Your story, written in the sky.
India’s first affordable, wedding-first drone light show company.
We started with six problems.
Each came from something we saw around us. We pitched all six in class before choosing one.
Marketplace
We noticed: Buying or selling anything means endless back-and-forth on price.
A marketplace where buyers and sellers negotiate on their own criteria to reach a fair, fast deal.
Chess community
We noticed: Players we know had no casual, offline place to meet and play.
Chess meetups in a café where people play and meet new people.
AI visual goggles
We noticed: Local shops can only show what is on the shelf.
AI goggles that let customers see other combinations, independent of stock.
Farm-to-household produce
We noticed: Farmers earn little while households pay more through middlemen.
Vegetables direct from farmers to homes: saves customers time, pays farmers more.
Drone shows
We noticed: Wedding skies are full of fireworks; drone shows exist but cost ₹10 L+. We build drones.
Affordable drone light shows for Indian weddings, festivals and sports events.
AI farm intelligence
We noticed: Farmers plan crops without reliable weather or buyer information.
An AI app / broadcast that predicts weather and links farmers with factories and exporters.
Five criteria. One clear winner.
| Idea | Market need | Willingness to pay | Fits our skills | Competitive gap | Ease to start (capital, time) | Total | Why we kept or dropped it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 / 25 | Crowded (OLX, IndiaMART); trust is hard to build |
| Chess community | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 / 25 | Easy to start, but very small revenue |
| AI visual goggles | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 14 / 25 | Costly AR hardware; long R&D before a sale |
| Farm-to-household | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 / 25 | Thin margins, cold chain, strong rivals |
| AI farm intelligence | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 / 25 | Real need, but farmers have low ability to pay |
| Drone shows | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 20 / 25 | Chosen: high need and price, and our core skill |
Each idea was scored by the team on the same five criteria, equally weighted. Ideas lost mostly on willingness to pay or fit with our skills.
Everyone wants one. Few can afford it.
Problem we chose: drone light shows in India cost ₹10–50 L, so almost no wedding can have one, and fireworks are the only option left.
Relevant
Weddings are India’s biggest celebration spend (₹6.5 L Cr a season). Fireworks face pollution limits and bans. Families want something new for Instagram.
Feasible for us
We have built drones and worked on swarms. Self-built drones cost ~₹45k vs ₹1.3–2 L bought, and the import ban protects local builders.
Real market need
Shows exist and sell (BotLab: ₹48.5 Cr revenue FY25), but only at the top end. Nobody serves the ₹5–6 L wedding.
How we got from six ideas to one solution.
Discover
- 6 problems from daily life
- Desk research: market, rivals, rules
- Watched weddings & fireworks around us
Define
- Scored 6 ideas on 5 criteria
- Problem: shows cost ₹10 L+, so weddings can’t have them
Develop · options compared
Import a fleet: banned since 2022Buy Indian show drones: ₹1.3–2 L eachResell an incumbent: no margin- Build our own: ~₹45k / drone
Deliver · plan
- Simulation → 10-drone swarm → 100-drone demo
- First paid shows in Jaipur
- Demo shows with planners to test demand
India celebrates with light.
Baraats, lights, fireworks: every Indian wedding lights up the night. Now, India has started writing in the sky with drones.
The question we asked: can that magic come to every big Indian wedding?
9:00 PM. A palace hotel in Jaipur. The baraat arrives.
Today
Fireworks. 90 seconds of noise and smoke. Grandmother covers her ears. The photographer gets a hazy frame. It looks like every other wedding.
Imagine instead
Silence. 100 points of light rise over Amer Fort and draw Ganesh ji…
…then the couple’s names, Aarav & Meera…
…then two rings joining as the varmala happens. Every phone is up. It’s on 300 Instagram stories before dinner.
We’re computer-science students who build drones.
Hands-on swarm robotics
Our team has built and flown drones and worked on multi-drone swarming — flight control, GPS, coordination.
We saw it abroad
US 4th-of-July shows. China’s 10,000+ drone records. Hungary’s parliament lit by a horse-archer in the sky.
