Check Out Jack Evans’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Evans.

Hi Jack, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Mr. Jack Evans is a Photographer and an FAA Certified Drone Pilot. He’s been involved with aviation since 1972 and learned to fly at Scottsdale Muni (now Scottsdale Airport). After a successful Air Force career, he retired with over 3,500 hours of jet time.

After graduating from Arizona State University, Evans entered the U.S. Air Force where he became qualified in the B-52 bomber. He held numerous positions in the Air Force including commanding five major organizations and he served at the Pentagon on two occasions. One of the more interesting assignments was working for Gen Colin Powell on the Joint Staff. Colonel Evans division was responsible for developing the process for use of nuclear codes used by the President. During exercises, Evans would act as the President allowing military members to exercise their part for training and evaluation.

After 26 years in the Air Force, Colonel Evans retired and in 2004 he started his first company, Total Airport Services (TAS). TAS grew from 9 people doing ramp scrubbing in San Francisco to 2,100 people at 8 major airports around the country. TAS became well known for it’s cargo, warehousing, and passenger services for major air carriers both international and domestic. He has now run five different companies primarily involved with aviation, but he’s always been involved in photography.

Corporate Capture LLC is his third new-start and is involved with drone video and photography. Whether it’s been time-lapse videos for the airlines or promotional videos for companies, Evans has been at the forefront of photography and aviation.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The toughest part with my first new-start, Total Airport Services (Corporate Capture is my third new-start) was managing cash flow and becoming a master of everything from making coffee for the office to handling complex Human Resource issues, especially in the State of California.

With the current company, Corporate Capture, we have three business lines. Those are Residential/Commercial Real Estate, Construction Project Management, and Cinema. Each business line has its own unique challenges and requires different set of equipment to succeed. Residential/Commercial Real Estate requires smaller drones, some which can fly through a house or office to show the interiors. Construction Project Management requires an industrial drone that is much bigger and requires a different skill set in planning. Cinema requires a larger drone still and probably the greatest skill to capture footage that is pleasing to the eye,

Our drone pilots spend several days each week flying the different drones to be proficient on the technique required. The other challenge is post-processing. You can be a great photographer or videographer, but if you cannot make the picture look great then all of the great flying and photography skills are lost in post-processing.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Corporate Capture is technically challenging while being fun creatively. The challenge first is mastering the ability to fly the drone cinematically. Viewers want to see something that’s entertaining and pleasing to the eye. Next, you must be able to tell a story that gets your viewers involved in your video. The stories must be succinct and engaging all within the span of about 2-minutes.

One of the major problems that all companies have now is “ghosting,” that’s people failing to show for scheduled interviews and appointments. Some companies estimate that the numbers could be as high as 70%. That’s a huge waste of time and energy for a company. We have gone in and with an introductory video we reduced this to 0% “ghosting.” What we do is inform candidates and employees about the company and its benefits. We create energy and enthusiasm so people are excited about the company and the opportunities provided by a position. The result is that we have a show rate of 100%.

How do you think about luck?
I have always gone by the definition of luck, That is when preparation meets opportunity. I try to think ahead and prepare myself and my companies for various outcomes. Sometimes the preparation works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. Obviously observers see the times it works out and think, “Wow, they are lucky!”

With TAS, we started out thinking of ourselves as a ground handling company for cargo and passenger aircraft. When TAS sold, it commanded a very high multiple just for that reason. What people didn’t see was the work we put into getting to that position. TAS started out doing ramp scrubbing. We eventually got into ground handling. It took us four more years to get into passenger services and then another five years to really establish ourselves as a major player in that business line of aviation. But if you look at the business plan written ten years prior, we had always planned on preparing and moving in that direction. So when the company sold as part of the greatest deal in aviation history people said we were lucky. We weren’t lucky; we had prepared.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.corpcapture.com

Image Credits
Danielle Evans, Corporate Capture