How Rural America Is Launching Satellites, Literally with Matthew Voss COO of Near Space Launch

0:01Light that spark fire nation JLD here and welcome to entrepreneurs on fire brought to you by high level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today, we'll be breaking down how innovation knows no zip code. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Matthew Voss and the EO Fire Studios. Matthew is the CEO of Near Space Launch, leading over 100 successful satellite missions while building a thriving aerospace hub right in rural Indiana, proof that innovation knows no zip code. And today, we'll talk about building aerospace tech with a small town team competing on a global stage. We'll talk about entrepreneurs building high-tech and capital-intensive businesses in rural communities and oh, so much more.

0:40And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Matthew and our sponsors. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white-label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today. Hello, and we have Matthew Voss here with us today. He is the president of Nearspace Launch, leading over 100 successful satellite missions while building a thriving aerospace hub right in rural Indiana. Proof that innovation knows no zip code.

1:23And Matthew, you are literally launching satellites from rural Indiana. How did Nearspace Launch prove that world-class innovation can happen far, far away from Silicon Valley? Hmm. So it's about the people and where they choose to be. And they chose to start out of a university 10 years ago. And so they were in Taylor University. One of the co-founders from Lockheed, Martin, started the engineering program, had a passion for space and seen how they could work with university students and grow that. And so that's how it started its journey and then continued on with manufacturing over the last 10 years, which led to our thousand systems on orbit.

2:00Now, I did talk to you in the pre-interview chat, and you said that maybe you didn't quite get 100 satellites to a pure successful launch. That's right, yeah. Talk about that. Yeah, well, the goal is always 100 % mission success. So you try your best, but it's a little hard to work on something in orbit once it's going. So we found, you know, you iterate and get better over time. And so there was a different level of mission success. We didn't always make the max success level we wanted. So there's a couple satellites that I'd like to go up there and do a little repairs on. so we'll have to find some astronauts willing, but we got a pretty high level there.

2:33Now, what does it look like when you don't have a complete success? I mean, what are really the areas that you come up short? Yeah, if the payload information doesn't get all to you, so people have to come with us their mission, their idea, and so there's a lot of different levels of success. And so how do we rate that? And so if we can look at the operation of the satellite itself and how it's doing and giving you power and energy, that's fantastic. But if it's not giving you a lot of power, you have to just lower your expectation and get less information that you wanted. Now, what would you consider your dream satellite launch?

3:06If you could just have had that perfect launch where everything happens right, the satellite's there, it's functioning at full capacity, what does that look like? Tell us about that dream. Yeah, it'd be a mission. There's a lot of different kinds of missions. We just love working with the different customers that are out there. There's so many different people that come with mission ideas. And so if we see their experiment succeed and what they were looking for or discovery coming from that, or if it's a matter of expanding some new innovation, it's exciting for us. So we're excited to see constellations launched.

3:38And that's something we're moving into is we used to launch one satellite at a time. Now we're launching up to 100 at a time. I want to talk a little bit more about this later, but I want to just dive quickly into rural Indiana. Give me a couple pros of the fact that you're in rural Indiana, and then give me a couple cons. Well, it costs a little less to be there, so that's a big factor. Big time. We have some of our colleagues in Silicon Valley that I think cost over a million dollars to buy a home. It isn't the case for us. There's also a lot of opportunity for innovation. There's a lot of untapped opportunity there from talent, I think, that can be developed over ages.

4:15You have to be intentional about it from the workforce side. But we see there's ways to grow that. And we've been doing that over the past 10 years and accessing that. Two cons. Two cons is obviously we're not right next door to our neighbors that can make big decisions with us. And so you have to be very intentional about connecting with them. Another con is that you just have to work on drawing the talent to your location and be very intentional about it versus just let it come to you naturally. So it's an extra part of your business you have to work on. Well, that first thing could actually kind of be a pro because at the same time, they can't micromanage you as much.

4:49That's right. They kind of like peek in on you when you're not necessarily ready or expecting. They're going to have to be like, we're going to have to like take three connecting flights to get to Whirl, Indiana. We're going to need you to pick us up like in a flatbed tow truck. I'm bringing you all back. It is true. You get to work on your product more. So you're focused on what you're doing versus being in too many meetings. I mean, listen, you're talking to a guy that was an Army veteran. I was in the Army for eight years. I was in Fort Knox, Kentucky. I was in Fort Riley, Kansas. So I love me the Midwest.

