Business Development Help for Aerospace Startups

Astrophysicist Carl Sagan once said, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”

No matter where we come from, we all have the appetite to create?—?to make a difference. Whether it’s curing a sweet tooth or a business turning over billions, our ability to make an impact is what truly makes us human.

About a year ago I published my first piece on Medium about the lack of real innovation in the aerospace industry; the complex web of government bureaucracy, corporate maneuvering, union lobbying, and a dilapidated infrastructure on the cusp of experiencing a major disaster. It stirred up a lot of attention and raised many questions about the challenges facing the industry. A recent Wired article does a good job of capturing it here: 

“WHY 40-YEAR-OLD TECH IS STILL RUNNING AMERICA’S AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL” - By Sara Breselor

Progress is happening albeit as slow as ever. I look around me and embrace the agility of startups in the tech sector. Those who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in accelerated times. After months of scouting I discovered just one community focussed on supporting startups in the aerospace industry based in Paris?—?STARBURST.

Not long after I published my second piece on Medium, capturing the events that lead to my discussions with its founder, we agreed to gauge interest for replicating the model over in the US. We met a cadre of stakeholders ranging from big industry to government, investors and academia, but most important of all, the existing innovation hubs and its entrepreneurs.

After weeks of being on the road, in over ten cities, we reached an inflection point; there is no shortage of idea labs, bootcamps, incubators or investors. Moreover, the commodity of talent in the US alone is staggering. We met futurists creating technologies for cognitive performance and fatigue monitoring using brain sensors for pilots, while others are looking at geo-fencing drone delivery service providers, both of which are examples of technologies that cannot be nurtured from inside the corporate walls.

For legacy corporates, there is a big shift to externalize R&D for faster product development and smarter design. So how do you provide a platform that protects an early stage startup from the bureaucracy of big business, allow it to thrive at an early stage, all while bringing together the tools for innovation that are already out there?

What started as an opinion piece has now snowballed into a full fledged business venture with a committed plan to launch our first selection committee in September 2015. Every stakeholder we engage agrees Los Angeles is the most industry neutral with easy access and regular traffic going in and out, cohabited by legacy industry and newcomers SpaceX and Virgin Galactic.

Not only is the Starburst Accelerator looking to help promising startups succeed in the aerospace industry by opening doors to the right decision makers but we are also creating a magnet for the next generation of aerospace business in the heart of American aero and astro-nautical engineering. We offer startups network support through business development in exchange for revenue sharing?—?not equity. Together we can take humanity to the next level as Carl Sagan always wanted.

As of today we are officially opening our doors in El Segundo, CA. Join the Starburst community where stars like you can grow AND have your apple pie.

https://starburstaccelerator.com/