Ty Audronis’ Post

Reflecting on our experience this year at SXSW: My cofounder (Dr. Dana Abramovitz) did an excellent job of keeping the pressure off of me, but now that it's over (and we won), I'm getting the full gravity... When you enter SXSW pitch, you don't submit a video of your pitch. It's not based on how well you follow a formula. It's not based on your speaking ability, charisma, looks, or presence. It's strictly judged on your company's merits and the impact it can make (and is making) on the world. If course, at the event judges can't help but take into account your presentation and other factors. But out of tens of thousands that apply... only a few make it in at all. We were NOT selected to give a 3-minute pitch with slides. Instead, we were an alternate in our category of Security and Gov't. This means we only get to present a 60-second "speed" pitch (no slides), and if you are even a fraction of a second over... they cut your mic. One speed pitch out of each category is selected to present at the awards ceremony. One out of ALL the categories is given the "best speed pitch" award. THAT was us. I guess, kinda like best of show, but in elevator pitches. I don't say all of this to stroke my ego. Quite the opposite actually. Because this award isn't about my ability to speak. It's not about any of the normal "pitch" related criteria. This is about our team. What everyone at Tempest Droneworx™ has created, and our mission to make sure that issues (like the one that started the disaster that befell Paradise California - my home town and the inspiration for our Harbinger™ software), don't become the full-blown disaster that Paradise California felt in 2018. Our team works so hard, and it's amazing to see our product work. We'll be releasing our Agriculture Beta this summer, and we are currently raising our TACFI round (AFWERX matches investment for this round nondilutive). If you know any Farmers, co-ops, or other ag related organizations looking to make their operations more efficient, more safe, and more intuitive; or if you are or know qualified investors looking to invest in AMAZING and truly groundbreaking tech... PLEASE, reach out! We look forward to chatting with you. I'd also like to thank some people and mentors that were extremely influential on my life and tought me many things that gave me directly relevant experience employed today at Tempest. Ryan Wyatt Jeroen Lapre Rick Vertolli Randy Wall Chris Ficken To our team members: Dana Abramovitz (my cofounder) - Chief Operating Officer Brooke Blessington - Director of Operations, Agriculture Taylor Jankowski - Project Manager Ethan Wooten - Dev Manager Jason Morrow - Hardware Manager Anika Roskowski - Software Developer Nichelle Wells - Designer and Design Technologist and all our Contractors...