What CrewConcept does

CrewConcept Inc. (dba CrewConcept Drone Lab) is a privately held, Colorado Springs–based company founded in 2023 that sells NDAA-compliant, China-free drone hardware, curriculum, and competition programs to K-12 schools, CTE/workforce development programs, and higher-education institutions in the United States and 12+ countries. Its product portfolio is organized by education tier—SOCR.Takeoff for elementary students (ages 8+), SOCR.Flight for middle and high school (ages 12–18), and SOCR.Ascend for college—with each tier offering rebuildable indoor drone sets, classroom simulator bundles, batteries and chargers, maintenance kits, and upgrade parts; complete camp bundles (drones, inflatable arena, spare parts, instructor onboarding) are sold as turnkey packages. Underlying technology includes European-manufactured (Orqa FPV) flight controllers and radio components, a Bluetooth/USB virtual flight simulator that acts as a digital twin, and a 12-module curriculum aligned with FAA, ICAO, NGSS, and CCTC standards covering flight operations, aviation maintenance, and software (including Scratch/Python coding). The business model is hardware-led direct-to-school e-commerce with quote-based PO ordering and bundle pricing (e.g., $570 SOCR.Flight unit, $1,575 classroom bundle, $13,150 camp bundle), supplemented by instructor training ($750), replacement parts, and the Academic Drone Soccer competition ecosystem that drives community-led demand and event sponsorship revenue (notably $100k committed to the inaugural World Cup alongside XPONENTIAL2024). CrewConcept was founded by three co-founders—CEO Kyle Sanders (USAF instructor pilot/FAA Commercial Pilot), Operations lead Lina Pineros (Colombian Air Force flight navigator and aerospace engineer), and CTO Srdjan Kovacevic (CEO of Orqa FPV)—and is positioned as a disabled-veteran-owned small business with no disclosed venture or institutional funding.

Name

CrewConcept

Legal name

CrewConcept Inc.

Website

https://crewconcept.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CrewConcept (Colorado Springs, founded 2023) sells NDAA-compliant, China-free rebuildable indoor drones, FAA-aligned curriculum, and turnkey camp bundles to K-12 schools, CTE/workforce programs, and colleges, anchored by the Academic Drone Soccer competition ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drone Education Equipment

NAICS

Flight Training (611512), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Aircraft & Parts (3720), Aircraft (3721), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Drones, UAVs & Aerial Robotics Programs (EDAMADAJ)

Keywords

• Drone education hardware
• STEM curriculum programs
• CTE workforce training
• Aviation career pathways
• NDAA-compliant drones

Headquarters

HQ city

Colorado Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: Sale of drone products including SOCR.Flight, SOCR.Takeoff, SOCR.Ascend systems, replacement parts, batteries, chargers, and maintenance kits.
2. Professional Services: Instructor onboarding, training, and support services; grant support and implementation planning for schools.
3. Camp Programs: Turnkey drone camp bundles with arena, drones, and curriculum for schools and youth programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CrewConcept designs, sells, and supports a tiered drone education ecosystem (SOCR.Takeoff for elementary, SOCR.Flight for middle/high school, SOCR.Ascend for college) consisting of NDAA-compliant, rebuildable indoor drones, a Bluetooth/USB virtual flight simulator, FAA- and ICAO-aligned 12-module curriculum, complete camp bundles with inflatable arenas, and instructor onboarding and support services. Products are China-free and target K-12 schools, CTE/workforce programs, higher education institutions, and veterans pursuing aviation careers.

Product overview

CrewConcept Drone Lab offers a multi-tiered product ecosystem centered on drone soccer and aviation education. The portfolio includes three core product lines organized by education level: SOCR.Takeoff for elementary students (ages 8+), SOCR.Flight for middle and high school (ages 12-18), and SOCR.Ascend for college-level training. Each tier offers modular components including rebuildable indoor drone sets, classroom simulator bundles, batteries and chargers, maintenance kits, and upgrade parts. Complete camp bundles combine drones with netted arena enclosures, goals, spare parts, and instructor training. The company also provides a comprehensive Career Readiness/CTE program with 12-module curriculum aligned to FAA and industry standards, plus professional development and certification courses. All products are NDAA-compliant with European-made electronics, designed to be rebuildable for sustainable programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Drone Soccer Academy: A hands-on flying robotics program that provides FAA and industry-aligned training in flight operations, aviation maintenance, and software for students.
• SOCR.Flight
• SOCR.Takeoff
• SOCR.Ascend