And asked one question
India spends more on celebration than almost anyone. Why don’t Indian families have this?
Research proved our first idea wrong — and made it better.
“Nobody in India does drone shows.”
BotLab Dynamics flew 1,000 drones at Beating Retreat 2022 and 5,500 at the Ambani pre-wedding. ₹48.5 Cr revenue in FY25.
“Indians spend lavishly on weddings.”
₹6.5 lakh crore in one 6-week season. Jaipur has India’s highest average wedding budget: ~₹73 lakh.
“The import ban on drones hurts the business.”
It blocks cheap Chinese fleets — so whoever can build locally gets protection.
“A show could cost about ₹5 lakh.”
Self-built drones at ~₹45k vs ₹1.3–2 L commercial. Incumbent runs ~33% net margin.
“Demand is just weddings.”
Festivals, corporate launches, hotels’ New Year, government events, IPL — all buy shows.
“Our robotics skill is the main asset.”
Needed — but safety ops, compliance and sales matter just as much.
The problem
Every celebration wants a “wow” moment. The two options today both fail.
Affluent families want a unique, shareable moment. Today they get two bad choices.
Fireworks
- Polluting & noisy — elders, kids, pets, heritage venues
- Increasingly banned — Delhi-NCR allows green crackers only in short windows
- Generic — can’t show your names or deity
- Over in seconds, single use
Today’s drone shows
- ₹10 L+ for 100 drones (BotLab)
- ₹15–50 L typical for weddings
- ₹25 L–2.5 Cr outdoor (Dronisos)
- Only billionaires and governments buy
Supply is far away
- Capacity sits with Delhi-based or foreign operators
- Travel & stay costs added to every Rajasthan show
- Hard to do site visits, rehearsals, quick changes
- Few local operators in Jaipur
“The magic of a drone show exists in India — it just isn’t affordable or local for the families who want it most.”
Two ways to light the sky.
90 seconds. Then smoke.
Loud, polluting, single-use, banned in more cities every year, and it can’t say your name.
Silent. Clean. Personal.
Reusable for hundreds of shows, allowed where crackers aren’t, and it can draw a heart, a deity, or your names.
Fireworks are a ₹6,000 Cr habit under pressure.
Drones are silent, smoke-free, reusable and personal — and they’re allowed where fireworks aren’t.
The market
How big is the sky?
One six-week season. ₹6.5 lakh crore.
10–15% of a wedding budget goes to decor & entertainment — that’s ₹7–11 L in an average Jaipur wedding. A ₹5 L show fits.
Why start in Jaipur?
Logistics advantage: a Jaipur base reaches Ajmer–Pushkar same-day, Jodhpur and Udaipur overnight, and Delhi-NCR / Agra destination weddings by road. Udaipur palace weddings are becoming “unaffordable even for HNIs” — pushing demand to Jaipur.
Weddings are the core. Five more segments fill the calendar.
Weddings
Baraat, varmala, sangeet, reception · peak Nov–Feb, Apr–Jun
Religious festivals
Diwali, Navratri, Durga Puja, Teej, Gangaur, Deepotsav · BotLab flew 3,000 drones for Durga Puja
Corporate
Product launches, dealer meets, annual days · weekday dates
Hotels & resorts
Rambagh, ITC Rajputana, Fairmont, Leela · New Year’s Eve, signature shows
Government
Republic Day, Rajasthan Diwas, tourism festivals · big budgets, tenders
Sports & fests
IPL at SMS Stadium (Rajasthan Royals), concerts, college fests
A fast-growing global industry — and India is expensive.
₹7,800 Cr total market. We aim for ₹20–30 Cr.
| Layer | Definition | Value / yr |
|---|---|---|
| TAM | All affluent Indian weddings + events | ₹7,800 Cr |
| SAM | Rajasthan + destination weddings reachable from Jaipur | ₹450 Cr |
| SOM | A realistic 5–7% share of SAM · ~400–550 shows / yr | ₹20–30 Cr |
Each ring is a slice of the one before: all of India → what we can reach from Jaipur → what we can realistically win.
