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
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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

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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.

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

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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

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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."