5:14Like it's the heartland for a reason. Yep. We all are. Good times. Good stuff there. So. Pros and cons to everywhere. Absolutely. And you have over 1 ,000 systems and both subsystems in orbit. What's it like building aerospace tech with a small town team and competing on a global stage? Yeah. Well, thankfully, we came into the market when it was really expanding into new areas. And so there's a need for rapid on space never seen before. So we need to get stuff up there in less than a year. And for a small team, that's just where you need an agile team. And so that's something we really want to stress as a critical part of small business of helping that.

5:51Because a lot of these larger primes are taking three to four years to get stuff on orbit. And they are shrinking that consistently. But our small business team can do that in about six to nine months. Six to nine months. That's right. Okay. Now, quick question. Do you have like a favorite university or college or graduate program that you pull from to your business? Do you have one? I mean, there's a lot of great ones, but maybe just give one a shout out if you want to. Well, we really enjoy working with Taylor University. That's where we grew out of. It's a small college of about 3 ,000 people, but that's helped launch the first satellite with Indiana.

6:25That's where two co-founders, they worked at Taylor University before launching this program. Wow. So we have a very strong passion of education, but we've gotten to collaborate with over many universities in the Midwest region and also on the coast. Well, I went to Providence College in Rhode Island, just 4 ,000 people. So I love those small kind of intimate schools. You know, you really, everybody knows your name, so to speak. Goldman Sachs just committed$100 million to expand its 10 ,000 small business program into rural America, which is right up your alley. How has that program accelerated your company's growth and your company's impact?

7:01Yeah, it's bringing resources to groups that didn't have that before. And so I think it's getting groups to think about the finances, how to really scale and grow. A lot of opportunities, a lot of great foundation companies that have a great baseline of product. And so to invest in that, I think they'll see a lot of fruit from that$100 million investment. And so I'm excited to see where that goes in the future years for these different groups that go through the program like we did. How did you first hear about the program? It was recommended to be by some of our economic development groups in the area.

7:31And they were excited to partner with Goldman Sachs. If you could say your one single most favorite thing about the program that you personally experienced, what would that be? Yeah, the Goldman Sachs program gave us time to work on the business. And so pull aside when you're building satellites, working on partnerships, you don't have the time to think about, oh, what are we doing in the five years from now? That's one of the blessings and tough parts of a small business is how do we scale this and spend the time to think about that? So it's really given a nice roadmap for us for the next few years to really execute now.

8:07Now, Goldman Sachs is listening, but they're amazing individuals. So the question has to be, what's one maybe critique or piece of constructive feedback you would give them from being in the program? Always room for improvement for all different programs. And, you know, I think they really do respect the time of the individuals as we're trying to work on these programs that we're working full time on the car while it's running. but always trying to find ways to help us work on the business while finding time to work on the course too. So it's a very intense course. It's almost like a second job for us.

8:38So how to spread that out maybe more or how do we actually get to do both things? So I just need two of me to do the Golden Sacks course and my business at the same time. Now, what unique challenges and also hidden advantages do you see for entrepreneurs who are building high-tech or capital-intensive businesses in rural communities? By the way, you're doing both. You're building a high-tech and capital-intensive business. This is an and-or. Yeah. What advice would we provide to those groups? It's a journey. Let's take your time. It doesn't have to be built overnight. We're 10 years into this, and I think there's a goal for supersizing these things within a couple years.

9:18To build a good product, it sometimes takes iterations and development, and then when you've done that hard work, then look at the capital growth, and they'll come to you a lot easier. Also, it'll be a lot easier to bring talent in when you have a proven success story on Orbit or with whatever tech you're delivering. So prove that it works first, do some prototyping, iterate, and then step into that next stage when you're ready. And Fire Nation will be stepping into the second part of this interview, which is a doozy, when we get back from thanking our sponsors. For entrepreneurs like you and me, cashflow isn't just another line item, it's everything.