The customer
Who pays, who enjoys, and what they really want.
The person who pays is not the person who watches.
| Role | Who |
|---|---|
| Customer pays | Bride’s / groom’s father · wedding planner · corporate marketing head · temple trust |
| User experiences | The couple, the family and 300–1,500 guests · festival crowds |
| Influencers shape the choice | Wedding planner, decorator, venue manager, Instagram creators, relatives |
| Gatekeepers can block it | Venue permission, police / DM NOC, DGCA DigitalSky, hotel security |
So we sell to parents, delight couples, partner with planners and handle gatekeepers for them.
Affluent wedding families in Rajasthan.
| Geography | Jaipur first → Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer–Pushkar · destination weddings from Delhi-NCR, Gujarat, Mumbai |
| Wedding budget | ₹40 lakh – ₹2 crore (Jaipur average ₹73 L) |
| Household | ₹50 L+ income · business families (jewellery, textiles, marble, real estate, hospitality), senior professionals, NRIs |
| Age | Parents 45–60 (pay) · couple 25–32 (push for “Instagrammable”) |
| Culture | Marwari, Rajput, Jain, Punjabi, Gujarati families · grand public celebration, religious imagery |
| Psychographics | Status-conscious, social-media active, want “something nobody in the family has done” |
| Buying | Book vendors 2–6 months ahead · negotiate hard · like bundled packages |
Secondary segments
- Destination-wedding planners — 50–100 active in Jaipur/Udaipur
- Palace hotels & resorts
- Corporates & event agencies
- Temple trusts, puja committees
- Government & tourism
~9% of surveyed weddings cost over ₹1 crore — and 60%+ of those are destination weddings.
Four people we designed Vyom for.
Rajesh Agarwal
“My brother had fireworks. I want people to talk about my daughter’s wedding for years — and I want Shrinathji in it.”
Budget ₹1.2 Cr · heritage hotel · wants status & devotion
Meera
“I want our ring moment in the sky. And fireworks scare my grandmother.”
Plans on Instagram · wants personalisation & content
Neha
“Clients want something new every year. Reliable vendor plus 10–15% — I’ll pitch it.”
40 weddings / season · wants reliability & margin
Sanjay
“Our logo in the sky at the SUV launch gets more press than a billboard.”
Needs GST invoice, compliance, PR value
Survey evidence from 30,000+ respondents.
Why we used published surveys
Our buyers are families spending ₹40 L+ on a wedding, and the planners and venues who serve them. Fifty answers from classmates would not represent them. So we used India’s largest published surveys: WedMeGood’s wedding reports (2,000–3,500 couples) and LocalCircles (~28,000 households).
What it tells us
- Ability to pay: a ₹5.5 L show is ~14% of an average wedding, ~7.5% of a Jaipur one
- Need: most households are moving away from crackers, mainly over pollution
- Fit: couples want personalised, experience-led weddings
- Reach: they choose vendors through Instagram, referrals and reviews
“Couples are prioritising meaningful, personalised celebrations over sheer scale.”
Our value map fits the customer’s jobs, pains and gains.
Products & services
Pain relievers
Gain creators
⇄
Pains
Gains
Customer jobs
The competition
Who’s already in the sky — and where the gap is.
A real industry exists — priced for the top 1%.
| Company | Base | What we know | Price signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| BotLab Dynamics Leader | New Delhi · IIT Delhi | 1,000 drones at Beating Retreat ’22 · 5,500 at Ambani pre-wedding · 700+ shows · ₹48.5 Cr FY25 revenue | ₹10 L+ / 100 drones |
| Geoscan | Russian-linked | 3,000+ drone capability · operates in India | Premium, quote |
| Dronisos | France | Luxury weddings via WeddingSutra | ₹25 L–2.5 Cr outdoor |
| xBoom · Airbotix · Trzy X | India | National wedding drone-show brands, heavy blog marketing | Quote-based |
| Astra Meraki | Kerala | Regional South India · 400-drone festival show | — |
| SkyLit Drone Shows Jaipur | Jaipur | WeddingWire listing · 200+ drones | Not public |
| Magic Wingz Events Jaipur | Jaipur | Event company offering drone shows | From ₹15 L |
| Global: Sky Elements, Nova Sky Stories, Verge Aero, DAMODA, HighGreat | US · China | Cannot sell finished drones into India (import ban) — but show the model works | $200–500 / drone |
Nobody owns local + affordable.
