We recently connected with Pedro Silva and have shared our conversation below.

Pedro, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

I got my first client for my drone company, Drone by Dro, through a connection at my job at the time, TGI Fridays. He was a friend of mine who happened to be starting out as a real estate agent. His first sale was his mother’s house, and he contacted me to do the aerial photography. It was only $60, but after years of brand building, content creation, and now finally being a licensed drone pilot, it felt amazing to be paid doing something I enjoyed.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started finding ways to become an entrepreneur in 2017. My life had reached a low point, after being arrested for a DUI in late 2016, going through a bad breakup at the beginning of 2017, flunking my classes in college & hating my job. I had worked in the food industry since 2012, made decent money but now that I was getting older I was starting to have bills, so the money was coming and going fast.

After summer of 2017, I began podcasting with a friend from high school, Brooks, which led to a 5 year run making sports content on YouTube. We did everything from podcasts, livestreams, selling Merch, & hosting events. From this, I began making money working for myself, & learned how to manage a brand. During that time I learned the basics of videography & content creation, eventually culminating with the purchase of my first drone. It was a toy drone from Walmart, but it was so cool to me that I felt the need to find better drones, learn as much as I can about them etc. Drones were and still are so new, with it being able to help businesses in so many different industries, I wanted to get in early on the commercial drone wave. While learning how to fly, I began evolving as a videographer, as well as integrating photography into my skillset.

In 2019, after 2 years of flying for fun, I finally got fed up with my work situation and I began planning the launch of my own drone photo/video service company. I got my license in November of that year, but didn’t take on any work in 2019. When the pandemic began in March 2020, I began receiving/saving my unemployment checks until I had enough to invest in everything I needed to officially launch the business. I spent $7500 on 2 of the best “prosumer” drones on the market, accessories, marketing campaigns, designed my own website & with all my practice shots built a portfolio. During the time I was building my website, I was growing my social media following, which helped bring a lot of exposure from people all over the world. After completing my first drone job in July of 2020, my business gained traction locally through word of mouth & I have been proudly growing my business ever since.

In 2021, we got our first big project with Suburban Hospital, which taught me how to legally access airspaces in Washington DC Flight Restriction Zones. Now having access to these waivers, I became one of only a few drone companies flying in the DC Metro area, which allowed me to gain clients such as Marriott International, doing projects for 3 of their locations in Bethesda, including their global HQ. We also worked on a project for Nike, which opened the door for more opportunities & new relationships.

In 2022, our revenue more than quadrupled & we gained many long term clients. Our social media following grew by 3,000 followers on Instagram, with most of the year being a balance of flying for clients & flying for my personal portfolio to grow my social media accounts as well as updating my website & google business page.

What separates us from other drone companies is that we focus on relationships more than profit margins. Our goal is to always help solve problems & achieve the best result for our clients. We’re able to be in many places at once by having a network of pilots & editors, so we’re both providing jobs for others & achieving quicker turnaround times than our competitors. Our biggest pitch to clients in Maryland is that we can legally access just about any restricted airspace, as well as flying drones indoors.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

In 2017, I started a brand called “Hear Me Out! Entertainment”, which was a sports podcast, learning how to create content on YouTube. After about a year, it started making decent money through google Adsense, Merch sales & events that we would host. Eventually in 2020, I lost my job during the pandemic and really focused a lot more on commercial drone work. I took all my unemployment money, all the money I made from my job as a waiter at TGI Fridays, and money I made buying/selling clothes & electronics, to invest in my own drone company. I spent $7500 on equipment, accessories, licenses & insurances as well as marketing campaigns. A google advertisement I started that year has costed me about $4000, & has generated over $100,000 in revenue.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In May 2022, I was working more than ever before & had grown my savings to about $20k. During a job for my biggest client at the time, my car was robbed for everything in it, including my drone, laptop, camera, & all the files I ever captured on my hard drives. It sucked really bad, and the day I was robbed I had 3 more jobs to go. I pushed all my jobs over to the next day, replaced all my equipment that evening and got right back to work & the business grew even more after having gone through that.

Contact Info:

• Website: Dronebydro.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/dronebydro
• Facebook: Facebook.com/drone-by-dro
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-silva-597156125
• Twitter: Twitter.com/dronebydro

Image Credits
Pedro Silva (Drone by Dro)