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You might think, the challenge in building the wings is in the technology. And it's certainly a challenge! But I'd say, the real challenge and the reason nobody succeeded in building these wings is to get the funds to build them just ONCE. Time of engineers is expensive, and you will need A LOT of it. In fact, the materials required are relatively cheap in comparison. Our estimates run at $6.5 million (in 2024) for one proper flying exoskeleton. Of that, about $5.5 million is just to pay 10 engineers for 5 years. The estimate for the material is about $80k (manufacturing is assumed to be done by the engineers themselves). So where and how do you get starting funds from? Once you managed to get that, it will become more and more obvious how many people love this idea and the market pull will make raising funds way easier.

I think I found a way so that you won't need the $6.5m upfront. It's a four-step approach building on entertainment as the addressed need. I'll get back to that later. First, let's look at all the possibilities.

All the business possiblities

There are a myriad possibilities with the exoskeleton, as it is a platform technology. It's easy to get lost in all the options. Here are some things we thought about.

With the Exoskeleton:

  1. Industry robot teaching
  2. Teleoperation of robots in hazardous environments (radiation, submarine work, space)
  3. Powered exoskeletons for heavy work or orthopedic purposes/ortheses (also think of "Powerarmor")
  4. Haptic interface for VR gaming

With the Exoskid:

  1. Selling the Exoskid
  2. "Virtual travelling" - being a bird at the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Klimandscharo. Controlling a drone-airplane with VR goggles and your body from your sofa or an attraction booth at the site.

With the wings:

  1. Mountain rescue and/or Police patrolling
  2. Show-robotics for Hollywood
  3. The wings as a means of general transportation and commuting
  4. The Military - we explicitly decided against this on and you shall burn in hell if you use the information on this page to build something that helps to kill people. I explicitly dissalow this by the power of my copyright and also give anyone else the license to spit on you, sue you, and destroy you for defiling this dream of mankind. The wings shall be a symbol of hope and positivity, not a tool for destruction and power gain.
  5. A sports league of flying games (think "Quidditch")
  6. Flying experiences and a pilot club

Here are the reasons we decided against 1-11:

  1. Training for Industry Robots: The need and the market seemed not interesting/big enough and there are better options (e.g. Wandelbots). It also needs a suitable industry partner. And also we didn't care enough.
  2. Teleoperation for HAZMAT: There are companies in this field, but none are a real big deal. Often there is a certain kind of nimbleness required (like for submarine welding), which would require a nimble exoskeleton+robot for the hand. And there are companies doing only that, so the obstactle and competition seemed too high for the opportunity.
  3. Powerarmor: There are a few companies building exoskeletons for heavy work support or health. Work support companies usually pivoted to un-powered exoskeletons, so there seems no sufficient need in that sector. Also there seems to be a usability issue preventing workers to actually use the thing (it's too clumsy to put on and off). Health companies usually only focus on one joint or limb, which probably has reasons. Also "power support" is no "teleoperation" anymore and comes with the fundamental issue that you have to predict the will of the user in the control algorithms. So the "obstacle vs. potential and fun" equation didn't look good again.
  4. Gaming Exoskeleton: Gaming might actually be a great community and market to get the "exoskeleton thing" going! I investigated this quite a bit. Gamers are open to new techology and willing to pay a new experience. And the gaming market is growing steadily. There is a fundamental issue blocking this path, though: for an exoskeleton to be attractive there needs to be games for it. For gamestudios to develop games for exoskeletons there needs to be a widespread adoption of exoskeletons. So figuratively speaking: you would need to drag yourself out of the mud on your own hair. As we are not Baron Münchhausen, and the real thing was capturing us more than the VR worlds, we decided against this route. Anyways, for your pleasure, here is the pitch and business model canvas I built..
  5. The Exoskid is probably somewhat interesting for RC-enthusiasts. So one might be able to get a small, profitable business out of this. It would require probably two to three years of work and a bit of re-engineering, as the current status of the design is not sellable or producable on scale. Also the Flysky hacking works only on that Flysky. Most RC-enthusiasts would probably want to use their own transmitter. So the market potential seemed uninteresting and there would be a lot of tinkering and footwork to be done to claim it.
  6. Virtual Travelling: a couple of companies (even in Dresden) seemed to have tried this one, not managing to get any noteworthy traction with customers. So this hearsay kept us from investigating further down this path.
  7. Mountain Rescue and Police: This is a possible spin-off when it's built. If one had a good connection to public funders, this might be a viable route. With the Police thing it might get a dark tone though, if they screw it up, or the country is gripped by despotism. This path seemed too buerocracy-ridden, so we passed on it.
  8. Show-robotics for Hollywood: Disney Robotics and the like might be interested in the wings. This might finance the first prototype enabling next steps without the issue of flight-certification. It would require masterful networking to get to talk to the right person, though. I think Vlad in the Startup House of Palo Alto came up with this idea (creds to him!). So relatively late in our building effort. In the aftermath of our valley trip, it seemed more daunting than finding an Angel for our main approach, so we never followed that road.
  9. Commuting: in 2024 I met Daniel Wiegand, one of the founders of Lilium (a VTOL Startup). We talked for quite some time and he strongly advised against this path because of buerocracy. To get certified by the EASA and the FAA is ludicrously hard and buerocratic. It might have been what broke their fledging wings in the end (apart from the incredible visionlessness of the German government).
  10. Military: just no. See above.
  11. Sports league: That would be spectacular, but it's not really a thing that one creates. It might emerge once there are pilots in the sky, inventing their own kind of games. So no way to start with.
  12. experiences and pilot club: this might actually work, and is explained in further detail next.