Every drone-show player sits at ₹10 L+. Fireworks are cheap but generic. The bottom-left of the market is open.
Where Vyom competes
- Small–mid shows (50–150 drones), not records
- Rajasthan first, same-day service
- Template + personalisation — fast, cheap design
- Wedding-first, festivals & corporate off-season
The leader proves the market — and the margin.
So what?
A one-third net margin means prices are set by scarcity, not cost. A leaner local player can charge 40–50% less and still be profitable.
Their strengths: 7+ years of reliability, government trust, records, and they can cut prices if challenged. We don’t fight them for Republic Day — we take the weddings they don’t prioritise.
An attractive industry — if you can get past the entry barrier.
Threat of new entrants
Threat of new entrants · Low–moderate
Finished drones can’t be imported; you must build, certify (type certificate), train pilots and fund ~₹80 L of fleet. High barrier — and it protects us once we’re in.
Supplier power
Supplier power · Low
Motors, frames, batteries are commodities. RTK GNSS modules (u-blox, Unicore) are the one concentrated input — we dual-source, including Indian-made boards.
Industry rivalry
Rivalry · Moderate
A few national players (BotLab leads) and 2 Jaipur listings. Rivalry is on large showcase events; the small–mid wedding segment is under-served.
Buyer power
Buyer power · Moderate
Families negotiate hard and planners control access, but each buyer is one-off and values reliability and personalisation over a few thousand rupees.
Threat of substitutes
Threat of substitutes · High
Fireworks, cold pyro, lasers, projection mapping compete for the same budget. Our answer: personalisation, safety and cleanliness that substitutes can’t give.
Verdict: profitable industry with a high entry wall. Getting through it — local build + certification — is the strategy.
Strengths
- Founders’ drone & swarm robotics skills — in-house R&D
- ~3× cheaper self-built drones (₹45k vs ₹1.3–2 L)
- Local Jaipur presence, low travel cost
- Indian cultural template library
Weaknesses
- No track record yet — trust is everything in weddings
- Capital-heavy: ~₹81 L before full operations
- Students: limited time, no compliance experience
- One fleet = one show per night
Opportunities
- ₹6.5 L Cr wedding season; Jaipur #1 in budget
- Fireworks bans and pollution concern
- Import ban = moat for local builders
- Festivals, corporate, hotels, IPL · later selling kits to other operators
Threats
- BotLab cutting prices in Rajasthan
- One crash in front of guests (Orlando 2024)
- Regulation changes; component supply curbs
- Weather, dust storms; novelty fading
The macro-environment is mostly a tailwind.
Political
Make in India, drone import ban (2022), Drone Rules 2021 liberalisation, PLI scheme (₹120 Cr), “Drone Shakti”. Risk: military bar on Chinese parts could extend.
Economic
₹6.5 L Cr wedding season, +8% spend per wedding, rising affluent class. Components priced in dollars → currency risk; 18% GST on services.
Social
Status-driven celebrations, Instagram culture (55% of couples find vendors online), devotion — religious imagery resonates. Novelty may fade.
Technological
Cheap RTK GNSS (±2 cm), open-source ArduPilot & Skybrush, Indian component makers. Risks: GPS jamming, Wi-Fi congestion at crowded events.
Environmental
Firecracker pollution and Supreme Court restrictions push clean alternatives. Weather (wind, dust storms, fog) limits flying; batteries need responsible disposal.
Legal
Drone Rules 2021: type certificate, UIN per drone, Remote Pilot Certificates, mandatory 3rd-party insurance, airspace zones. Liability if someone is hurt.
Best value, focused on Rajasthan’s celebrations.
Cost leadership
Cheapest for everyone. Fireworks sit here: cheap, generic.
