All right, here we are back to it. A new, new location, everybody. If you didn't know, did a little move to new podcast studio out of my house, actually which is nice. So it might be a little changes. I'm going to put some shelves up and do a little bit of decor here as we go. But today's going to be fun. We have Ryan over here with. A business that when he told me about it, and we talked about, I was like, that is not only intelligent but also you're battling a big battle against some deep pockets. And I'm excited to get his you know, his business out here and talking through it and excite you all because I know that our guests really love the energy sector and really love green energy and giving back. So this is what this is going to be about. So without further ado, Ryan once you just do a brief intro of yourself. Okay. And then let's get into it.

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
0:52

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me today. Congratulations on the new studio. Looks pretty awesome. Yeah, we're we're work from home company ourselves, but it feels good to get out, you know, sometimes and have that feel. So looks good. Yeah. So my name is Ryan. I'm the founder of forever flight worldwide. We are a small business dedicated towards. Ending the aviation industries blue and the holistic strategies needed towards. You know, getting there, we were founded during coven when I was sort of graduating. I was an aerospace engineer myself, but. The industry is adapting and has been for the last only couple of years, unfortunately. And so. There are other jobs in this industry that are needed and. I took it upon myself to start our small business to help sort of half of this problem of of ending the industry's pollution, which is on the airport infrastructure side of things and helping airports immediately save money and also immediately reduce their emissions. A lot of people don't always think that it's possible luckily with. A lot of the recent sort of events in the renewable energy, renewable energy is now cheaper than fossil fuel. And so we, we really don't have a. You know, good business case why we're still on fossil fuels. So, you know, we're helping this industry adapt the best, you know, that we can as a small business.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
2:43

Absolutely and when we get down to it, really, the, the 2 huge polluters of the world are our shipping industry and, you know, our aviation right? Those are the two that really pollute the world. My son always loves to say, Hey dad, why do you drive a truck and why do you fill up with gas? And I'm like, yes, but my, my little truck is not doing anything compared to what our aviation or, you know, our shipping with all our major ships are doing. What drove you to wanting to get into this industry? And specifically cuz now you're, that you're in Austin. No oil and gas is kind of a somewhat of a big deal down there. What made you want to get into it? And then also what made you want to attack it from being in Texas where you're fighting, you know, an

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
3:27

uphill battle? Yeah, absolutely. I would say the main reason that I was interested in this industry is you know, during COVID we did have a little bit break of pollution in that there was an interruption in the normal business cycle. And so we had a chance to sort of look at things and reset and. When I was looking at things as someone about to enter the workforce. I looked you know, at projections and the aviation industry is projected to continue this sort of trend until 2050. And that is a number that is really far away and doesn't seem very realistic. So if we can do whatever we can to bring that number. To as soon as possible. I think we should. And so that is the reason I'm, I personally work in aviation myself. I don't have any family in aerospace, so it's sort of just like, they're sort of surprised, but you know, that's sort of what was my perspective coming at as a recent graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
4:30

So, what is forever flight doing right now? What is the main focus and push? Obviously fundraising, by the way, all small companies, we all need money. Okay. Funding is always a big deal outside of that. What is what is your big focus and push right now?

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
4:45

Absolutely well, our, you know, our goal is to grow after these days, but I think that is healthier as a company. And so what we're doing is, you know, developing a series of tools. To help airports adjust their infrastructure and plan for the future and save money right now by using all these recent bills that have been passed by the ingenious and her team and sort of. You know, helping fund, you know, every transfer, every sectors transformation these, these recent bills have taken a lot of help. Sorry, a lot of stress away from, you know, all the small businesses. And sort of concentrated on now that we have tax incentives. So, that big companies can actually make sustainability strides. How can each sustainability come sort of finance, you know, niche core and then become the master of that and get us to the place that we want to be. It's sort of the recent developments I've been seeing and and so, I would say, you know, the reason that we work is. Just to do our part to find holistic strategies and sort of bring them to the forefront of the industry. So that we can be, you know, leaders instead of, you know, way behind the times.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
6:08

Absolutely. So what can airports do right now? Right? Obviously, technology is going to change. We all know that part, but like, what specifically are you talking about? Like, they can do right now to, to change or to

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
6:19

improve at least. Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, there's countless mechanisms. There's over 100 tactics airports need to take to holistically, you know, sort of reduct, reduce their pollution. However, you know, the ones immediately. Use these recent bills and incentives to build your own renewable energy. You want to eliminate your, you know, costs. Electricity is a huge 1, you know, HVAC and hot places during the summer. You know, that is a large concentration of. Terminal energy use and having a functional source of your own energy. To sort of take a chunk out of your total expenses. Is a great 1st step you can electrify the ground servicing and equipment so that when you're taxing to the. You know, planes in and out it's electrified and also. You need to be looking into what actual fuel sources. Of the future are true 0 mission. Don't want to be having any greenwashing in this industry. And so, you know, make sure that. Getting your information from reliable sources and not necessarily only, you know, the airlines.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
7:35

That's that's absolutely. So what have you seen recently in terms of, you know, airports and airlines pushing towards the green energy, have you seen much yet with these new bills or kind of, is it a feel out process currently?

