#51 Q&A With The Aquilae Company
Drones are one of the most promising and rapidly growing technologies of the modern age. Recently we got the opportunity to interview Nick Ulizio, CEO of Aquilae, a company founded by high schoolers at the Charter School of Wilmington who are seizing the potential of drones in cinematography.
What is the Aquilae Company?
The Aquilae Company is an organization founded by high school students that centers around drones. By combining the unique mobility of drones with conventional cinematography equipment, Aquilae produces high grade, professional videos of events and locations. In addition to cinematography, the company also works with its members to build and test quadcopters, planes, and all manner of drone devices.
How did Aquilae begin?
Aquilae originated as a small club of students with aligned interests in drones. About halfway through its’ first year of operation, they filmed an aerial video of an annual 5K hosted by the Charter School of Wilmington (CSW). The school administration happened upon the video, and contracted Aquilae to create a promotional video. The video was played at CSW’s open houses and events, and was the foundation of Aquilae’s cinematography side. Beyond video production, Aquilae also works towards fulfilling its original goal of constructing drones of all types and stand by the motto, “we strive to solve problems and engineer devices in unconventional, standard-challenging ways.”
What guiding principles have led to Aquilae’s success?
Breaks and crashes are not exclusively negative; if anything, they expose weaknesses and create a great opportunity to improve a device or methodology. It is also critical to teach and cultivate great people, working as a team in order to achieve more than any single person ever could. Subsequently, properly delegating tasks and properly distributing a workload based on the skills of a team often determines the difference between an exceptional product and a mediocre product.
What are some of Aquilae’s proudest achievements?
After filming the aforementioned Open House promotional video for their high school, Aquilae also filmed and promoted CSW at its’ annual Grandparents Day Event. They also host a weekly Drone Club, that teaches anyone that is willing to learn about drones, and hopes to “take the knowledge and expertise we [Aquilae] have gathered and convey it to the next generation of motivated students!” Outside of their high school, Aquilae conducts numerous events with private individuals and companies to professionally record their important moments. To give back to their community, Aquilae recently organized and conducted a workshop for students at the Evan G. Shortlidge Elementary school in Wilmington, igniting their interest in drones, cinematography, and building. To learn more about Aquilae and view its works, visit their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcHm5FSGtdYlNCKaSpgqpjA
Author: Chris Kontomaris from CompanyRootsxDelaware
Editors: Sourish Jasti and Megan Chen