The four-step approach to building the business

So what transpired in all the countless talks we had with potential customers is, that the product has to fulfill certain requirements in order to be interesting. Basic requirements are things like safety, attainable cost per use, and the experience being non-virtual but the real thing. Also people were wondering how you would learn this. So here are the four steps for development with revenue on every step:

  1. thing on a crane
  2. thing on a Zeppelin
  3. thing in an arena
  4. thing in the wild

Explanation

See also the pitch and our revenue potential estimates on this page for accompanying pictures and numbers.

  1. Build a flying exoskeleton, but "fake" the wings first. The wings and the exoskeleton only require 4 degrees of freedom (flapping, aileron, elevator, rudder). And everything is dangling from a crane in the wind. This reduces the development effort a lot, as no proper structural and aerodynamical analysis of the wings has to be performed. But it already gives a feeling for flying like this. This can prove the market and raise attention. Imagine these attractions at the Golden Gate, the Buraj Khalifa in Dubai, or a beach in southern France. One can sell tickets for the ride. Richard Browning/Gravity Industries earned it's initial revenue with this.

2) Hanging the same thing from a Zeppelin will be even greater, as some travelling is involved. Again, the single flight experience is sold. To lower cost per flight, more than one system could be attached. The Zeppelin itself will draw attention which is worth something. And this combination has the crucial benefit that the wings are not freely flying. Apart from the lower development effort this means: no madly expensive certification has to be endured, while people can still experience flying in the outside world.

3) This next step involves freely flying in an arena. This again is not a public space and can be secured with nets. Thus, system failure doesn't produce damages and EASA certification is not necessary (private space). The technology can then be further developed along pilot experiences, adding more degrees of freedom and continually improving the system. Watching these guys fly and play in the air is probably exciting (including crashes into the net). If played right, one can make a business out of this and it can lead to a new and amazing sport. In parallel, a pilot club can be founded, as from this point on, proper pilot training will start. Also, all the revenue channels of sports clubs will open up (merchandise, clothing/fashion, game tickets, etc.). The clothes and gear brand, invoking associations of daring, cutting edge technology, and a positive future, might be the most lucrative part of the business (that can actually be started at any stage of the process).

4) All of the previous steps lay groundwork for this really big throw: flying freely in public space. An inauguration flight from Crete to mainland Greece would be in due order. And then, the applications are endless. Silent commuting above the traffic jam, mountain soaring and rescuing, islandhopping, playing with the clouds, races, steampunk travelling air circus with Zeppelin and flying exosekeletons... let your imagination fly! Eventually the patent will run out and "security" might get a hold of it. Anything flying is inherently dual-use, sadly.. It might be sensible not to sell the wings, but only lease or rent them, keeping control over maintenance and ownership of the device. This way, it might at least be possible to prevent it from getting into the very very wrong hands.

Getting funding

There are two fundamental challenges in getting funding:

  1. getting into contact with the right people who have the funds
  2. convincing them to trust you with their funds

For the first point, you can either go nuts in networking, and/or have the people find you by being very visible. Both is a lot of fustrating work. You can find a list of investors here in the Dataroom bundle. As mentioned in the "legacy" article already, going to hard tech mixer events in California is the fastest way of getting an intro to an investor. But take note that many events are not publicly announced. In our two weeks we also pitched at the Stanford Startup Society and at a Go Global event. Both only accessible via contacts. On these events it's useful to be eye-catching without looking pathetic. For instance having a t-shirt with a striking image or somesuch. There is no "dresscode" for these events.

