[00:00:00] Cassidy Will: When I graduated from college, this was not my plan. I was planning on like leaving maybe somewhere bigger, corporate probably. I was always going to do marketing, but it was never in my plan to be an entrepreneur. I didn't know how. It seemed just daunting, honestly.
And I think that's a huge shout out to Grand Forks, to the North Dakota, I mean, at large, the entire business climate, the community. There's such opportunity here.
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Welcome to the Hangar X podcast. We're live and we are at Grand Forks in North Dakota at the Hive and excited today to have Cassidy Will on. She started Labrador Marketing and you have kind of focused and specialized as part of what you do in drones in the whole UAS space. So Cassidy, tell us a little bit about yourself and Labrador Lee.
[00:01:42] Cassidy Will: Sure. So I graduated from the University of North Dakota, I guess five years ago already. It was December 2020, so it was right in the heart of COVID and I was lucky enough to be working with a startup. At the time. It was just a little bit.
It was harder for some people to find work. So I was very lucky to be working with a startup here in Grand Forks. And that's really what kind of got me interested in entrepreneurship. And one thing kind of led to another. I ended up starting Labrador Lee, which is a small business marketing company, kind of from that mentorship of that first internship that I did. And it was kind of, you know, the rest was history kind of type of situation.
Getting involved in the UAS industry specifically was your classic North Dakota kind of connections story where I started working with a company at the co working space down the street and then got connected with the co working space itself. Then the managing managing director moved over here to the Hive, got connected with the Hive, then started working with companies within the hive. And so it truly is just like a classic story of North Dakota connections.
[00:02:54] John Ramstead: Now for people that aren't familiar, explain what the hive is because you also do marketing for the Hive.
[00:03:00] Cassidy Will: So I do yeah, tie that in the hive. I mean it really is one of a kind and I don't know that another one exists.
Maybe it does, but it's a tech accelerator for all UAS companies. It kind of is like a co working space and so you can have an office here.
But it really is the connector piece between university, between the cities, you know, state officials, between all organizations and kind of brings that and also capital.
[00:03:26] John Ramstead: There's access to capital. There's a lot of business development funds. State, federal, local and also private.
[00:03:31] Cassidy Will: Yes. I mean it really is amazing. Kind of just having a place, a hub. It really is amazing.
[00:03:38] John Ramstead: Yeah. Now and you also do work with Meadowlark and we just had John from Meadowlark on interviewed. So you know, when you're thinking about today, there's a lot of noise out there in the drone space and VTOL and even with even global politics. So you know, when you're focusing on, because you do not only digital marketing, but really consulting on the whole strategy and the implementation, what are some of the things right now that is important to people as they're thinking about their marketing to make it effective and cut.
[00:04:11] Cassidy Will: Through the noise, like specifically in the UAS industry. So one thing that I've noticed when I first started in the industry, I didn't really think there was going to be many differences. And so I, you know, treated it like I would any other. And I quickly realized that's not what we should be doing.
[00:04:33] John Ramstead: Why? Why is that?
[00:04:35] Cassidy Will: Well, the biggest difference I noticed and it's a little bit harder to explain, so I'll try to, I'll try to do my best. But if it doesn't make sense, please just ask when you're working. So say you're in healthcare and you have a company solves a problem, want to get their messaging to a client and your messaging will have a few different options, right? Maybe you're trying to reach like three different types of Personas of clients. In the UAS industry. It's a little bit different because they work in multiple sectors. And so it's not, it's one to one across all the different kinds of sectors. And so you have, your messaging needs to be specific. For example, agriculture, you know, you're talking to Department of Defense, you're talking to.
[00:05:18] John Ramstead: Monitoring, you have safety and security, you might have just some consumer needs, you have maybe delivery. So you are using a drone. But the application is a very different audience, a very different like ideal client profile.
[00:05:31] Cassidy Will: It is. And so yes, and so you have all of your Personas but within different. You have to just be very, very mindful when it comes to the, the UAS industry.
[00:05:39] John Ramstead: Yeah.
So what is the advice, the consulting you're doing for like metal, like Metal Arc and the hive, what does that look like?
Meaning like the strategy? Right now let's focus on Metalark. You know, they're pre revenue, they're growing, they're building their prototypes.
They want to go from having from bespoke to possibly larger scale manufacturing. Right. So what is the thoughts that you're bringing into what they're doing from a marketing perspective?
[00:06:14] Cassidy Will: That makes complete sense. You know, we're focusing on a lot right now. So Metal Arc is in a very brand building space right now. And so it's not.
There's not paid marketing, there's not, you know, or working in mainly into just recognition at this point. And something that I've learned, and this is kind of a difference too that I've been noticing in the UAS space is conferences are so important. And I know that's true, I know that's true across other industries as well. You, you know, healthcare again for another example.
