🗓️ 2025
SPOT: FIREFIGHTING DRONES
From ideation to pitching- The World’s First AI-Powered Firefighting Drones.
Summary
For our semester-long project in the Case Studies in Innovation course, my team and I created SPOT- a wildfire safety drone system aimed at safeguarding high-risk communities from fires. SPOT utilizes advanced drone-sensor technology to monitor environments, detect potential fire hazards, and assist in mitigating wildfire threats. My primary roles included leading initial product ideation and design, deployment strategy, developing the landing page, and defining user scenarios and use cases.
Role: Product Management & Product Development
View our full pitch deck
OUR LANDING PAGE, USER VALIDATION
Key Takeaways
User validation is everything. You can get a lot of data on whether it's the right time for your product by using low cost methods such as ad validation. Test first. Iterate. Then build.
Leverage key timing drivers. Our product had support from our entire class and the problem space was clear. With the Palisades Fire being recent, our audience was aware of the importance of our cause.
Your team matters. Though we didn't have founder-market fit, we we're able to get as far as we did because each of our team members cared deeply about the problem we were trying to solve. Passion won't get you the whole way, but it'll get you pretty far.
Reflection & More About Me
Working on a project that hit so close to home was incredibly meaningful. Our brand, Spot, focused on fire prevention—an issue I care deeply about, especially after losing the Pacific Palisades, the community I grew up in. That personal connection made the work feel rewarding, but it also made the reality of the process more challenging. As we moved forward, it became increasingly clear that we weren’t the right team to fully execute the solution, and our ad validation ultimately confirmed that.
Still, the experience of building a product from the ground up—shaping the idea, designing it, refining it, and preparing it for investors—was invaluable. Just as important was recognizing when to step back. Having the clarity and honesty to say the concept wasn’t validated and that it was time to pivot took just as much strength as pushing forward. In the end, the project taught me not only how to build, but also how to let go when it’s necessary for the bigger picture.