Tuesday May 26, 4:30 PM ET · Teams

Discovery call with Adithya Ramaswami, ParaWave

Opening line

"Adithya, good to finally talk. I've followed ParaWave through the OSU ecosystem, and when Ashley mentioned you might need marketing or BD support, I wanted to connect."

Call goal

Learn where ParaWave is stuck on growth. Leave with enough to send a useful recap, not a contract.

Offer to test

A focused 30-day pilot: pick one buyer segment, build a real account list, write outreach, and see what creates conversations.

Guardrail

Do not pitch on this call. Ask questions, show you did the homework, and earn the next step.

Run the call

Open warm

Mention the OSU connection and Ashley's intro. Give a one-sentence version of what you do: "I help technical businesses turn a good product into a clearer growth system." Do not list services.

Show you did the homework, then ask

"I looked at Shepherd.AI, Shepherd Aircraft, and the integrations page. My take is that the offer is wider than most people realize, and the real question is which part sells fastest and to whom." Then: "Before I suggest anything, what made this a priority right now?"

Listen for the bottleneck

Let him talk. Use the questions below to steer. You are diagnosing, not presenting. If he asks what you would do, use the pilot answer in "If asked."

Close with a recap offer

"I'll send a short recap today: the main bottleneck I heard, the segment I'd start with, and a concrete next step. If it makes sense, we pick a time to go deeper. If not, no pressure."

Ask these first

What made marketing or BD support a priority right now?

Are you trying to create more conversations, close existing ones, or explain the product better?

Who has been the best buyer so far? Who understands the product fastest?

How are you getting demos today? Where do deals slow down?

Do you have a CRM or is tracking mostly manual?

What proof can you reference publicly? Westerville, OSU, any pilots?

If he asks what you would do

30-day pilot (only if he asks)

One segment, real data, tested outreach

"I'd start by picking the part of ParaWave most likely to move right now. Could be public safety drone teams, could be energy inspection, depends on what you tell me. Then I'd build a clean account list for that segment: 50 to 100 accounts with named contacts, verified emails, likely use case, and a priority score. From there, I'd write a short outreach sequence and set up the system to send it and track replies. By day 30 we'd know which accounts are worth calling, which messages get responses, and whether the segment is actually warm."

If he asks about price

"I'd rather price it after I understand scope. A focused sprint is one thing, ongoing outreach is different. I'll send both options in the recap."

Do not say

"We can get you X appointments per month." No data to back that.
"I do SEO, websites, and AI." Too generic.
Anything about subcontractors or outsourced labor.
"I can handle all four verticals." Sounds like overselling.
"Let me build you a marketing funnel." Vague and overused.

Prep library

Internal notes (private thinking)

Their real need is probably segmentation, buyer data, an outreach system, and follow-up. Not a website redesign, not SEO, not brand work.
Do not promise appointments or guaranteed demos. You do not control their sales cycle.
Do not lead with SEO. If it comes up, treat it as a supporting channel after outbound is running.
Only propose a paid sprint if discovery confirms a real gap you can fill.
Avoid quoting price unless he asks. Even then, say you will send options after you recap.
His likely bottleneck is not awareness. It is getting the right 50 accounts on the phone with the right message.
If he already has a marketing person or agency, find out what they are doing before you offer overlap.

What ParaWave actually offers

Shepherd.AI

AI video detection, alerting, search, and sharing for live feeds plus recorded video and images. Real-Time mode for live operations, Review mode for footage search, natural-language detection prompts.

Shepherd Aircraft

Their own drone platform for ISR and SAR, with configurable packages (PRO, THERMAL, BLUE, GREEN) and camera payloads. U.S. assembly and NDAA positioning matter.

Video integrations

Connects into existing video sources: drones, fixed cameras, VMS/NVR, vehicles, robots. Supports RTMP, RTSP, RTSPS, WHIP, HDMI, broadcast software.

Use-case solutions

Public safety: SAR, fire, investigations, disaster response.
Energy: pipelines, methane, power lines, solar, wind, dams.
Defense/security: base security, counter-UAS, force protection, commercial sites.

Tip: Say "ParaWave's platform" more than "Shepherd.AI" unless Adithya anchors there. Ask which part of the offer they most need help selling.

