Collaborative technology to the global airline industry that enables its customers to improve the pace and quality of aircraft maintenance, leading to significant productivity gains, lowered costs and improved safety... Tripp Higgins, VP of Business Development, and Andy Hakes, Founder/CEO, of AireXpert (tech ops event control), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in theMouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser. In this episode: Room for improvement in great communication with people out at airplanes and between travel companies and those people A lot of people working in adjacent roles who don’t work together and a lot situations develop on the fly Barriers - outsourcing, fragmentation of indie companies that don’t share resources Airlines relying on outsourced vendors, lack of training, very little standardization for communication AireXpert is a communication channel that creates a standardized link, that allows people to communicate in same space, on the fly How AireXpert's business started Everyone has the same pains The difficulty of raising money in Buffalo NY, and needing capital to hire great talent How being in small market has challenges and opportunities Hot dogs! The sales cycle of approaching an airline Raising funds and the venture landscape in Buffalo Whether the AireXpert executives feel less or more safe now with airlines The exhilaration of taking in the arrival at a new destination