Drone Technology with Marine Corps Veteran Dan Burton

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Dan Burton is the Founder and CEO of DroneBase, the largest global drone operations, which provides businesses with stunning aerial information to make better, real-time decisions about their most critical assets. Under Burtons vision and leadership, DroneBase has become the trusted, go-to drone platform for aerial images and data for worldwide enterprise clients. As a result, the company has grown its global pilot network 10x year over year, has completed 100,000 commercial flights, and has raised capital from top VC firms including Union Square Ventures, Upfront, and SkyFund (the joint venture between Accel and DJI).

Dan Burton – Drones in the Business World

Before founding DroneBase, Dan Burton analyzed industries for global corporations on Goldman Sachs Technology, Media & Telecom Group. He initially became a drone enthusiast during his service as a Marine Infantry Officer in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2007 – 2011. While in the Marines, the drone industry was just getting started and he watched it grow from the likes of the first desktop computers to iPhones. Burton started his career as a Special Projects Assistant in the U.S. Senate. Burton has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts from New York University.

“For any veteran, the transition may be under-appreciated; that’s a difficult thing.” – Dan Burton

Quick Transition

The transition from the Marine Corps to Harvard Business School definitely came up quick for Dan.  He loves the USMC and everything it stands for. Dan lived in New York during September 11 and saw it all happen.  As a result, the events of 9-11 caused Dan to take a deeper look at his military training.  Consequently, he realized that in the USMC their drone technology was second to none.

“Drone technology that was miniaturizing and computerizing; I really believe that it would transform the business world.” – Dan Burton

Starting a Business

Dan initially left the finance world with no income and no healthcare to start his business.  Hence, the clock was ticking but he was passionate about his belief drone technology could transform the business world.  He sought out anyone who was doing commercial drone operations including veterans who had worksites and started doing work for free to put his company out there.  

“It’s really hard to start a business; I would only recommend doing it if there is a problem you really want to see solved.” – Dan Burton

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Check out these links for Dan Burton:

• DroneBase Blog
• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

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Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 200 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane . The podcast features people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship.  As a result, Veteran On the Move has over 1,000,000 verified downloads through Stitcher Radio, Sound Cloud, itunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.