6 hours ago 15 Years of Early-Stage Space Finance
This week marks the 15th anniversary of Space Angels Network, so I thought it would be instructive to reflect on the evolution of "NewSpace" venture finance.
An Historic Moment at the Podium
I remember being extremely nervous as I took the stage at the 2006 International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles. I had just been introduced by George Whitesides, who was the Executive Director of the National Space Society and still a few years away from becoming CEO of Virgin Galactic. I scanned the crowd of several hundred attendees, knowing that they were not there to see me but rather the guy scheduled to follow me onstage, Elon Musk. Before I started my talk, I glanced down at the front row and saw Buzz Aldrin sitting right in front of me. He was *definitely* not there to see me!
At the time, I was three years into the founding of the International Association of Space Entrepreneurs, a global community of entrepreneurs, technologists, and a wide variety of space industry professionals. Our group was focused on fostering a growing ecosystem of what had recently been labeled "NewSpace" startups. It did not take us long to identify one of the most pressing obstacles facing space entrepreneurs, namely, lack of early-stage capital. A small group of us decided to do something about it, so we made plans to launch a new specialized community of accredited individual investors willing to fund space ventures.
From that podium on that fateful day 15 years ago, I publicly unveiled our plans for "Space Angels Network".
4 Major Trends ... and Many Significant Milestones
So much has changed in the space industry since 2006!