Post Launch (T+21 days)

Posted by admin | Filed under CU Aerospace, Entrepreneurs, Scott Tibbits, Students, eSPACE

It has been quite a ride these past couple of weeks.  There was much thinking on our end prior to launch,  ”If we build it they will come”, or possibly “If we build it will they come?”.  The response to eSpace has been beyond what we expected. We have had a continual string of space entrepreneurs contacting us to see how they can be involved, with products as varied as methane rocket engines to secondary payload providers to companies reducing risk for launch providers to lunar X-prize contenders to companies developing FPGA electronics for use in space.  From companies that are well established and looking to get to the next level, to individuals with good ideas but looking to develop a business.  The question is quickly shifting to “now that they are coming, how and who best to partner and support…”

The exiting thing personally is the diversity….all we have talked to can likely benefit from the right resources applied, but each situation is very different.

It has also been good to connect with other organizations working the challenge of forwarding aerospace entrepreneurship.  We met with two of these recently to talk about how to best to work together;   Space Angel’s Network and the Colorado Aerospace Innovation Center, a partnership of the Boulder Innovation Center and the Eighth Continent Project.

Burton Lee is the Director of Space Angel’s network.  He has been in the middle of space entrepreneurship for several years now, looking to pair opportunities with his investor network.  You can take a look at his organization at www.spaceangelsnetwork.com.We will be working with Space Angels network as a potential funding source for ventures that have the kind of potential rate of return that are attractive to equity investors.  Burton’s entrepreneurial involvement is broad.  He was recently appointed to the Stanford faculty to head up   ”European Entrepreneurism” as an area of study at the University.

Burke Forte of Eighth Continent and Tim Bour of the Boulder Innovation Center have developed the Eighth Continent  Aerospace Incubator, based on a powerful model the Boulder Innovation Center has developed for creating new companies from promising technologies. Their focus is on developing companies that utilize technologies deriving from, or related to aerospace.  Our organizations will be looking to cross-strap as we support ventures that can benefit from each others capabilities.

Scotty

Permalink | Comments (0) | Feb 11, 2009

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