that you're close to.

Like why would you, I. Why would you just spread out and try to like go everywhere when there's so much opportunity for like, not just face to face, but for conferences and networking and oh, by the way, even cold stuff is easier because you're in the same, one of my most successful campaigns I've ever run was a Go Birds campaign in 2022, where like the leading.

You know, subject line was Go Birds, like, and like everybody opened it, right? Because like, you're one of them. And I love that approach of like owning this market first and kind of being, you know, the go-to drone company. is that what you got? Do you consider yourself a drone company or more of like a media company or what?

[00:13:49] Brett: Yeah, so I get this question a lot. I mean, I've branded ourselves for, the company for a few different reasons that I'm not gonna go into, but as a drone company, so drone service provider. But, I. When it really comes down to it and you dive into the business, it's more so like a production company that specializes in drones,

[00:14:11] Jay: Yeah. yeah. That makes sense. That I would in my head. That's how I feel after talking to you. I mean, it is. The secret sauce is your, is both right. It's like, it's a combination of using drones with some really cool production. That's, that seems like a really cool combo. how long have you been running the business?

How long ago did you start?

[00:14:28] Brett: I started the LLC in 2018. I left my full-time job when my first son was born, so I, you know, it's a, it's an easy milestone for me in terms of remembering, but it's, you know, around like three years,

[00:14:43] Jay: I tell everybody the same thing. I tell everybody the same thing. I gauge my life based on when my kids were born. It's like, it's the easiest thing to remember. who was your first customer back then? Do you remember?

[00:14:53] Brett: first customer all the way back then a company, a real estate company, called S-F-A-S-F-A Investments, owned a bunch of office properties and, you know, at that time back then, you know, through my wife, through a friend of a friend. Got to, to talking about drones and he was like, I'd love to film all of, you know, our properties.

So we did that and, that I, he was truly, I would say my first real client besides like print sales and like little, you know, little jobs. but yeah.

[00:15:32] Jay: We talked about it a little bit. So that's your first customer and like, who is your customer today? Like who, who is your ideal customer today? And like, how has that changed, you know, over time.

[00:15:42] Brett: So very similar to my first customer that I had. but I would say that wasn't the norm. You know, after I got that first customer, really, the, How you break into this market and what a lot of, people do that are, freelancers are starting their own thing is going after like residential real estate. because agents are always getting new houses and they need drone photos of the house. Like if you don't have a drone photo of the house on Zillow, like, we're not sure what you're doing, you know? So a lot of people go after that. had a decent amount of realtors, you know, when I first started, wasn't a big fan of that market.

How much money are you making off of those? How much are you making per pop off a photo for a real estate thing?

I know guys that are doing it for like 200 bucks

[00:16:36] Jay: Okay.

[00:16:37] Brett: and, videos for 500 or a thousand. I mean, it really depends on who you're, you know, engaging with. A lot of the guys that are trying to break into the market will do it for free,

[00:16:49] Jay: Right.

[00:16:50] Brett: you know, to just build their portfolio. And, you know, I did that too.

I mean, I used to, I would go around the construction sites and just film 'em and, you know, send it to the GC and be like, Hey, this is what we do. And, you know, I still have some of those clients to, you know, to this day, but, Yeah, I mean, that market isn't, you know, for a variety of reasons.

House is not being, you know, ready to be filmed or, the landscaping cruise out or the owner's gonna be there now on Tuesday. Can you come Wednesday? And just a very volatile, not, you know, in my opinion, ju you know, kind of the juice isn't worth the squeeze on that. But that is where you start to build your brand, you know?

So, and it's an easy, you know, entry point to get into. So, we don't do any residential real estate right now. It's kind of, you know, we're in talk talks with. You know, potentially like when you talk about scaling, like potentially getting into that division somebody else who might join the team.

But, as of right now, like my current customer, like I'm looking at the newest development that was just built in Philly or. major event like the Eagles or the Phillies or you know, like Live Nation who covers all of the venues. the City of Philadelphia, visit Philly, you know, really, clients that, you know, aren't, how do I put this, with. True projects, not just like filming a house, right? Like

[00:18:37] Jay: Yeah.

[00:18:38] Brett: making, you know, some of these are like really big productions. They could be, you know, $20,000. We could have actors, we could have, you know, people on set that are staging it. We could have, ground cameras, drones, flying. You know, like there's really a lot that you can do with it. versus like just taking a photo of a house,

[00:19:00] Jay: Right. No, I love that. That's great. I mean, I. I think maybe you're too modest to say it, but you know, you've outgrown some of that stuff I think at this point, right? You've got, you need the bigger stuff because it's not worth your time to spin it up and, you know, you could be making more money doing bigger, better things.

Right. So, well, I feel like we could talk all day. but let's, I have one more question for you. Non-business related, non drum related. if you could do anything on earth and you knew you wouldn't fail, what would it be?

[00:19:31] Brett: No, I wouldn't fail. I would say start my own company, but I've

[00:19:38] Jay: You haven't. You've done that. And you haven't failed. So I think that's like twice dis.

[00:19:43] Brett: Yeah. I don't know. Repeat the question again.

[00:19:54] Jay: Man, see, you know, I think some people just are just begging for a lifeline at this point when I ask and I just let 'em flounder a little bit. 'cause it's like, you know, it's something you have to think on the fly. if you could do anything on earth and you knew you wouldn't fail.

[00:20:10] Brett: I'd say play professional sports

[00:20:14] Jay: There you go. All right. See, I've gotten that one before. Yeah. any sport in particular.

[00:20:19] Brett: if I got to pick, I would probably pick golf.

[00:20:24] Jay: Okay. All right.

[00:20:25] Brett: the longest. if, you know, for the true love of the game would be, you know, like the quarterback of the Eagles, right?

[00:20:32] Jay: There you go. See then we got to it eventually. The quarterback of the Eagles is a great answer, and very fitting for this weekend. So, no, I love your work, man. I love the story. you know, it's a cool kind of intro, into business that I think a lot of people like. Are afraid to do and you tried some stuff and you've figured stuff out and it worked and you're growing and I see all over the place.

So, I wish you the best of luck. I will continue to support you. how can people find more about you if they heard something they wanna talk to you about today? or Elevated Angles if they wanna reach out to you guys. I.

[00:21:03] Brett: you go to our Instagram Elevated Angles, shoot us a dm or you could send an email to info@elevatedelevatedangles.com.

[00:21:14] Jay: It's beautiful. We'll link it in the bio as well. All right, man. have a great weekend. Go birds and I'll talk to you soon. All right, man. See you buddy. Later. 

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