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
7:52

I think the IRA in particular had a large effect on this industry. It gave green hydrogen incentives so that we could stock up our production and look into green hydrogen. For larger planes and so just because of that, I think Alaska Airlines just dumped a lot of money into 0 Alvia you know, a company out of the United Kingdom as you know, leading the charge of the future for larger planes. And also some commercial planes sorry, smaller commercial planes. But I think the battery industry is really leading the charge for you know, smaller and private jet planes. As the battery industry creates stronger batteries. It makes it easier to have electric planes. It's pretty simple. So, you know, following them is a good way of staying up to date on how the. And mid size electric plane industry will be developing over these next couple of years.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
8:50

An electric plane, an electric plane. That's crazy. I feel like we're getting closer to the Jetsons. I promise

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
9:00

you. If you read up on some of these companies as well, it feels pretty pretty Jetsons. You know, their functionality is still being evaluated and. What I think will turn out will be, we'll just eventually replace cars with them. And sort of turn into the Jetsons, so I think you're right

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
9:20

here. We come. We're going to be the Jetsons. Finally, childhood dreams will come to life. I'm excited. So, business wise talk us through. Obviously, you are a startup and where you're at, but talk us through what your hardest battles are. And what you, you know, what you want help from the audience, obviously word of mouth and brand awareness and all that's great, but what do you need to, in order to grow and to fulfill

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
9:46

your mission? Absolutely. Well, I think, you know, it needs to be a little. Of an increase of knowledge within the industry you know, we love spreading, you know, the knowledge that. That we can to to every airport here in the States, and then eventually beyond. Oh, you know what the true 0 mission solutions will be and what are. Their functionalities and so how we, you know, express that is. You know, through our toolkit, we share it with with the teams that we can, but obviously we have limited resources ourselves. We are a gen Z team. I like saying that we're all under the age of 26. And so we, you know, we're keeping our expenses extremely low, obviously. Just, you know, trying to find you know, growth. Off of our current Puerto Rican project, we, we working with the Department of energy. To find holistic solutions and local job, growing solutions with the Department of energy. In Puerto Rico, and immediately grow solar energy there. So, you know, building off our tools will help us efficient. Sorry, make our process more efficient and sort of help us expand into new markets because. We try and limit our travel. We try, you know, to do our part and, you know, Example of a company gives good solutions but also, you know, does their part to limit their impact as well. So, the more we can have the more tools we can build. And the more communities we can help, so I think. Just believing in, you know, these. Sort of young ideas and startups that are coming to the forefront and there's also other industries that. You know, we love to also showcase the green hydrogen startups in the boating industry and the shipping industry and also the automating of E cargo. Sorry. So that means, like, instead of shipping and then boating, you'll just have a drone, take it to the location and limit, you know, emissions by over 70%. So these are just the types of solutions that you know, Need to be at the forefront of the discussion and I think also in general, young people need to have. More of a say, and sort of the environmental discussions going on at both the state, federal and local levels. Just because of sort of the ways we can help are sort of underutilized. And you know, we, we won't so we can so, I think. Leaving in these sort of new ideas coming to the forefront really inspires us to keep going and build off of our progress so far.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
12:45

Yeah. Let's let's talk about that. Right? You're a gen Z. Everyone's under 26. That's 1 just phenomenal to have this. Insight and drive to do what you want to do. But also you are young, right? That is going to be a non starter for some, or you don't have experience and all you've probably heard it a 1000 times. All of the reasons why it won't work. Ultimately that's the reason it will work your generation. Which is not, you know, I guess I'm not that much older, but I am older. Your generation, this is where we can see these gains happen. What has been the biggest hurdle in getting into the correct meetings and the correct minds? Because really, it's going to take politics, you know, this, it's going to take bills and stuff like that to continue to get past and continue to be on the forefront. What's your biggest hurdle currently within that atmosphere?

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
13:42

Yeah, I would say establishing ourselves as, you know, a long term company is always very hard with limited experience and aerospace, a slow moving industry. And so that has been our greatest hurdle. You know, we love to share ideas and holistic strategies that are also healthier for everyone involved. But, you know, you can only have so much say, when you have little experience. So, sorry, what was the 2nd part of your question?

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
14:08

So, what's the, what's the biggest hurdle? In getting into these conversations that you're having right now.

