You Don’t Have To Be A Billionaire To Launch Satellites

There’s a misconception that in order to build a hard tech company you need billions of dollars to even create an MVP. But that’s not always the case. Take Astranis for example. They got their start building a small prototype in an apartment and today they're worth more than a billion dollars and are gearing up to launch four new satellites into space on a dedicated Falcon 9 rocket. We visited Astranis co-founders John Gedmark and Ryan MckLinko to find out how they pulled it off and what lessons they have for founders who want to build a hard tech company of their own.

00:00 - Intro
02:15 - What is it?
03:50 - First steps
06:45 - Demo satellite?
09:00 - Scrappy
10:55 - Testing
12:20 - Satellites to launch

[chapterme]

Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) -
00:00 - Intro: Astranis low-cost satellite
01:08 - YC investment in hard tech companies
02:05 - What is Astranis? How did you start a satellite company?
02:51 - How did you end up recruiting Ryan?
03:44 - How did it become a startup? What were the first steps?
04:56 - What was the day 0 look like?
06:37 - How did you build the demo satellite?
07:59 - Astranis Demo Day Presentation
08:51 - Being scrappy
10:11 - Flight hardware building facility
10:46 - In-house testing facility
12:10 - Satellites going to space this year with SpaceX
13:26 - Outro

[CarletonTorpin]

2:34 I love that the diagram of Earth includes the gravitational-force indication on its grid; it makes it more obvious why Geostationary is more stable than Low-Earth Orbit.

[stPrinciplesFM]

Thanks for stopping by our office! Great to have you guys over while this batch of sats is still on Earth.

[dvs]

5:24 "we're gonna put a satellite in space and show it will work"
What is the functionality of these satellites?
What is the business case??
It would helpful if the video said something about what this satellite can do.

[Arcticwhir]

cool but what do the satellites actually do?? this must be for the US gov/defense contractors, otherwise i dont understand not talking about it.

[ibezimjames]

I love this... But one question yc.

Do u guys invest in startups located in Nigeria?

[Revolution-yl]

I also want to start a space satellite company. I'm from India.a first year college student NIT Trichy one of the prestigious engineering college in india

[sumitahastone]

I’m a radiologist doctor with no background in it and tech but I would want to meet and connect with someone or people who would want to revolutionise mri and ct scanners and bring the cost down to affordable cost for the whole world

[EarthbucksImportExport]

Hello Respected Y combinator authority

This message is especially for honourable Paul Buchheit

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Bhavesh Khatik from India, and I have developed a groundbreaking startup idea that I believe has the potential to disrupt major players like Meta and Google.

I am reaching out to seek your expertise and support in bringing this vision to fruition. I believe that with the right guidance and resources, we can create something truly transformative.

I would love the opportunity to discuss this in detail and explore potential collaboration.


Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Best regards,
Bhavesh Khatik

[Joe-sgll]

11:45 they shouldn't be tricking them

[AlexWilkinsonYYC]

Will YC fund a founder that REALLY likes ice cream? 🤔 I believe the next platform shift will be ice cream and it'll be bigger than AI and web 3 combined. We're talkin' millions of new flavours here, people.