As a German one should realise that it's ok to just start talking to people and also move on after 5 minutes. This is very relaxed in California. But never forget: "let's connect!"

Approach of investors

There are many strategies for approaching investors. Some suggest first refining your pitch with less critical investors before presenting to the really important VCs, while others argue against wasting time and collecting confusing feedback from unsuitable investors, recommending instead to go straight to the right people. Which approach is best likely depends on your product and your own personal style.

There’s a story about Raj: one investor told him, “Your product is crap and your pitch is terrible,” and then a few days later he got his break-through investment with the exact same pitch and product. So when it comes to feedback in conversations, you’ll encounter countless opinions, many of which will contradict each other. It’s crucial to consider the perspective of the person giving the feedback and weigh their input accordingly. Always think for yourself and don’t blindly accept others’ opinions.

Useful places to start networking include the Hacker Dojo, which hosts regular pitch sessions, and Noisebridge, a hackerspace with a lot of cool, hands-on people. Circuit Control in Oakland is another option for co-working and networking. Every Wednesday, Stanford offers lectures (ETL – Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders) featuring impressive speakers. Here is picture from the Hacker Dojo with a bunch of German CEOs and CTOs from Germany in the back row:

On LinkedIn, there are “slutty connectors". People with thousands of contacts who accept every request. You can search through their networks to find local contacts. While LinkedIn is often seen as spammy these days, reaching out to other founders for warm introductions can still work well. Just make sure your profile and the description line that appears with your name are solid, so you don’t come across as a novice.

Joining a startup house or hacker house is worthwhile because you’ll immediately connect with like-minded people who have already spent time in the area. This is a great way to build a foundational network. It helped us alot (thanks, Startup House!)

Convincing the investor

Depending on where you are and who you talk to, the most important aspects for convincing the investor vary. But in my opinion it always comes down to showing:

  • Does the technology work or is it fake? Is the technological risk acceptable? ("Technology")
  • Is there a market/need for the product? If yes, how big is it? ("Market")
  • Is the team capable of pulling this through? ("Team")

In Germany you have to be triple A in every category to get breadcrumbs. In the US it doesn't have to be that perfect, the focus is on the market (scalability, business model) and the team. And if you meet the right person, none might matter much, if the angel is stoked on the idea and likes you. So don't be discouraged if you haven't got much to show! In the US, many things are possible. But it might take a longer time to get to know the right person.

In general, the more "proof" you can show for the three above points (Technology, Market, Team), the better and the more money you can pitch for. So for instance:

  • Technology: technological proof of concept (BUT: Investors won't look at your calculations until they hire an assessor to do the due diligence). The more physical proof you can show that the concept works, the better. Make a crunchy video or do a demo.
  • Prototype(s)
  • Published papers
  • Patents, intellectual property
  • How big TAM, SAM and SOM are. It needs to be a billion Dollar market (TAM) for an investor to be interested (as you will only get a slice of that (SOM). Check also here for our calculations.
  • Financials: numbers on unit cost and how much money you could make with your business (best: annual recurring revenue). How big the "traction" (read: your revenue) already is.
  • A concrete plan for what you want the initial 500k for. What milestone (that will be used for raising the next round) will you achieve with this in the next 6-18 month? Think of "proof of market" and "proof of technology(-parts)".
  • "investing in lines, not in the dots". This means, you need to show/publish consistent progress over time. This reinsures investors that you take it seriously and shows them your pace of progress. (Our 7 years of struggle didn't look to good..)
  • Letters of Intent from potential customers. Any kind of tangible proof for the excitement of people about this product (like customer interviews you conducted) and that they are willing to pay the estimated price ("traction" again).
  • Social credits, so for instance if you can win somebody "believable" from the technology's field as an angel. Like the CTO of another aerospace company. Or a scientist with a name in that topic (especially an ivy-league professor). But also the mere fact that you managed to get a warm contact to the investor.
  • Team: that every needed expertiese is on board. People in the US are relatively focussed on pre-approval through namedropping, so better have the ivy-league or big, well-known corporates in your CV/pitch.. Also, everyone needs to be working full time on the start-up, otherwise people don't believe you take it seriously.

As a rule of thumb, you will need to manage with $500k max in the pre-seed stage (less is better) and will have to give up 10-20% of your shares. The seed round can be somethig between 1 and 10 million, depending on how much substance you managed to build in pre-seed.