Differentiation
Unique for everyone. BotLab: records, government, ₹10 L+.
Cost focus
Cheapest in a niche.
Focused best-value
Personal + half the price, for Rajasthan weddings & events. Own-built drones make the low price sustainable.
Market development
Udaipur, Jodhpur, NCR destination weddings; festivals, hotels, corporate.
Diversification
Sell Made-in-India show-drone kits, fleet rental, training; export.
Market penetration
Jaipur weddings through 10 planner partners; 25 shows.
Product development
3D shows, pyro-drones, sponsored public shows, replay nights.
1 · Win the planner channel
Commission, templates and priority dates make planners our sales force.
2 · Own the cost curve
Own-built drones → custom PCB: ₹45k → ₹30–35k per drone protects the price gap.
3 · Safety is the brand
Zero incidents, insured, permitted, so families and hotels trust a new name.
The solution
Introducing Vyom — the sky, made personal.
“A personalised 100-drone sky show: your names, your deity, your moment, at half today’s price, run safely by a local Jaipur team.”
Own-built drones
Assembled in India from imported + Indian parts. ~₹45k per drone vs ₹1.3–2 L commercial. Legal under the import ban.
Indian template library
30+ ready formations: ॐ, Ganesh ji, diya, doli, varmala, rings, Hawa Mahal, names. Design cost → near zero.
Local, end-to-end
Site visit, airspace check, DigitalSky & police permissions, safety plan, show, video: one Jaipur team.
Positioning: for affluent Rajasthan families planning a memorable wedding, Vyom turns key rituals into personalised sky art. Unlike fireworks it’s clean and personal; unlike existing drone-show companies it costs half as much and is local.
Three packages. One for every budget.
Shagun
6–8 template formations + couple’s names · sangeet, mehendi, small venues
Shubh Vivah Core
Deity, names, rings, heart, varmala · synced to your song · 3D preview
Maharaja
Fully custom 3D story + pyro-drones · palace weddings
Corporate & festival
Logo / product reveal, QR code, deity for temples · ₹6–15 L
Add-ons
Aerial film · 2nd-night replay (−40%) · pyro-drones · live-stream
Sixty days of preparation for ten minutes of magic.
Booking
Discovery call, quote, contract, 50% advance; date locked.
Site visit
Launch area, crowd line, airspace zone, airport distance.
Permits filed
DigitalSky, police / DM NOC, venue NOC, insurance cover note.
Design lock
3D preview with names, deity & song approved by the family.
Rehearse
Full show in simulation; 40% payment; fleet health check.
Deliver
Aerial film to the family; final 10%; review & referral.
Show night
Crew arrives; unload 12 cases
Lay out the grid, RTK base, ground station
Pre-flight checks, wind at altitude: go / no-go
Show: 8–10 minutes
Land, log, pack down
The 4Ps of Vyom.
Product
- Tiered packages 50/100/200
- Cultural template library
- Personalisation + 3D preview
- Aerial film, pyro, replay
Price
- ₹2.5–3 L / ₹5–6 L / ₹10–14 L
- ~50% below incumbents
- Peak-date surcharge
- 50% advance
Place
- Jaipur HQ & workshop
- Rajasthan + NCR destination weddings
- On-site delivery by our crew
- Portals & planners
Promotion
- Every show is content — Reels
- Wedding influencers
- Demo show at launch
- PR: “Jaipur students build Made-in-India drone shows”
Behind the scenes
Into the workshop: the drone we build, how 100 of them fly as one, and how we keep every show safe.
From a family’s idea to light in the sky.
Design
Animate in Blender + Skybrush Studio → one flight path + LED track per drone, spacing ≥ 1.5 m.
Simulate
Whole show rehearsed in ArduPilot SITL. The family approves a 3D preview video.
Permit & survey
Airspace zone, DigitalSky, police / venue NOC, wind check, crowd buffer.
Set up
Drones laid out on the launch grid; the RTK base station gives each one ±2 cm positioning.
Fly
One operator presses start. Every drone flies its own pre-loaded path on a shared GPS clock.