ICP homework (buyer segments)

1. Public safety drone teams (best first wedge)

Police, fire, sheriff, EMS, homeland security, emergency management. Cares about deployment speed, training burden, safety, proof. ParaWave already has OSU and Westerville proof here.

2. Emergency management

County EMA, search and rescue, disaster response. Good fit for "time saved" and "cover wide areas fast." May buy through grants or county budgets.

3. Energy and infrastructure

Pipelines, power lines, solar, wind, dams, substations. Use cases: perimeter monitoring, asset inspection, incident review.

4. Defense, federal, and security

Base security, counter-UAS, force protection. Good for positioning but probably not the fastest lane unless they already have access.

Likely best first motion

Start with Ohio and Midwest public safety drone programs unless Adithya says another segment is warmer.

Buyer titles to listen for

Drone program coordinator, fire chief, police chief, sheriff, emergency management director, utility inspection lead, security director, procurement officer.

GTM motion to test

The trap to avoid

Four segments, three channels, and no data means you are guessing everywhere at once. One segment with 50 good accounts will teach you more in two weeks than 200 loose names across four verticals.

Cold email

Best when you have a named contact with a clear role. Needs verified email, a one-sentence use case match, and a short message. Test signal: reply rate above 3%.

Phone/calling

Best for public safety departments and local agencies where phone follow-up is expected. Needs direct phone numbers and someone who can speak to the product without sounding scripted.

Direct mail

Best for chiefs, directors, and facility leaders when paired with a one-page use-case brief. Most useful after identifying 30 to 50 high-value accounts.

Data fields per account

Segment, account name, location, existing video/drone signals, likely use case, decision maker name/title, email/phone, source/proof, priority score (1 to 5), next touch.

Fulfillment options (what you can deliver)

7-day sprint

ICP interview with Adithya
50 to 100 target accounts
Buyer titles and list schema
Offer map and messaging draft for one segment

14-day sprint

150 to 250 accounts with verified contacts
One segment landing page or product-map draft
Outbound sequence and CRM pipeline

30-day sprint

Launch outreach
Weekly reporting
List refinement from replies
Demo follow-up assets

Fulfillment bench (private)

Do not present this to him. Use as your hidden bench if the scope becomes data, CRM, or outbound ops.

Clay + Apollo + HubSpot setup

Enrichment workflow, lead filters, CRM pipeline, cold email sequence setup. Gigs from about $15 to $180.

Google Maps / local agency lists

Local public safety adjacent lists, departments, agencies, facilities. Gigs from about $5 to $30.

B2B prospect lists

Targeted lists with verified emails. Apollo export gigs from $5 to $190 depending on volume.

Cold email setup

Instantly or Smartlead setup, domain warmup, sequences. Gigs starting around $15.

Data cleaning and CRM contacts

De-duping, formatting, enrichment, import to HubSpot/Airtable/Sheets.

Do not outsource blindly

Strategy, final messaging, compliance-sensitive claims, and public safety copy all need your review.

Credibility points

OSU connection: "I'm at Fisher and I've followed some of the OSU startup ecosystem, so I'm not coming in cold on ParaWave."
Operator angle: "Most of my work is turning messy business growth into a system: who to target, what to say, where it lives, how follow-up gets tracked."
Data angle: "If the bottleneck is buyer data, I can build the list and workflow behind it. The value is not just names. It's knowing which accounts are worth calling first and why."

After the call

Within 2 hours

Send a short recap email: what he said the priority was, which segment you would start with, and the 30-day pilot outline. Keep it under 300 words.

Within 24 hours

If the call went well, send a one-page scope doc with two options: a focused sprint and a broader ongoing support package. Include timeline and price for each.

Follow-up cadence

If no reply in 3 days, send a one-line check-in. If nothing after a week, one more note referencing something specific from the call. Then stop.

Source notes

ParaWave site: Shepherd.AI for live and recorded video detection and alerts.
OSU Impact and MAE: founders are Adithya Ramaswami and Jack Murray, OSU aerospace grads.
OSU coverage: public safety users include firefighters, law enforcement, EMS, homeland security, FBI operatives.
OSU coverage: early collaborators include Westerville Police/Fire, Columbus Fire, Franklin County Homeland Security and others.

Context

Relationship: OSU acquaintance. You have seen him speak, never spoken personally.
Intro source: Ashley.
What Ashley said: marketing / business development support needs.