Rockets and Radars: Zero to Millions in Space and Defence Podcast Por Martin Majercin | VC Platform | Founder | Angel Investor arte de portada

Rockets and Radars: Zero to Millions in Space and Defence

Rockets and Radars: Zero to Millions in Space and Defence

De: Martin Majercin | VC Platform | Founder | Angel Investor
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Proven strategies from space & defence founders who went from zero to millions hosted by Martin Majercin. Perfect for early-stage founders and ambitious talent looking to break into space & defence. Space and defence industries are being rebuilt, not in boardrooms, but by founders in startups and laboratories across the world. Each week, Martin brings you their unfiltered stories and tactics for success. New episodes every Friday.Martin Majercin | VC Platform | Founder | Angel Investor Economía Gestión y Liderazgo Liderazgo
Episodios
  • I Built a €1.5M Company That Trains 10,000 NATO Soldiers | Kenneth Skorpen @ BlinkTroll
    Jun 6 2025

    Kenneth Skorpen is the co-founder and CEO of BlinkTroll Robotics, a defence tech startup that has raised €1.5 million just a few days ago.


    In this episode of Rockets and Radars, Kenneth shares his journey from a decade in Norwegian special forces to building moving target systems that increase soldiers' hit accuracy from 10% to 80%. He reveals how his frustration with predictable static training targets during military exercises led him to start tinkering in his garage, eventually founding a company that now serves over 1,000 soldiers and police across Europe.


    Want to get hired in BlinkTroll? https://tally.so/r/3ErqPB

    Want to invest in BlinkTroll? https://tally.so/r/nrbDl2
    -----------------------------------------------


    Chapters:

    (00:00) Introduction

    (02:28) Kenneth's Background

    (08:22) From Oil & Gas to Defence Tech

    (11:00) Finding Co-Founder

    (20:25) Moving from Norway to Denmark

    (28:35) Hiring & Team Building Philosophy

    (34:40) Fundraising Journey & Investor Alignment

    (43:15) Product Strategy & Future Vision

    (49:49) Fire Round: European Defence Industry

    (54:40) Military Procurement Across Nations

    (58:52) European vs American Defencetech

    (01:02:30) Reflections on Training & Purpose


    -----------------------------------------------


    Takeaways:

    1) Military experience provides unique market insight but isn't everything: Kenneth's special forces background gave him credibility and problem awareness, but passion and energy matter more than perfect credentials.


    2) Start building while employed to reduce financial pressure: Kenneth developed his moving target systems while working in oil and gas, avoiding the stress of needing immediate revenue to survive.


    3) Market pull beats technology push every time: Kenneth only founded BlinkTroll in December 2022 when customers were actively requesting his systems, not when the technology was ready.


    4) Find co-founders who complement, don't duplicate your skills: "If there was Kenneth number two, we'd be a terrible team. We'd be fighting over the same drawings." Kenneth handles technical development while Øystein manages sales and business operations - zero overlap, maximum coverage.


    5) Customer tolerance reveals product-market fit strength:"The product was pretty sh*tty to begin with... But our customer saw the value even in a flawed product and continued supporting it." When customers endure bugs because the core value is essential, you've found something worth building.


    6) Geographic arbitrage can unlock growth: Most of our customers were right across the border." Moving BlinkTroll from Norway to Denmark in 2023 provided better ecosystem support, customer proximity, and cultural alignment with defense priorities.


    7) Hire for spark, not just skills: "If you have 10 interviews, there's maybe one person who's got spark in their eyes... not necessarily one with the best education or the best skillsets." Energy and excitement predict performance better than credentials when building early-stage teams.


    8) Align with existing procurement needs, don't create new ones: "There is nobody with power or influence in the military procurement program itself by anything based on their own wishes or desires. They simply act upon what is being requested from them." Find out what the military is already looking to buy and align your product with those existing requirements, rather than trying to create new demand.


    9) Investor alignment matters: "Do you share my values?... Kenneth turned down higher offers from investors who didn't align with BlinkTroll's mission during their fundraising process.


    10) Simplest path to revenue wins over strategic perfection: "What's the shortest way to the money? The simplest solution that gets you revenue as fast as possible." Focus on products that generate cash quickly, then use that revenue to fund longer-term strategic initiatives for sustainable growth.