Land & deliver
Auto-land, recharge, logs. Aerial video to the family within 48 hours.
Four layers, one clock.
Robust
Each drone carries its own path; a short radio drop doesn’t break the show.
Open-source
ArduPilot + Skybrush: no per-drone licence fees.
Our layer
Indian template library · name → formation generator · custom PCB.
A show drone for ₹45,000.
About ⅓ the cost of a commercial show drone, and legal: components can be imported, finished drones can’t.
Nine levers to make every drone cheaper and safer.
1 · Open-source stack
ArduPilot + Skybrush: no bundled licence cost
2 · Cheaper RTK
Bare F9P / UM980 chips on our own board; bulk; Indian boards
3 · One integrated PCB
FC + ESC + LED + comms on one board: −20–30%
4 · Moulded frame
₹1–3 L mould → ₹300–600 per frame
5 · Design for repair
A crash costs a ₹500 arm, not a ₹45k drone
6 · Battery life
Smart charging: 300+ cycles instead of 150
7 · Scale with revenue
10 → 50 → 100 → 200 drones, never all upfront
8 · Fleet pooling
Partner for rare 500-drone jobs
9 · Reusable templates
Design cost per show → near zero
Simulation
50-drone show in SITL · ₹0
10-drone swarm
RTK accuracy, wind, LEDs · ₹5–8 L
50-drone pilot fleet
<1 failure per 1,000 drone-flights
Custom PCB v1
~₹30–35k per drone
200+ fleet, 3D, pyro
Premium differentiation
One crash can end a brand. Safety is the product.
Never over the crowd
Show box designed to “fail away” from spectators · 50 m+ buffer
Geofence + failsafes
Leaving the box → land or motor-cut · low battery / lost RTK → return home
Automated pre-flight checks
Battery, RTK fix, compass, satellites: a drone that fails doesn’t take off
Wind go / no-go at altitude
The Melbourne 2023 lesson: measure at show height, and dare to cancel
Redundant comms, land-all, insurance
Proper radios, not consumer Wi-Fi · third-party + event liability cover · flight logs
The import ban isn’t our obstacle — it’s our moat.
Banned since 9 Feb 2022
Finished drones — CBU, SKD, CKD — except R&D / defence with DGFT approval
Free to import
Components: motors, FCs, RTK modules, LEDs · ~2.5% duty on drone parts
Vyom
Assemble, integrate & certify in India
Compliance checklist (Drone Rules 2021)
- Type certificate for our drone model (3–6 months)
- UIN for every drone on DigitalSky
- Remote Pilot Certificates for 2–3 of us
- Third-party insurance (mandatory)
- Per show: zone check, police/DM & venue NOC
- Lithium batteries: BIS certified, 20% duty
Airspace zones
Green — up to 400 ft, no prior permission
Yellow — 8–12 km from airports above 200 ft → permission
Red — prohibited without central approval
Jaipur-specific: Sanganer airport is in south Jaipur — venues on Tonk Road, Sitapura, Jagatpura are likely yellow zone. We map every partner venue in advance.
We’re at the MVP stage. Cheapest test first.
Riskiest assumption #1 · Desirability
Will families & planners pay ₹5–6 L?
#2 · Feasibility
Can a student team fly a reliable, safe swarm?
#3 · Viability
Does each show cost under ~₹2 L to deliver?
Concept smoke test
Animated show video + landing page with price & WhatsApp · do people enquire?
Simulation
50-drone show in ArduPilot SITL + Skybrush · you’ll see a live version next
10-drone swarm
RTK accuracy, LED brightness, flight time, wind
Concierge show
25–50 drones at a college fest / partner hotel / friendly wedding
100-drone fleet
Paid packages, 25 shows in year 1
Go / no-go gates
≥ 20 qualified enquiries and ≥ 5 planners saying “I’d pitch it at ₹5 L”
10-drone swarm: <10 cm error, 0 collisions in 20 flights, ≥10 min flight
First show: setup ≤ 3 h, 0 safety incidents, cost ≤ ₹2 L
The business model
How Vyom creates, delivers and captures value.
