Pilot Dan Stratman says his Airport Life app makes flying a little easier

• Photo by Angela C. Bond
• Dan Stratman: Ready for takeoff

Capt. Dan Stratman had been a Northwest Airlines pilot for two decades when the carrier filed for bankruptcy in 2005. He says Northwest’s financial problems sparked his “entrepreneurial spirit.”

“When you realize your whole financial life is dependent on the crazy airline industry,” he says and then pauses, “it motivated me.”

The pilot began looking for independence. He started a couple of businesses – an aviation consulting company and a photo-to-canvas business – but it wasn’t until he saw a CNBC program called Planet of the Apps that he found the key to what he believes may be his early retirement from the airline industry.

“When you think about it, smartphones and apps and travel are just made for each other,” says Stratman. “It’s like a match made in heaven.”