Chris Fink founded Unmanned Vehicle Technologies as a way to get out of his corporate job. He had worked as a firefighter and dispatcher using drones, but he found that there was a lack of support from the manufacturers. Chris decided to fix this problem by making a company that would focus on supporting customers and meeting their needs. He founded UVT in 2014 with a home built drone with a GoPro strapped to it, but the company has now had 4,200 customers and sold more than 19,000 drones. In 2017, Chris met Andrew McKinney, the owner of Express Aerial Solutions and another firefighter and dispatcher, who was working on commercial leasing for industrial drones because many companies could not afford the large cost of a drone up front. UVT and EAS merged to provide a new method for customers to get UVT’s products and services. In 2017, Matt Rybar, a Sheriff’s Deputy, merged his company, Alpha Consulting Group, into UVT. Alpha Consulting Group focused on training for drones to be adopted into public safety agencies. This merge allowed UVT to expand its offerings to customers. UVT seeks to supply customers with the most advanced industrial drones that have customized hardware and software to meet their needs as well as providing outstanding customer support.
Chris also has a small unmanned aircraft systems pilot ground and flight certification that he has used learn about drone operation which helps him provide better solutions through his company. People who have worked with Chris say that he understands the market and is open to ideas and feedback. His willingness to listen to customers and employees is likely a large part of why his company has been successful. He understands how important it is to learn the customer’s needs and create a high quality solution to meet it.
I really like the idea. Drone technology is really an expanding and growing market as it becomes cheaper and more capable. Being open to change and suggestions is also a great trait to have in such a new and developing market and industry. Still the coolest part of the story is how Fink decided to start the company solely to get out of his corporate job. There are many people who work 9-5 in corporate America and it is always cool when people challenge that.