“Startup Space” Celebrates New Ideas at SATELLITE 2017
I’m very excited about all the new features we’re rolling out for the SATELLITE 2017 conference, but I’m especially proud of what I’m hoping will become one of the most popular events of the week – Startup Space 2017, a day-long live pitch competition between 20 emerging space businesses in front of a powerhouse panel of space investors and executives. The idea started this past summer as a collaborative project between our partners at Space Frontier Foundation (hosts of the NewSpace conference) to launch a Shark Tank-style event for new space and satellite entrepreneurs on the U.S. East Coast. Wanting the event to be as visible as a giant rock concert to our community, we decided to launch it right in the middle of SATELLITE’s enormous Exhibit Hall floor on its opening day.
We announced the competition and put out a call for contestants this past fall, expecting to get 20 entries and hoping for 8 qualifying contestants. We were pleasantly shocked to receive nearly 100 entries – all interesting, well thought-out, high quality businesses and concepts – and pleasantly forced to expand the competition to 20 participants. The variety of ideas, products and people involved with Startup Space is remarkable. College students will be competing with industry veterans and former NASA astronauts, each with a common goal to turn their unique vision into a viable new space venture. One of these contestants will receive a grand prize that will put them in guaranteed meetings with the most active private investors in commercial space. In addition to their five minutes of fame on stage, all participants will receive valuable feedback and guidance from our 14 investor judges and undoubtedly make impactful connections with the SATELLITE 2017 community.
Everyone attending SATELLITE will have access to watch the competition regardless of their registration level. Startup Space takes place on Tuesday, March 7 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the exhibit hall’s SATELLITE Unveiled stage. That said, everyone attending should at least spare a few minutes to watch the competition, as it presents a clear picture of what the future of our industry will look like. Startup Space is a celebration and cultivation of new ideas. We’ll be dedicated to growing this event at SATELLITE in the future and will be looking for industry partners to help take it to the next level. This event wouldn’t be possible without the support of our partners Ball Aerospace, Space Angels Network, Astia Capital, RRE Ventures and Space Frontier Foundation. Together, we will work to take another new idea and transform it into something even more exciting!
Click here for more information about the Startup Space event, competitors and judges.