ND3 Builds Its Business Through Drones, IT Support

ND3, the Columbia-based company that specializes in government support for IT services, audio visual support, logistics and drone technology,, just keeps growing, less than a decade after it was founded.

Nathaniel Durant founded the company in 2018, while serving in the U.S. Army. Durant served for two decades, much of that time in Iraq, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2020. His company’s work serves government and military clients predominantly through its work with IT support and drones.

ND3 ranked No. 1 in this year’s 50 Fastest Growing Companies in South Carolina recognition, up from No. 3 in last year’s rankings. The number of employees is up slightly as well, increasing from 106 last year to 109 this year. Thirty-nine employees are based in South Carolina.

Drones are a large component of ND3’s work, and Durant’s Columbia office showcases many of the drones that his company helps clients build, while the parking lot is often used as a staging area for teaching about drones.

“We’ve increased our catalog now,” Durant said. “Not only are we teaching for the Part 107 exam, which is the FAA’s certification to commercially fly drones, now we’re teaching people how to build them. And we’re teaching them the FPV, which is that first-person view that you hear about on the news. So we’re teaching them how to build them from scratch, and how to understand the parts of a drone and flight controllers and batteries, and how to put them together. … We’ve expanded our course catalog.”

ND3 has the drone-building components on hand and teaches clients to assemble, solder, and configure the machines.

He said he’s excited to see how drone technology will continue to evolve in the coming years, particularly in aiding first responders.

“When you talk about disaster response – so if you imagine when a hurricane comes through, it damages everything, it tears everything out. So if we can get a large mapping drone up, we can do a real-time map of the area, so for law enforcement in their command posts, they can have a big six-foot-by-six-foot map of what the current situation looks like on the ground,” he said.

And that map can be easily updated as situations change on the ground.

Although drones are a big part of ND3's business, the company also is continuing its work as a subcontractor providing IT support for the Department of Justice.

And ND3 recently won the SBA's  South Carolina District's 2025 8(a) firm of the year, and Durant was named the South Carolina Districts 2026 Small Business Person of the Year.

ND3 has several ongoing contracts with Fort Jackson, Durant said. “One of them is enterprise classroom support. So basically if you think of a digital classroom, or a classroom that’s wired for training and teaching – it’s got microphones in the ceiling, it’s got projectors and automation equipment. So we manage several classrooms that are wired for that kind of stuff across Fort Jackson.”

As the company continues to grow, its space needs are evolving as well. ND3 will soon be moving into expanded facilities near its current offices. One building is 2,400 square foot, the other 1,800 square feet.

“I’ll have a headquarters space and a drone-specific space. … That is coming before the end of the calendar year,” he said.

Durant said ND3 has about $200 million in pending proposals, and he expects the growth to continue.

As for his vision for the future, Durant wants to keep building the business.

“We’ve got our core business, which is the services piece,” he said. “The Fort Jackson work, the classroom support, the IT support across multiple organizations. All of that is our core business. The drone side of the house is something that we’re building out, and we’re going to spend more effort on that.”