Vyom on one canvas.
What it takes to run it.
Penetration pricing on a premium experience.
Revenue streams
Future (Y3+): fleet rental & white-label to agencies · Made-in-India show-drone kits + software + training — could become the bigger business.
Pricing tactics
- Value-based, penetration-priced — ~50% below incumbents to win share
- Peak-muhurat surcharge +15–20% on the most-demanded dates
- 50% advance at booking — funds working capital
- Off-season discount 15% (Jul–Sep) to lift utilisation
- 2nd-night replay −40% — setup already done
- Referral credit ₹25k for every referred booking
- GST 18% extra · GST invoice for corporates
B2B2C: sell through planners, delight families.
Sales process
Lead — Instagram, planner, portal
Discovery call — date, venue, budget, ritual moment
Airspace check — DigitalSky map, airport distance
Quote + 3D preview with their names
Contract + 50% advance
Permissions + design (2–4 weeks)
Show day → video in 48 h → review + referral
Partner goal: 10 active planners in Y1 × 2–3 shows each = most of our 25-show target.
₹9 L of marketing. CAC under 10% of contribution.
Year-1 marketing calendar
| When | Focus |
|---|---|
| Months 1–3 | Instagram presence with simulation & MVP videos · interview planners |
| Month 6 | Launch demo show (college fest / partner hotel) · press & influencers |
| Aug–Oct | Planner tie-ups · wedding expos · Navratri / Diwali festival shows · early-bird offers |
| Nov–Feb | Peak wedding season · capture content at every show · reviews |
| New Year’s Eve | Hotel & resort shows (premium) |
| Mar, Jul–Sep | Corporate, hotels, college fests · 15% off-season discount |
Budget (Y1)
| Launch demo show | ₹3.0 L |
| Instagram / YouTube ads | ₹2.0 L |
| Influencers | ₹1.5 L |
| Portals · expos · content | ₹2.5 L |
| Total | ₹9.0 L |
The numbers
Cost sheet, revenue sheet, break-even, payback.
₹81.25 lakh to put 100 drones in the sky.
Per drone
₹45,000 × 115 (100 + 15% spares)
RTK ₹15k · FC ₹6k · batteries ₹5k · motors ₹4.5k · ESC ₹3k · rest ₹8.5k
Lean option
~₹45 L for a 50-drone start
Launch Shagun packages first; grow the fleet from revenue.
Why it’s fundable
₹20 L grant + ₹30 L debt from Startup India Seed Fund, ₹30 L angel, ₹5 L founders — and 50% customer advances.
Each 100-drone show leaves ₹3.55 L of contribution.
Fixed: ₹40 L/yr (salaries ₹24 L, workshop, insurance, marketing) + ₹27 L depreciation.
Clear terms with customers, partners and suppliers.
With customers
- 50% at booking (locks the date) · 40% seven days before · 10% after video delivery
- Weather: if wind or rain exceed safe limits, free move to a backup date
- Cancellation: >60 days 25% of advance kept · 30–60 days 50% · <30 days advance kept (design + permits done)
- Included: permissions, insurance, 3D preview, aerial video · GST 18% extra
- Venue provides a 40 × 30 m launch area and crowd barrier line
With partners
- Planners: 10% (Shagun) to 15% (Maharaja) of show value, paid within 7 days of our final payment
- Palace hotels: preferred-vendor listing; New Year’s Eve packages co-sold at a fixed price
- Photographers: shared footage with credit both ways
- Date priority for partners who book 60+ days ahead
With suppliers
- B2B bulk pricing (e.g. Zbotic) with GST invoices for input-tax credit
- Advance payment for imported RTK modules; 2–4 week lead time planned in
- Warranty on electronics agreed per order; quarterly price review
- Two sources for every critical part; 3-month buffer stock
Move the sliders. Does the business still work?
Revenue: ₹1.25 Cr → ₹9.9 Cr in five years.
₹85 L raised. Every rupee has a way back.
