Same-day shipping across the globe — to Elroy Air cofounder Dave Merrill, this isn’t a dream but a possibility. In 2016, he joined forces with Clint Cope to rethink how cargo gets from point A to point B. Typically, planes transport the goods, but they don’t come cheap. The solution? Create a revolutionary aircraft that’s smart enough to get the job done but affordable enough for every country to access it.

“This knowledge isn’t something you’re born with,” Dave says about being an entrepreneur. “You get it by doing; you get it by talking to people.” Inspired by his experience working at a drone company, he set out to disrupt the aerospace industry along with a scrappy 16-person team of engineers, designers, and computer scientists. Together, they built an autonomous aerial cargo system that can carry a whopping 300 to 500 pounds of cargo over 300 miles — and watched it take flight.

But getting their invention to fly was only half the battle. They nailed the technology but also had to perfect the business. That meant analyzing competitors, calculating how to break even with production and operating costs, and keeping an eye on what comes next. Watch to see how they do it all.