We’re all looking for that next great business idea. And sometimes it’s hovering right above you. Or maybe sitting in the palm of your hand.
Entrepreneurship isn’t always about inventing a new product or service. Most successful new companies are solving problems or seeing opportunities that should be obvious, but aren’t to most people.
The solution can be a high flying innovation or it can be a commitment to quality. Whatever it is, it usually pays off for the folks who have the good sense to pounce on the idea that’s right in front of them. If you’re first to market: well, it’s easy to drum up business.
It might be hard to imagine revolutionizing the drum stick. But that’s what Frank Kincel is doing with his company LA Backbeat.
Frank Kincel, building a better drumstick
Your average rock and roll drummer can blow through two or three sticks every gig. That’s a lot of wood, and the costs add up. Frank stepped off the road from a career as a touring drummer to start carving high-quality, durable, small-batch drum sticks. LA Backbeat has become a phenomenon among professional drummers, who turn to Frank’s sticks for their build and consistency. Instead of two or three sticks per gig. Try two or three gigs per stick. That’s saving money.
Frank’s been a tinkerer since childhood. He built his first bass drum out of scrap at age 10. Today, he’s lathing 250 sticks a day and shipping them to drummers around the country.
Adam Zayor’s career took off when he looked up from his job overseeing petrochemical megaprojects. A marketing drone hovered above him and he thought, why not use these for his job.
Acadiana drone entrepreneur Adam Zayor’s Fly Guys employs drone pilots around the world
Adam launched Fly Guys in 2017 and has since grown it into a multinational aerial imaging company based here in Lafayette. Fly Guys helps clients in agriculture, energy, construction and telecommunications get a birds eye view of their projects. It’s a clever, low-cost business model.
Fly Guys brokers with 5,500 contract drone pilots, using project managers to coordinate them. Fly Guys doesn’t own the equipment, which makes the model easy to scale up. And scale up it has: Today the company operates in all 50 states and 72 countries.
Christiaan Mader, Frank Kincel and Adam Zayor, Out to Lunch at Tula Tacos
Out to Lunch Acadiana is recorded live over lunch atTula Tacos and Amigos in downtown Lafayette. Photos were snapped on his iPhone by our audio engineer Dylan Babineaux!
Believe it or not, there’s more drummer and drone conversation on Out to Lunch Acadiana. Check out Danny Devillier, drummer with a music school – https://itsacadiana.com/2020/09/29/remember-when-we-had-a-music-business/ and Lake Charles drone entrepreneur Cody Porche https://itsacadiana.com/2020/10/20/lake-charles-2020/.
