It's also possible that they took his idea seriously but not him seriously. They might have thought "this guy's idea is good but he's a pilot hacking some slopp

It's also possible that they took his idea seriously but not him seriously. They might have thought "this guy's idea is good but he's a pilot hacking some sloppy code together in his spare time, we'll go with a 'REAL' software firm so our pilot can focus on piloting." It may just be a matter of an employee convincing his employer of the need for the app and then getting outbid by a smooth talking enterprise salesman.