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    1 h y 6 m
  • How I Raised €70M+ To Detect Fires From Space | Thomas Grübler @ OroraTech
    May 30 2025
    Thomas Grübler is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of OroraTech, Germany's pioneering space-based wildfire detection company that has secured over €70 million in funding. In this episode of Rockets and Radars, Thomas shares his journey from building satellites as a university student to creating a company that provides fire intelligence to firefighters worldwide. He reveals how a simple question - "how can a fire burn for three days without anyone finding it out?" - led to pivoting from hardware to software, securing their first international contracts during COVID, and launching multiple thermal imaging satellites on SpaceX. Thomas discusses raising €37 million in Series B funding, expanding to the US market in Colorado, and his vision for a 100-satellite constellation capable of detecting fires within 30 minutes globally.Want to get hired in OroraTech? https://tally.so/r/3l1yBWWant to invest in OroraTech? https://tally.so/r/mRa0xJ-----------------------------------------------Chapters:(00:00) Introduction(03:28) University Origins & Space Passion(10:05) Advice for Academic Founders(12:50) The Pivot & Customer Discovery(19:22) Building the Founding Team(25:45) Angel Round & Going Global During COVID(31:16) Series A & Business Model Evolution(40:40) CEO Transition & US Market Entry(47:20) Series B & Scaling to 100 Satellites(56:10) Technical Challenges & European Ecosystem(01:02:30) Future Vision & Wisdom-----------------------------------------------Takeaways:1) Personal passion drives persistence through challengesHaving deep personal connection to your problem space gives you unique insights and motivation to push through inevitable obstacles.2) Talk to everyone about your idea - secrecy kills startupsThomas met his co-founder Björn by openly pitching his "very, very bad pitch deck" at a conference.3) Start with free money before touching equity OroraTech secured EXIST grant, ESA contracts, and competition winnings before raising their first equity round.4) Customer confusion forced a crucial pivot"Nobody understood when we were talking about satellites and thermal... Instead they aggregated 25+ existing satellite data sources into one unified product customers could actually understand.5) Engineer mindset can blind you to market realities"We were talking with firefighting agencies and they told us, there's a fire burning for two or three days. People assume existing technology is being used optimally - often it's not.6) COVID accelerated global sales strategy"We needed to sell and we found out that we need to take advantage of this that everyone is happy of taking video calls. Their first major contracts came from Chile and Australia during the pandemic.7) ROI trumps technology coolness for customers"The ROI for someone in Chile who has their own firefighting agency, a private one, who is losing money every season... needs to protect their shareholders' interest actually."8) Space doesn't make you special to investors"You shouldn't talk about space too much. You are not selling to space, and your investors are not doing space." Focus on the problem you solve and market you serve, not the technology that enables it.9) Series B requires bulletproof numbers, not just vision"In Series B, they check all the numbers. The due diligence is not only based on a few customer interviews, but they really dig into the numbers" OroraTech had to prove scalable product-market fit with hard metrics, not just early customer traction.10) US market entry demands local presence and patience"All the statistics say that you're not successful if you don't have a local entity there and local people there. It's a different culture." After years of struggling to win US customers remotely, OroraTech finally established their Colorado subsidiary in 2024.
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    1 h y 2 m
  • I Built Europe's 5G Space Network With Zero Co-Founders | Omar Qaise @ OQ Technology
    May 23 2025

    Omar Qaise is the founder of OQ Technology, Luxembourg's first New Space startup as well as Europe's leading satellite 5G operator in direct-to-device connectivity.


    In this episode of Rockets and Radars, Omar shares his journey from working at ESA and DLR to founding a space startup without co-founders in 2016. He reveals how he secured early contracts, demonstrated the world's first satellite 5G connectivity through Tiger missions, and focused on connecting industrial assets beyond cellular coverage. Omar discusses securing €13M in Series A funding co-led by Aramco Ventures, winning the prestigious EIC Accelerator grant, and his vision for a European constellation enabling seamless global connectivity competing with American players.


    Want to get hired in OQ Technology? https://tally.so/r/nWdj4J

    Want to invest in OQ Technology? https://tally.so/r/mePYbq


    -----------------------------------------------


    Chapters:

    (00:00) Introduction

    (02:47) From ESA to Solo Founder

    (06:45) Why Luxembourg

    (10:52) First ESA Contracts

    (15:20) Patenting Strategy

    (19:38) Tiger-1 Mission

    (24:10) Securing €1.5M Seed Round

    (29:32) Aramco Partnership

    (35:45) Tiger-2 Mission

    (41:20) Series A: Raising €13M and Scaling the Company

    (48:30) Batch-1 Constellation

    (52:47) Direct-to-Smartphone Pivot

    (57:18) Winning the EIC Accelerator

    (01:02:30) Future Vision


    -----------------------------------------------


    Takeaways:

    1) Start alone if you have to - Omar started alone when others saw space as too risky: "The entrepreneurial mindset is not for everyone. Finding the right co-founder is difficult, but at some point, I had to take the decision to start the company and take the risk."


    2) Speed beats perfection - When asked if he'd spend more time finding co-founders, Omar emphasized momentum: "If you miss the opportunity, then it's an issue. Especially in space right now, things are moving very fast."


    3) Institutional funding needs commercial vision - Omar warns against getting trapped in technical development: "Once you get into technical development and excellence, you need always to keep in mind the commercial aspect. As engineers, we just love to build things and get sucked into the technical and forget about the business."


    4) Strategic patents create MOATs - OQ's early patents on satellite 5G technology became part of global standards: "Big companies try to push their patents to be part of the standard. That gives you a huge leverage, a big barrier to entry, but also potentially royalties in future."


    5) Trade shows should target customers, not space peers - Unlike most space startups, OQ focused on customer-centric events: "We go to the trade shows where we can sell. Maybe a lot of companies will go to space trade shows, but there you get people who try to sell you space things."


    6) Focus on real pain points beyond cell coverage - Omar identified critical gaps in global connectivity: "Beyond the cell tower in remote rural areas, in the seas, you don't have any connectivity solution that works with cellular."


    7) Capital efficiency is a competitive advantage - Omar strategically allocated limited resources: "We did have budget allocated, plus there are instruments and tools that help us in securing this without exhaustive cost at the beginning."


    8) Orbit demonstration creates unmatched experience - Flying early gave OQ Technology irreplicable knowledge: "We've been through a lot of learning and mistakes that we had to correct. Any company trying now to access that also has to go through this whole cycle."


    9) European space needs ambitious growth investments - Omar identifies a critical funding gap: "There's a lot of focus and investment on early stage, but you're gonna have companies that evolve to the scale-up stage."


    10) Geopolitics can create market openings - Omar recognized how global tensions create strategic opportunities: "Europe needs to be independent with its infrastructure and technology."

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    52 m
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