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11:38On top of it all, their support team is second to none and has your back every step of the way. Seriously, every question that pops up, they will have your answer waiting. And if you visit my special partnership link, you'll get a free trial. So visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial and see why thousands of businesses are switching. That's highlevelfire.com, where marketing, sales, and automation finally come together. High level, join the revolution. Now, what ways have you found that you are able to best motivate the employees, the people that are working in your company. I mean, they're living in rural India.

12:17Some of them maybe are not used to being, you know, from or in like the Midwest and the heartland of America. They might be from a big city. They might be international from overseas. And this is kind of a culture shock for some people. So what are some things that like you have found to consistently motivate these individuals to wake up every morning to come to work ready to produce? Yeah, I think people are looking for different rhythms of life. I think some people aren't called to live in a rural location and some are. Sometimes it's a thing that you learn to appreciate over time, the slowness of life while it's already really busy.

12:51So it's a very rewarding work. We get to see a lot of these projects that we bring into our community also transform the area. People get to be a part of the recreating of what the community can look like as we scale this. So there's a direct impact on the business that you're building there affecting the community around it and people are thankful for that. And so there's a lot of being on mission together. Like what does it mean to work in a rural location. We don't try to hide anything from that. We're excited. We take ownership and we're just like, let's redefine what rural looks like. Do you have anything to do with the hiring process of your business?

13:23I still do a lot of the hiring there. Very cool. So now this is coming from a perspective of other presidents, like other founders, other CEOs, is what are some lessons that you've learned during the hiring process you could pass along to those people that are listening, that are looking to launch a company like yours that's tech intensive that you know is capital intensive like what would you say to them is like hey i made these mistakes maybe you can avoid them yeah that's a great question i definitely feel like i learned a lot through the process i think there needs to be appreciation for the differences of who you hire so don't try to copy the same person who you are and hire that same person because sometimes you need diversity on your team and just respecting that different way of thinking and so really i think it's easier to say hey the part that i'm really crushing or doing And voila, I need to hire someone to do that so I can go to the other step.

14:10But maybe you should get someone that's gifted at the things you don't like doing. Focus on that. It's common sense. But sometimes you tend to want to hire people similar to yourself. Common sense is not always common practice. That's right. Let's be honest. This is not true. Now, one thing that I learned pretty early on in running my business, and I'm curious if this applies to you at all with what you do with a very tech-intensive, very capital-intensive a business is I look at each one of like my employees very individually. And I say, if I bring you on and I want to hire you because I've identified this individual as the right person.

14:43So I'm trying to bring them into the team and maybe they have a couple of competing offers. Maybe they don't, but I really want to hire this person. I always go to them and say, Hey, what's one thing that would just really make this job the best job for you as an individual? because everybody's life is different, you know? And for one person, it was like, hey, if I could just get off of work every Friday at noon, then I'd be able to like spend so much more time with my family, take them on weekend trips, and I'll put in an extra hour of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday to make up for that.

15:13But that would just be such a game changer. And another individual was just, you know, like, hey, if I could honestly take my dog into work, like it's a little dog that just snuggles up in my, like that would just make me so happy the entire day because I, you know, I just have a hard time being away from this. And again, those are just two random examples, but there's tens, if not hundreds of examples you could give in that area. And I like to say, you know, yes to that individual request, because then that individual knows that, hey, I can maybe get another job offer for a similar like wage or with similar time off or similar options in the stock, whatever it might be.

15:49But I'm not going to get that. I'm not going to get that Friday noon off. I'm not going to get the ability to bring my dog, you know, those random things. And I found that that keeps them longer because of that reason. So it's not always just about them. I can make$5 ,000 more or I can do X, Y, or Z. Have you ever employed any of that or thought about that with your business? Yeah, I think there's a lot of flexibility of letting the team take ownership of what they're doing and giving a bunch of, I like to say it's a bunch of stallions running the same direction. I like that. I'm surrounded by very talented people.

16:21I can do the job better than I can as my goal. and so to track that I think yeah there's those conversations that we're open to of you know ways of doing living and so we're still working that out as we prepare to scale it's interesting to go I feel like different stages you know and as we hire and what those requirements are and who gets those freedoms who might not as we try to add like you know 10 people in a couple months you know how do you do that quickly but keep your culture and so that kind of cultural question because we're on mission together as a startup that's growing into a next stage and scaling what is those questions and how those people interact with other people.

