Meet EagleHawk, a 2019 GENIUS NY Finalist

"After inspecting 700 buildings over the past two years, we have found that 80% show evidence of leaking and most of our customers were unaware of the extent of their roofing issues."

A quick Q/A with Patrick Walsh, CEO and Willard Schulmeister, COO from EagleHawk

Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Team Size: 5 full-time
Focus: Software and services for roof inspection
Website: www.eaglehawkllc.com

Describe your team.
We're a team of engineers with experience from the defense industry and drone piloting that are passionate about solving practical problems with drone tech.

Talk to me about your company.
EagleHawk is using drone technology to improve the way commercial roofs are inspected and managed. We utilize drones equipped with sensors, like cutting-edge thermal cameras, that can see roof issues which are not apparent to the naked eye. Analyzing thermal imagery to properly identify issues is not trivial, but we have developed an expertise and employ a very effective process.

We can inspect multiple roofs quickly and affordably and help facilities figure out where they have issues, how they can extend the life of their roofs, and ultimately save them money on their roofing costs.

The service part of our business is fairly mature and over the next year we hope to leverage the GENIUS NY funding, resources, and coaching to improve our business model and extend our capabilities through an enhanced software platform. Our solution leverages a geospatial enabled software platform that is coupled with recurring drone inspections to help our customers manage their roofs more proactively.

What problem are you solving?
After inspecting 700 buildings over the past two years, we have found that 80% show evidence of leaking and most of our customers were unaware of the extent of their roofing issues. People tend to manage their roofs very reactively and don’t worry about leaks until water is inside the building, and usually by then it is an expensive roof problem.  Our solution will help catch the leaks early while they are inexpensive to repair, and help to significantly reduce risk and maintenance costs.

Who are your customers?
Our customers are typically facilities managers who manage large roofs or several roofs. Examples of customers who have used our services include universities, hospitals, school districts, municipalities, and developers owning large properties. 

We are currently working with a few premier local universities, including the University at Buffalo, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Cortland, and Cornell University. 

Why are you excited for GENIUS NY?
GENIUS NY represents a great opportunity for us to refine our business plan and leverage the coaching to really focus on the next important stage of growth. Obviously, the funding it provides is going to greatly accelerate our growth and enable us to do the things we need to do to fulfill our vision, which is really exciting!

We're thrilled to be in this program and excited that such a resource exists in New York. The New York relationship is very important to us. We are aware of the CNY drone hub and UAS Central here in Syracuse, including the NY UAS Test Site and the NUAIR Alliance.  It seems like the place to be for emerging drone technology. 

First impressions of Syracuse?
Well, it feels a lot like Buffalo! It may be a little smaller than Buffalo, but has a similar feel and its own unique charm. The Central New York location is going help us service our customers across the state more timely and effectively and access to top graduating talent from the local universities is going to be key to our long-term development and success. 

How many drones do you own?
We actually get this question a lot. We are up to 12 and counting!

What would you do with the $1 million grand prize?
We’re going to focus on developing our platform, which will include some artificial intelligence to help improve and automate our analysis. We will also continue to build out our mobile application to help our customers manage their roofs more effectively with the data we provide.

We're looking to hire developers in the area and we're going to be hiring more sales and marketing talent to expand our operations. Eventually, we want to put some resources into hiring more pilots so that we have a solid team ready to deploy across Central New York.

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​To learn more about EagleHawk visit www.eaglehawkllc.com. Watch them pitch for the $1 Million grand prize on April 9 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown. More details to come.