Debt · ₹30 L at ~10%
| Y1 | Y2 | Y3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| Principal | 0 | 15 | 15 |
| Free cash | buffer | 106 | 159 |
Angel · ₹30 L for ~15%
Y5 PAT ₹3.5 Cr × 8–10× = ₹28–35 Cr valuation. Diluted to ~10% → ₹2.8–3.5 Cr, a ~9–12× return in 5 years. Dividends possible from Y3.
Grant · ₹20 L (SISFS)
Startup India Seed Fund: up to ₹20 L grant for proof-of-concept and up to ₹50 L debt, via DPIIT incubators. Not repaid; milestone-based. Plus iStart Rajasthan.
What moves profit most?
Volume and price dominate. Drone losses matter more than commission or overheads.
What we do about it
- Shows/yr → planner partnerships, off-season segments, 2nd fleet
- Price → hold value via personalisation, peak pricing
- Attrition → testing, design-for-repair, safety layers
The honest part
What could stop us — and what we learned from those who fell.
Why it looked promising — and the main drawback.
Why it seemed promising first
- A huge, emotional celebration market (₹6.5 L Cr / season)
- A visible “wow” product that sells itself on Instagram
- A team with real drone & swarm skills
- Open-source software + cheap parts made it look like “just engineering”
- Fireworks bans create a ready substitute opportunity
The main drawback
It’s capital-heavy, high-trust and high-consequence.
- ~₹80 L of hardware before the first real paid show
- One crash in front of 500 guests can end the brand and bring lawsuits (Orlando 2024)
- Demand clusters on the same muhurat dates — one fleet, one show a night
Eleven bottlenecks, each with a plan.
Bottlenecks
Failures were rarely about demand. They were about discipline.
Intel exits drone shows
The industry pioneer (Olympics, Super Bowl) sold ~9,000 drones to Nova Sky Stories. Lesson: shows fail as a side project — run it as a focused business.
Drones fall into the Yarra
Pilot took off with winds near the limit, no data at show altitude (ATSB). Lesson: written wind go/no-go, measured at altitude.
55 of 200 drones drop
Angle Lake: many drones failed at once. Lesson: failures are common-mode (comms/GPS) — use real radios, test in crowds.
Child seriously injured
Drones collided and fell into a 25,000 crowd; operator Sky Elements sued, 5+ shows cancelled. Lesson: never over the crowd; insure.
Filmfare & a fake viral
A drone fell into the Filmfare audience in Ahmedabad; a “Mumbai crash” video was AI-generated. Lesson: safety and reputation management.
Our plan is built around three lessons: safety, weather discipline, and treating shows as a focused business.
What we have, and what we need.
Strong where it’s hardest to hire (robotics, software). Gaps in compliance, sales and operations — filled by training, mentors and hires.
Roles
- CTO / Robotics — hardware, RTK, firmware, safety
- Show design — Skybrush pipeline, Blender, templates
- Ops & compliance — DGCA, permits, crew
- Sales & partnerships — planners, hotels, social
- Advisors — aviation consultant, wedding-industry veteran, CA
From customer interviews to 25 paid shows.
From Jaipur’s skies to India’s show-drone platform.
Validate & build MVP
Interviews, simulation, 10-drone swarm, demo show
Launch in Jaipur
100 drones · 25 shows · ₹1.25 Cr · break-even
Rajasthan + NCR
50 shows · ₹2.75 Cr · corporate & festivals · custom PCB
Second fleet
200 drones · 90 shows · ₹5.4 Cr
Platform
3 fleets · ~₹10 Cr · sell Made-in-India kits, software & training to other operators
Mission
Make the sky part of every Indian celebration — safely, cleanly, affordably.
Long term
Pyro-drones & 3D shows · sky advertising · government tenders · exporting Indian show drones to the Middle East and South-East Asia.
₹85 lakh to light up Jaipur’s skies.
Milestones we commit to
- Month 6: 10-drone swarm + public demo show
- Year 1: 25 paid shows, break-even
- Year 2: ₹2.75 Cr revenue, debt repaid from free cash
Your story, written in the sky.
Thank you · धन्यवाद · Questions welcome