16:55But you're right, really people need to have freedom of choice. And we respect that a lot. So how do you keep that down mentality as you scale is a tough trade off. Now I asked this to Barry, the previous guest, and it was an interesting question. It's going to be something that maybe has you think for a second, but think of all your employees. If they could describe you in one word, what would you want that one word to be. Empowering. Empowering. I want to empower each of those guys and gals to just be able to grow and take on the ownership and see that as their job. It's not mine or the other co-founders.

17:32It's a team that really wants to grow this thing. And so I'm excited to see each of them grow. I've seen some of them, they were a high schooler intern that went to college and now they're our full-time employees and they're some of our best team members. And so it's just fun to see them take part of that and want to see the company better than what I could make it. I love that you chose the word empower because to me, I'm picturing the type of individual that would want to go work for a company like yours. And like, that's what they're going to want. Like they're going to want to be empowered.

17:58They're going to want to have the freedom to fulfill their passions and to explore their interests. So that's very cool. Now, you've also co-founded Nearspace Education to inspire students locally. How are you helping the next generation see rural communities as launch pads instead of limitations? Yeah, so Neurospace Education, we did grow out of a university. And so NSL, Neurospace Launcher, commercial site actually had a passion at first helping with academic, then moved to commercial, then government contracts. And we had mission drift towards the most commercial projects and constellations.

18:32We wanted to find a way to keep that educational P in the heart into it. And so we launched our nonprofit. And that has a goal to really help with students locally, but also regionally and nationally. So locally, we are doing the space camps and aerospace things. but we're also saying why can't K through 12 and university students go to more space launch on a SpaceX mission so we actually have a dream big mission where we're starting to engage universities we're working with six of them Notre Dame Valparaiso Taylor University a lot of those other groups they're great schools building them all and then we're gonna launch them on a SpaceX mission here in February and so SpaceX so that is a very exciting one those each of those universities reach out locally to their K through 12 group so we have some great technology we want to give to the schools and say hey you could go to space within one year with your program while you're a student.

19:17So that would just redefine the STEM discussion for our students. And so we want to empower the educators with the greatest tools and we're hiring teachers in that nonprofit to really make that an easier transition. So we have some ambitions to see that grow nationally, one satellite for every state. So it's got some really cool ways to really change how we see space before it's for one or two people, but really it can be accessible. And let's make that happen. What a worthy goal. I love it. Good luck with that. For the rural business owners that are listening right now, and there are a number, what in your recommendation would be their first step they could take to attract talent, capital, and opportunity right where they are?

19:59I think it's just a spirit of learning. There's a lot of resources out there, first of all, that we just don't know about. And just trying to figure out where they're at, research it, kind of seek it out. You're doing that in your business already. just take that same approach to the government resources, the ones out there. So we're always trying to relearn things or start things that might already be there. And so first make sure that's there and with the great access that we have online, see what we can find. And I'm continuing to find things that I was like, oh, that's a great idea, but oh, it's there.

20:28There's a resource there for it. And so I always feel like I'm learning all the time of these great resources. Very cool. Well, Matthew, take a step back as we end here with a bang. And just what would you like to share with our audience over everything that we've talked about today? What would you want the one takeaway to be for our listeners? I think this is going to be a very changing next five, 10 years. We don't know what it is. I think a spirit of curiosity, a spirit of redefining what you define things have to be. Redefine what rural is. Redefine what AI will do for you. redefine a lot of different things and just think creatively and see those places as places of innovation, change and transformation.

21:11So I speak a lot about ecosystems and how we interact with those. I've been blessed to work in a lot of different ones. The best places are when you see them cross over and new ideas emerge. So I'm excited to see people be curious to enter different people's worlds. Well, Matthew Voss, president of Near Space Launch, congratulations for everything you've accomplished. Thank you for being here today and sharing your words of wisdom and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you for your time. It's been a blessing to be here. And a huge thank you to Matthew and our sponsors for sponsoring today's episode.

21:42And Fire Nation, if you want to accomplish your number one goal in 100 days, what are you waiting for? Thefreedomjournal.com is waiting for you. Accomplish your number one goal in 100 days, thefreedomjournal.com. I'll catch you there or on the flip side.