Case study · PhotoDrone.com
How Sydeso took PhotoDrone from a landing page to a live drone marketplace in 16 weeks.
PhotoDrone matches customers who need drone photos with vetted, insured pilots. Sydeso took it from a concept and a basic landing page to a live marketplace in South Florida in 16 weeks.
- Starting point
- A concept and a basic landing page
- Time to launch
- 16 weeks, including revisions to the MVP
- What launched
- A customer marketplace and a pilot portal
- Market
- South Florida first, then the whole state
Where PhotoDrone started
Edd Helms came to Sydeso with a concept and a basic landing page. He wanted one marketplace where a customer who needs drone photos or video is matched with a vetted, insured pilot, without calling around and without guessing at the price.
He hired Sydeso as a fractional CTO. The work grew into building the product itself, and Sydeso took PhotoDrone from that landing page to a live marketplace in 16 weeks, with several rounds of revisions to the MVP along the way.
What Sydeso built
- 01
A quote wizard that starts with the address
The customer types the job site first. PhotoDrone checks coverage before anything else, so nobody configures a shoot it cannot fly. Six steps later they see a real price with the terms attached, and they don’t need an account until they book.
Sydeso built the quote wizard to check coverage before anything else, so a customer never configures a job PhotoDrone cannot fly. - 02
Five industry packages with prices on the page
Boating, construction, events, inspections and real estate each have a package with a starting price. The customer adjusts the photo count, video and add-ons, and the price changes as they go.
PhotoDrone shows five industry packages, each with a starting price, before anyone books. - 03
Booking, review and payment in four steps
A 10 percent deposit books the slot. PhotoDrone checks every upload before the customer sees it, and files that miss the brief go back to the pilot. The customer has 48 hours to review, and then the balance is charged.
Four steps from request to payment. PhotoDrone checks every upload before the customer sees it. - 04
Coverage by county
Full service in Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. Limited service in six more counties, with the lead time and travel charge stated for each. An address outside the map becomes a custom request.
PhotoDrone sets coverage county by county, so the price and the lead time fit each address. - 05
A separate portal for pilots
Pilots apply in about three minutes. PhotoDrone verifies each Part 107 certificate and the liability insurance against a source outside the application. Every job offer states the pilot’s pay in dollars, and pilots are paid 7 days after the customer approves the files.
The pilot portal Sydeso built shows each pilot what a job pays before they accept it.
“I hired them for a Fractional CTO service, but Sydeso took my business idea from concept to launch in 16 weeks with various revisions to the MVP. They communicated with me throughout the entire process and I was never left guessing. Great work by the team!”
What comes next
PhotoDrone launched in South Florida. The plan is to expand across the whole state and then nationwide, and the county-by-county coverage model is ready for it: a new area starts on limited service and moves to full service as pilots join.
Have a concept and a landing page?
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