[00:06:44] John Ramstead: Well, we just got back from Verticon, which is the largest vertical flight conference in the world. It was in Dallas.
[00:06:50] Cassidy Will: Yes.
[00:06:50] John Ramstead: And it was huge for us. We actually went from. And thank you everybody for their support. But in the last 28 days we've had 1.3 million downloads and views and Verticon was kind of a big launching pad of that.
[00:07:03] Cassidy Will: They're monumental. And they're, I think, in my opinion they're used for much different, like it's just like you said, they're used for much different purposes in the UAS industry where they're not necessarily for brand building. They're like where the deals, the deals will get done there. You know, they have.
[00:07:19] John Ramstead: Well, we talked to customers, we talked to suppliers, we looked, we talked to key consultants.
You know, you never know who you might know there. But I think also for a conference, it's the work, if you're intentional that you do into your pre planning.
[00:07:34] Cassidy Will: 100%.
[00:07:35] John Ramstead: Who are you going to meet there? Who are you going to spend time? Who do you want to meet there? Who do you want to have a conversation with? Because that's the only way they have an ROI for a conference. Because it's not cheap.
[00:07:44] Cassidy Will: No. And we've been working. I'm gonna be in Houston with Meadowlark for Exponential. It'll be my first time at Exponential. So very, very excited. But we've been working on it already. I think for two months and it's at least, you know, so that's three months. And I someday still feel like we're behind.
[00:08:01] John Ramstead: Is that what the Hive or Meadowlark is?
[00:08:02] Cassidy Will: Meadowlark.
[00:08:03] John Ramstead: Okay.
[00:08:03] Cassidy Will: Yep.
[00:08:03] John Ramstead: Wonderful.
[00:08:04] Cassidy Will: And the Hive will be there too.
[00:08:05] John Ramstead: Yeah. Now, tell me this. So graduated college five years ago, build this marketing business, you get through Covid.
What is it like as a young entrepreneur building a business up here in Grand Fork? Tell us a little bit about just kind of the business climate, what you've experienced up here.
[00:08:23] Cassidy Will: This is my favorite thing to talk about.
And because I'll be the first to tell you, when I graduated from college, this was not my plan. I was planning on like leaving maybe somewhere bigger corporate, probably. I was always going to do marketing, but it was never in my plan to be an entrepreneur. I didn't know how. It seemed just daunting, honestly.
And I think that's would be like an appropriate place just to give a huge shout out to Grand Forks, to the North Dakota, I mean, at large, the entire business climate, the community that we have here. There's a little bit, I think, I don't know what you want to call it, like a misconception where kids will come for college, they'll stay for college. Right. I was born and raised in North Dakota and then stayed for college. And I think there's a little bit of a miscommunication. I think maybe is the word where you have when you graduate, you have to leave to find big opportunities, that big opportunities, you know, you have to leave to find what you're looking for. And it's true, not only in the UAS industry, right, with the other companies that I work with, but especially uas.
I think the companies that I work with, me myself, that we couldn't be more of a testament to that not being true.
There's such opportunity here.
[00:09:46] John Ramstead: Well, I also believe I was talking with my friend Tobin Arthur this morning.
Right. The opportunity for the hive to actually grow companies, incubate companies that become operating companies, to add hundreds, if not even thousands over the next three, four, five years, where the downtown is healthy, but it even becomes more vibrant and thriving. It'd be great. Where the kids are going to University of North Dakota for college because they know right there they can do internships and have jobs that are really good paying jobs, doing really cool stuff.
I see that developing. I know the mayor and the local businesses are, you know, it's a big focus. So there's this really business friendly environment here also.
[00:10:30] Cassidy Will: 100% and I'm definitely a testament to that. I would pretty much be.
I don't honestly know where I would be without the support and the connections. And everyone's been. Everyone's just been so nice and so supporting of what I wanted to do, what I am doing. I guess it's just. It's a wonderful, wonderful place to be.
[00:10:50] John Ramstead: Well, I love that. And so for you, it just. What. What are, you know, what does the next, you know, couple years look like for you?
[00:10:56] Cassidy Will: It's hard to say. It's hard to say because when I started, I didn't think I would be here. Right. I opened. I opened August of 2021, and now it's 2025. So it's almost been four years. And I didn't really see this being kind of where the company would go. I think if I were to guess, I would like to lean more into the consulting side. I love working with, you know, businesses within the UAS industry, across all industries, really. It's just wonderful to do that consulting and be a part as many as I can. And so I think that would probably be my answer. But it's hard. It's honestly hard to say.
[00:11:34] John Ramstead: Yeah, that's awesome. Well, we will. I'm sure we'll be in touch as we see you and up here and just keep knocking alive out there.
[00:11:41] Cassidy Will: Yes. Thank you so much for having me.