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
14:16

Yeah, I think it's also, I mean, there are ways for, you know, everyday people to get involved in environmental movements and there, there, there's countless Slack channels and programs and initiatives out there. So if you do care, there are ways to get involved. I think so, especially as a sort of young person during COVID, just believing in yourself was, was a little tricky. And, you know, you definitely had countless times of self doubt because, I mean, you know, what is. You know, a young person to say in, you know, long term policy, but you also have to think of more creative strategies. And be sort of more savage than, you know, the established you know, companies, because the facts are, you know, renewable energy creates 3 times as many jobs as fossil fuels and they're cheaper now. So there's really. A reason to not try and reduce pollution and so. You know, having you know, that confidence to say what you're saying and also be a little bit. Of an oddball in an industry that's been polluting for a while. And, you know, showing the actual true solutions just just being that little bit extra of, you know, creativity where we've had to use. A little bit of our social media skills that we've gained having it all our lives and you know, utilizing 3 software as well. Zoom, LinkedIn and, you know, pretty much wherever your customers are you know, you sort of have to follow. So, that is sort of how we, we grew you know, we're definitely still small, but you know, having that sort of. Got urged to say, oh, yeah, I'm actually in some circumstances. I'm not perfect, but I know that, you know, I can. You must guide you on this pathway, so

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
16:09

talk about what's at the end of this. And I don't know if you, you know, you end up getting sold, you, you know, you retire at the age of 107, whatever this looks like, what is success to you and your company? What does that mean? Is it, is that percentage of pollution reduced? I know you're not going for 100% cause that's probably not very realistic, but what is success look like for you?

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
16:38

Oh, that's a great question. You know, it sort of changes every day as a young person because, you know, we're still, you know, we're not fully there with everything. And, you know, especially during covert, we were a little isolated. So, every day, you know, I sort of think of new things that you want to do with your life. But I would say that company, we have 2 key performance indicators and. Just for me, as someone, you know, that grew up and I was able to go to college, it's like, giving local jobs is 1 of the indicators local job and renewable energy growth. So 1 of our key goals of the Puerto Rican project was reversing brain drain in Puerto Rico. And how we can grow long term jobs there. And then the 2nd guy is, you know, tracking emission reductions over time. You know, when we started the. Industry was expected to pollute until 2050 and so we want to bring it down to, you know, I guess, as soon as possible. And so, you know, we track. Expected pollution over you know, what we. Sort of provide an elimination of long term pollution. And I think how. Or, you know, sustainability in our business model definitely gives us a little bit of an edge these days as a small lean

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
17:56

company. I like that. That's a good answer. There's also an answer that isn't like specific to a number or anything because there's a lot of variables in what you're doing. There isn't this isn't a clear cut 1 plus 1 equals 2 situation.

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
18:12

Yeah, absolutely. And I will say, I mean, there are other companies out there that do help. You know, reduce emissions, there are other engineering companies, but we're. Primarily focused on aviation. I think that gives us a little bit of an edge in, in some of these new emerging commercial opportunities. But yeah, I, once again, we'll say, I appreciate your, your time today. And this was it was great sharing or what little progress we we've started with, but you know, how those tools build off each other and can lead to some big. Absolutely.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
18:44

And we, we love having you on, we're going to have you on follow your journey. Throughout without a doubt it's important to continue your message 1 way or another to be loud as possible. Because what you're going after is 1, just impressive, let alone something I wouldn't do. And 2, it's, it's something that's for our planet. Needs to be done ultimately, it just needs to happen. So appreciate you being in that fight and fighting every day with your team. Even though you're young you guys don't have as many wounds as the rest of us. So, you get a fight and wake up the next day. Right? I talk about this. Let's back, let's get a little personal with it real quick. Wife and I went out with some friends. We're 34 and we went on drinking. We started at 9 o'clock, got home, went to bed at like 1 30 takes a few days to, to get back up. You, you probably can still bounce around the next day or within 48 hours and that's the same thing that goes for business. You're going to take some licks and there's going to be things that you're going to bounce back from that. The rest of us. It would hurt a little more. So take that with as much as you want there. But continue that great fight and always ask. I know I'm going to connect you with some people after this as well. And we look forward to hearing back from you here and, you know, maybe a couple of quarters and seeing what you've accomplished.

Ryan Wilkoff, Founder, Forever Flight Worldwide:
20:05

Yeah, thank you so much. No worries. You know, anyone feel free to follow us on our website or LinkedIn, but, you know, our real progress is because of our team. And so I definitely want to thank our team and also give a shout out to a crowd solve platform, which helps us get here. Excuse me a platform for other eco entrepreneurs and so I would highly suggest towards building your idea from scratch and I will say, thank you. Yeah. How do you feel about the falcons draft this year though? It was a it was an interesting one No,

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
20:39

yeah, it was I don't like taking a runner back eight

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20:53

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