Try to avoid anything that has to do with certification AT ALL COST! It takes an INSANE amount of time and money to get something flying certified and might easily kill your business (this insight comes straight from Lilium's founder Daniel Wiegand). Better focus on a niche like the "attraction business" and "commercials" for the start and build something that doesn't need to be certified that much (or just go where the regulations are less strict than with the EASA or the FAA, #Dubai). Consider: the necessary certification depends on the country where your HQ is located in (not the country you want to sell the thing in)!

Technologically, the Exoskid seemed to excite the people in San Francisco the most, but it was not enough. People wanted to see a person/dummy with wings on the back, even if they are completely fake.

Red Bull

This is so obvious that I dedicate a whole section to it. Red Bull would be the ideal inital partner to get this of the ground, as their brand values, marketing, and symbolism align perfectly with the Fluglicht concept and initial business case. There are two problems though. First, they seem to get spammed by tons of people with ideas for crazy flying contraptions and are extremely defensive with cold introductions. We weren't able to talk to them at all, and we tried 4 times over differing routes. Secondly they might consider you as competition and might try to swallow the whole thing before it can grow. So if you want to build a business it might be risky to co-operate with them.

Alternative possible Sponsors:

  • Disney Robotics
  • Dubai
  • Jochen Schweitzer

Finding a co-founder

Best is someone you already worked with (e.g. in a student project) or from your network (pre-aproved). Otherwise put out job advertisments with your local start-up supporters (like Berkeley Skydeck, Circuit Launch, Techstars, Y-combinator, Founder Institute, TiE) or on Linkedin or Fivver. Work on something like a small project together BEFORE founding together! You can only know if someone is a team player after having a couple of disagreements. Talk about:

  • why do both of you want to do this? What motivates you? (Flying and freedom, getting rich, going down into history/becoming immortal, ...?)
  • What are the things you like and don't like to do?
  • What are your skillsets, what do you want to try/learn?
  • Following form that: what are the respective responsibilies?
  • What do you expect from the other person and from the project? Search for "co-founder checklist" to go deeper.

Other possible funding routes

Possibilities what still can be done to get funding for building the wings:

  • Build a student team, get sponsoring and just build this thing in a year. You will need at least 20 really motivated people willing to put the work in (including at least one person excited about getting the sponsors and project management).
  • Do a Master's thesis, PhD, or research project on the subject. Requires a host institution/professor and a lot of patience/persistence.
  • Patreon
  • Build a crowd and make a crowdfunding campaign
  • Produce and market the Exoskid (about 2yrs of work)
  • Create a fashion brand around the emotions and values attached to flying like a bird

and as a whole subgenre:

Exoskeleton spin-offs

There are a bunch of markets where haptic interaction with the digital space is interesting. Gaming might be a good first-movers market for that. For some time, I worked on a business case for this, here are the details. The trouble is, that there are few to none (VR-)games that could really use this. It's a chicken-and-egg problem, because as long as there are no exoskeletons, there is no market for the games to include this. But as long as there are no games using exoskeletons, there is no market for exoskeletons.

Some more thoughts..

What you probably need:

  • A good website
  • Social media content production (e.g. of the vision and of you building stuff)
  • Connections to Advisors from the industry. Connecting to founders building new aeronautical stuff is very useful.
  • Connections to Angel Investors with deep pockets, who are amazed by the idea and willing to fund the initial 500k of development (unless you are a student team and nobody gets paid)
  • pitching: start with why, tell a good story

Professional associations are a great resource for informations on the market and sometimes also for connections.

The Y-Combinator website and youtube videos are probably the most accurate primer to understand what you need to raise successfully in Silicon Valley.

Organizing and Infrastructure

Here are some tips on useful tools (that are not tracking you):

  • uberspace.de, Nextcloud.com: cloud infrastructure for shared files, e-mails, and Kanban board. For people capable of using Linux.
  • SMART goals. A useful but not too complicated framework for work planing. Don't try to plan everything in advance, though. That almost never works in an exploratory journey. Make a plan defining who does what and when, try to execute, if it doesn't work iterate the plan.

Useful links

Also Y-Combinator has a bunch of useful videos. For instance:

Investor lists

Organizations and Events

  • Idea to IPO (Rob Lau)
  • Hacker Dojo Mix & Pitch
  • Stanford Startup Society
  • Stanford ETL
  • Meetup
  • Eventbrite
  • Luma
  • Crunchbase events (see above)
  • SF Hardware Meetup
  • Go Global World
  • Berkeley Skydeck
  • LA Tech Week
  • El Segundo (the district of LA) - bunch of tech startups there