In episode 109 of Venture Everywhere, Jenny Fielding, co-founder and managing partner at Everywhere Ventures, talks with Etienne Louvet, founder and CEO of IONA — a drone logistics company reimagining delivery for the world's most remote and underserved communities. Etienne shares how COVID lockdowns in rural Brittany, watching his elderly grandmother unable to access basic goods without a car, led him to uncover a massive gap in the global logistics system. He discusses how Iona challenges the industry consensus that light cargo delivery must rely on traditional vans, instead building a tilt-rotor drone from scratch and delivering shipments of 20 parcels or fewer faster and more cost-efficiently than existing solutions.

In this episode, you will hear:

1. Building a tilt-rotor drone optimized for light cargo delivery in remote and underserved communities.
2. Delivering strong results with a lean funding base.
3. Creating a new logistics category for shipments of 20 parcels or fewer.
4. Leveraging energy efficiency as a core competitive advantage over traditional delivery vans.
5. Expanding into the US market with a proven drone platform and regulatory certifications already in hand.

Learn more about Etienne Louvet | Iona Drones

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/etiennelouvet/

Website: https://ionadrones.com/

Learn more about Jenny Fielding | Everywhere VC

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyfielding

Website: https://everywhere.vc/