Products and services

• SOCR.Flight Training System Build-it-yourself drone training system including all components and tools to construct a 20cm soccerdrone, with simulator-compatible controller and radio transmitter module. Packaging serves as a reusable toolbox, NDAA compliant, with electronics made in Europe. Batteries sold separately. Designed for middle and high school students (ages 12+) and home educators.
• SOCR.Takeoff Elementary-level enrichment program using KIDS COOLFLIGHT F1 lightweight drones designed for students as young as 8, teaching STEM skills and social emotional learning through team-based Drone Soccer activities.
• SOCR.Ascend College-level drone training system for advanced aviation career pathway training, designed for higher education institutions with Part 107 prep and ICAO-aligned curriculum.
• SOCR.Flight Middle & High School Camp with Arena Complete camp bundle for ages 12-18 including 12 high-performance Orqa Soccerdrones with accessories, 10x20ft inflatable arena with netted panels, LED goal set, spare parts, batteries, chargers, instructor onboarding, and camp guides supporting up to 24 students for one school year.
• SOCR.Flight Classroom Simulator Bundle Classroom bundle with one SOCR.Flight drone set and four additional simulator stations enabling students to complete the entire hands-on curriculum. Batteries and charger sold separately.
• SOCR.Flight Batteries & Charger Bundle Battery and charger bundle containing 20x SOCR.Flight Batteries, 4x Quad Battery Chargers, and 4x Fireproof LiPo Battery Bags, sized for six SOCR.Flight Training Systems. A smaller single-quad variant is also sold separately.
• SOCR.Flight Maintenance Kit Replacement parts kit including one unassembled SOCR.Flight Soccerdrone with four spare motors, replacement electronics board, hardware, five sets of SOCR.JOGO plastic cages and bumpers, and six packs of propellers.
• SOCR.Ascend Helsel Soccerdrone Box 40cm aircraft designed by Helsel for top Korean teams. Includes Orqa FPV.Ctrl radio and Ghost receiver, supporting college-level advanced aviation training and competition play.
• Instructor Onboarding, Training, and Support 6-hour virtual training session covering troubleshooting, Betaflight, competition management, and curriculum implementation. Includes unlimited LMS access with 12-module course aligned to FAA and industry standards, video content, lesson plans, activities, flight logbook, instructor guide, and ongoing technical support.
• Career Readiness / CTE Program Career readiness program including rebuildable drones, STEM/CTE video curriculum, and flight simulators for grades 6-12. Features 12 curriculum modules aligned with NGSS, CCTC, FAA, and ICAO standards. Includes FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate preparation and advanced drone courses from DroneU. Eligible for CTE and workforce development funding.
• Drone Camps & Clubs K-12 drone camps and clubs providing everything necessary to implement drone technology programs for ages 8-18, including staff training and career curriculum teaching aviation and technology fundamentals. Expandable with virtual and hands-on flight training, team practices, and ongoing leagues.
• Drone Soccer Academy Hands-on flying robotics program that prepares students for aviation careers through competitive Drone Soccer teams. Teams of 5-10 pilots build, program, fly, and repair aircraft while learning leadership, communication, and engineering problem solving, with a pathway to the Academic Drone Soccer World Cup.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students can earn FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate at age 16
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SUN 'n FUN Aerospace ExpocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026Proud sponsors of Academic Drone Soccer World Cup held at SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida. 2026 event scheduled for April 17-18 at Florida Air Museum.
• Orqa FPVcoreTechnology or Integration · 23 April 2024Strategic partnership with Orqa FPV (based in Osijek, Croatia) for China-free, NDAA-compliant drone components. Orqa provides critical small-UAS technology components including FPV.Ctrl radio and Ghost receiver. Srdjan Kovačević, CEO of Orqa FPV, is also Co-Founder and CTO of CrewConcept.
• Gold Seal Ground SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Gold Seal Ground Schools sponsored Troy High School with online Part 107 Licence prep courses at Academic Drone Soccer World Cup 2026.
• Vets to DronesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Related organization focused on veteran transition to drone technology careers. Presented Operation STEM Gateway initiative at Elon University's Annual Drone Day.
• DroneUcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023Partnership with DroneU for professional drone courses including Part 107 Test Prep, Don't Crash Course, Rapid Orthomosaics with Pix4D React, Advanced Aerial Videography, Cell Tower Inspection, and Commercial Roof Inspection. Courses provide 85 contact hours equaling 2 college semester hour credits.
• STUDIO33minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPackaging design partner for Soccerdrone packaging system, focusing on clarity, precision, and repeatable use.
• PINPROOFminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPackaging development and structural design partner (based in Lithuania) for Drone Soccer product packaging.
• Dongguan Packshion Printing&Packing Co.minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerManufacturing partner for packaging production of Drone Soccer products.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Skydio: Leading U.S. drone manufacturer with an education/public-sector channel. Comparable as a large, U.S.-made drone incumbent that could move further into K-12 STEM and compete for the same NDAA-compliant budget dollars.
• VEX Robotics: Dominant K-12 STEM robotics platform with hardware, curriculum, and competitions. Comparable as a broader incumbent competing for the same CTE/STEM discretionary budgets that fund SOCR programs.
• Parrot: European drone maker with a long-running education line (Parrot Education / ANAFI). Comparable as a broad incumbent offering NDAA-friendly drones plus curriculum, similar to CrewConcept's Orqa-built, EU-sourced positioning.
• FIRST: Operator of large-scale K-12 STEM robotics competitions (FIRST Robotics, FIRST Tech Challenge). Comparable as a community- and competition-driven STEM ecosystem that competes for after-school student engineering engagement.

Direct peers

• DroneU: Commercial drone training and Part 107 prep provider that is both a CrewConcept partner and a direct competitor offering overlapping drone-pilot curriculum. Highly comparable because CrewConcept bundles DroneU courses inside its SOCR program.
• DroneBlocks: Drone coding and STEM education platform for K-12 with block-based programming (Scratch/MakeCode) for drones. Directly competes with CrewConcept's Scratch/Python-compatible curriculum and rebuildable drone kits in the same school-buyer segment.
• Aerial Sports League: Operator of competitive drone soccer leagues and world championships; directly comparable because it sits in the same drone-soccer competition ecosystem that CrewConcept leverages through the Academic Drone Soccer World Cup.
• Drobots: Drone STEM camps and curriculum provider for K-12 schools and summer programs. Closely comparable to CrewConcept's Drone Camps & Clubs offering, including similar turnkey bundle pricing and educator onboarding.
• Flybrix: Buildable, crashable drone kits for STEM classrooms and makerspaces. Closely comparable to CrewConcept's SOCR.Flight rebuildable drone model in form factor and educational use case.

Others

• Orqa FPV: Croatia-based small-UAS hardware maker and CrewConcept's core technology partner (CTO Srdjan Kovacevic is CEO of both). Adjacent rather than competitive, but central to CrewConcept's supply chain and product roadmap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CrewConcept
• Facebookfacebook.com/crewconceptco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crewconcept-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CrewConcept