The Startup Story

Luke Fox, founder of WhiteFox Defense Technologies

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About this episode

WhiteFox Defense Technologies is a drone mitigation technology company founded by Luke Fox. He was building an organization to manufacture drones in an affordable way for research and humanitarian efforts. In doing so, he started to see that drones were being sought out by people and organizations that had incredibly sketchy purposes for the use of drones.

From those observations, he developed a device that is no larger than a brick. This device is capable of identifying drones, assessing their threat, and then engaging them. The device will immediately force the drone to land, it can crash it, or it can send it back. I've seen the technology in person, and it is unbelievable!

Luke is a global leader in drone airspace security and pioneer of the safe integration of drones into society, WhiteFox products securely manage drones in sensitive airspace worldwide. While the technology Luke and his team have produced is impressive, it is Luke's personal story of triumph that is far more impressive. This is Luke Fox's startup story.

In this episode, you'll hear
  • About Luke's upbringing surrounded by siblings with both mental and physical disabilities. His responsibility and purpose were to help, which taught him to think of others first.
  • How his tendency to hide away and 'tinker' with things helped him discover his knack for technology.
  • His home responsibilities, entering foster care, and how it led him to fall so far behind that, he dropped out of high school.
  • Getting his GED, entering Community College at age 16, and receiving his first A, proved to him that he was intelligent enough to rebuild his life.
  • His drive to help people had him wanting to enter law enforcement, though his aptitude for technology had him thinking about combining the two.
  • His first organization, a non-profit, used technology to help fight against human trafficking.
  • Wanting to use the new drone technology for better law enforcement surveillance, humanitarian aid, and research led him to develop a more affordable drone; and start Drones for Change.
  • Drones for Change shifted into WhiteFox Defense Technologies as he sought to develop his universal drone controller. He hoped to give law enforcement tighter control over the air space with counter-drone technology.
  • At the time counter-drone technology was illegal, so Luke had to work to get Congress to pass laws to create a market for his technology
  • How his difficult upbringing has helped him strive for the success of his company as he wants it to be. He won't compromise for something lesser.

    • "No matter where you come from, the traumas you've endured and the mistakes that you have made do not have to define you or defeat you. It is because of those experiences that you are capable of seeing the world in a way that nobody else can." Luke Fox, WhiteFox Defense Technologies

    Resources from this episode

    WhiteFox Defense Technologies: https://www.whitefoxdefense.com/

    Luke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukerfox/
    Luke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukerfox?lang=en
    The Startup Story LIVE - Virtual Conference: http://startupstorylive.com
    The Startup Story on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thestartupstory
    The Startup Story is now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jamesmckinney
    The Startup Story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupstory

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    EPISODE CREDITS

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    Special Guest: Luke Fox.

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    The Startup StoryBy James McKinney