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This Week in Startups

The future of public safety via rapid drone response with Aerodome's Rahul Sidhu | E1900

This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis

Technology

4.21.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2024

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at http://www.openphone.com/twist

Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at http://www.vanta.com/twist

Imagine AI LIVE is an AI conference where you'll learn how to apply AI in YOUR business directly from the people who build and use these tools. It's taking place March 27th and 28th in Las Vegas, and TWiST listeners can get 20% off tickets at http://imagineai.live/twist

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Todays show:

Rahul Sidhu from Aerodome joins Jason to discuss how his startup is creating the future of public safety air support with an automated drone system. The two dive into privacy concerns and abuse potential for police drones (14:41), challenges of fundraising and selling to the government (34:22), the founding incident of Aerodome (38:46), and much more!

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Timestamps:

(0:00) Rahul Sidhu from Aerodome joins Jason

(3:44) How the Aerodome drone system works to respond to 911 calls

(13:17) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at http://www.openphone.com/twist

(14:41) Privacy concerns and abuse potential with police drone usage

(19:43) FAA regulations, geofencing, and obstacle avoidance for drones

(25:16) Pricing and business model

(28:08) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at http://www.vanta.com/twist

(29:00) Object tracking and combining technologies

(34:22) The challenges of fundraising and selling to government as a startup, but increased venture interest in public safety tech

(37:31) Imagine AI LIVE - Get 20% off tickets at http://imagineai.live/twist

(38:46) Starting Aerodome during the pandemic and protests in 2020. Finding a moderate voice through the All-In podcast

(45:57) The importance of intellectual honesty, steel-manning arguments, and not being married to a single solution as a leader

(47:46) Potential future capabilities and focus on de-escalation

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Check out Aerodome:

https://www.aerodome.com

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Follow Rahul

X: https://twitter.com/rahoolsidoo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulsidhu

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Follow Jason:

X: ⁠https://twitter.com/jason⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/jason⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

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Thank you to our partners:

(13:17) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at http://www.openphone.com/twist

(28:08) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at http://www.vanta.com/twist

(37:31) Imagine AI LIVE - Get 20% off tickets at http://imagineai.live/twist

*

Check out the Launch Accelerator: https://launchaccelerator.co

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Check out Founder University: https://www.founder.university

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Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp

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Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

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Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

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Follow TWiST:

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups

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Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

you know shout out to folks like David and and uh Catherine at

0:04.8

in recent they came and did our seed round

0:07.0

lickity split with twenty forty eight Alex his gold out in New York

0:11.2

uh... we're in the process right now closing a pretty large series A and

0:15.0

When we when I did this a round I had I was you know getting

0:20.6

Inbound from geez at every tier one firm it felt like and people have really

0:24.7

really embraced it so I would say that what you were saying earlier in the

0:28.0

podcast there's a shift towards wanting to invest in defense in public safety and

0:32.2

thankfully because of companies like

0:34.0

Block for example and Mark 43 and some of these other folks have done you know have achieved some

0:39.1

level venture scale in public safety people are now saying it's you know almost like a duty we should try to look

0:44.8

into this and we know that it's a possibility that these companies could get you know really big.

0:50.4

This week in startups is brought to you by Open Phone brings your team's business calls, texts, and contacts into one delightful app that works anywhere.

0:59.5

Get 20% off your first six months at open phone.com slash twist.

1:05.5

Vanta compliance and security shouldn't be a deal breaker for startups to win new

1:10.0

business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a Sock 2 report fast.

1:15.3

Twist listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at vanta.com slash twist. And Imagine AI Live is an AI Conference where you'll learn how to apply AI in

1:28.1

your business directly from the people who build and use these tools.

1:31.7

It's taking place March 27th and 28th in Las Vegas and

1:36.3

Twist Listers can get 20% off tickets at Imagine AI. Live slash twist.

1:43.2

All right everybody welcome back to this week in startups

1:47.1

interesting trend I've watched here over the last decade in Silicon Valley

...

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