Dan Berkenstock: Launching into Uncharted Space [Entire Talk]

TL;DR

Building a satellite startup requires rugged determination, extensive customer discovery, and a credible market for low-cost technology. Skybox Imaging applied commercial electronics, open-source software, commoditized hardware, and agile development to small satellites, aiming to monitor large numbers of locations daily and convert imagery and video into useful answers for businesses, consumers, and governments.

Transcript

Hi, and thanks for the warm welcome. My name is Dan Berkenstock. I was a PHD student here in aeronautics and astronautics from 2004 to 2009-ish. I got a little confusing at the end there, yeah. Not quite sure what's happening. Just for quick intros, we knows we got Ching-Yu Hu. Hi. Another cofounder who is in MS&E, we've got John Fenwick, who is in... Read More

Key Insights

• Skybox Imaging was founded to expand the overhead monitoring market by making frequent observation economically practical. Its strategy depended on deploying many satellites, which required designing each satellite at a much lower cost than conventional aerospace systems.
• Skybox satellites were designed at roughly the size of a small refrigerator. The team used commercial off-the-shelf electronics, open-source software, commoditized hardware, agile development, and other Silicon Valley practices to reduce cost and increase the scalability of satellite production.
• Skybox imagery was intended to reveal operationally meaningful objects such as airplanes, shipping containers, cars, and railroad cars. The stated resolution could not show license plates, identify people, or reliably distinguish one person's car from another person's car.
• Skybox satellites were designed to produce both imagery and high-resolution video from space. The team believed video could provide better insight into how events unfold, supplementing the static observations commonly associated with mapping and satellite-imagery products.
• Skybox's intended product was information rather than pictures alone. The company wanted to count cars in a parking lot, compare activity with the previous week, month, or year, and aggregate observations globally for consumers, businesses, and governments.
• The original entrepreneurial effort grew from the Google Lunar X PRIZE announced in 2007. A group of 40 students considered applying CubeSat methods and their combined skills in software, mechanical design, optics, and program management to a commercial lunar rover mission.
• The 2007–2008 financial crisis caused prospective financing for the lunar initiative to disappear. Instead of abandoning the underlying technical approach, the founders continued investigating how scalable, cost-effective Silicon Valley methods could be introduced into aerospace.
• Customer discovery changed Skybox from a technology seeking a market into a developing business. After taking MS&E 273, the founders contacted satellite-imagery resellers, built a business plan, incorporated, held recurring Monday meetings, and pitched more than 50 venture capital firms over 6.5 months.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Skybox Imaging plan to lower satellite costs?

Skybox Imaging planned to lower costs by building satellites roughly the size of a small refrigerator with commercial off-the-shelf electronics, open-source software, commoditized hardware, agile development, and other practices associated with Silicon Valley. Lower unit costs were essential because the company's vision required many satellites to monitor tens or hundreds of thousands of locations on Earth every day.

Q: What market did Skybox Imaging want to create?

Skybox Imaging wanted to dramatically expand what it called the overhead monitoring market. The company aimed to observe tens or hundreds of thousands of locations daily and turn those observations into actionable information. Potential users included consumers, businesses, and governments seeking better data for efficient, profitable, and safe decisions related to economic activity and national security.

Q: What could Skybox satellite imagery identify?

Skybox imagery could show objects at the scale of airplanes, shipping containers, cars, and railroad cars. These objects move around Earth's surface and can indicate economic or security activity. The imagery was not intended to reveal license plates, identify individual people, or determine whether a visible vehicle belonged to one specific person rather than another.

Q: Why did Skybox Imaging produce video from space?

Skybox planned to produce high-resolution video as well as still imagery because video could provide insight into how activity unfolds over time. This capability complemented static pictures and supported the company's broader ambition to explain what was happening at observed locations. The founders intended to market it as the world's first high-resolution video from space.

Q: How did Skybox plan to turn imagery into useful data?

Skybox wanted to move beyond providing a picture of a location by answering specific questions about it. For example, its systems could count cars in a parking lot, compare that count with the prior week, month, or year, and combine results globally. The objective was to deliver structured information that directly supported decisions rather than imagery requiring manual interpretation.

Q: How did the Google Lunar X PRIZE influence Skybox?

The Google Lunar X PRIZE, announced in 2007, inspired Dan Berkenstock and other Stanford students to consider a commercial lunar mission. The prize offered $20 million for landing a rover on the Moon, driving it, taking pictures, and returning data. Their planning brought together experience in CubeSats, software, mechanical design, optics, and program management.

Q: Why did the founders take Stanford's MS&E 273 class?

A venture capitalist reviewed the founders' four early slides and satellite prototype, then told them the technology was interesting but their market understanding was inadequate. He recommended MS&E 273. Through the class, they interviewed satellite-imagery resellers, investigated the existing market, developed a business plan, improved their pitch, and met an attorney who later helped them incorporate.

Q: What startup lessons did the Skybox founders emphasize?

The founders emphasized rugged determination, persistent customer discovery, and disciplined execution. They continued after the 2007–2008 financial crisis erased prospective financing for their lunar concept. After incorporating, they established Monday meetings, assigned action items, refined their story, sought introductions, and spent 6.5 months pitching more than 50 venture capital firms at a pace of three pitches per day on at least two days each week.

Summary

In this video, the founders of Skybox Imaging, Dan Berkenstock, Ching-Yu Hu, John Fenwick, and Julian Mann, discuss the journey of building their company. They discuss the challenges they faced, such as raising funds, finding a market, and scaling their culture. They also share the lessons they learned along the way, including the importance of having a clear vision, being scrappy, and building strong relationships. The founders emphasize the need to constantly iterate and adapt in order to succeed in the startup world.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Skybox Imaging's vision?

Skybox Imaging's vision is to dramatically increase the overall size of the overhead monitoring market by building satellites that can monitor tens or hundreds of thousands of locations on earth on a daily basis.

Q: How does Skybox build its satellites?

Skybox builds satellites that are about the size of a small refrigerator and are built using commercial off-the-shelf electronics, open source software, and other techniques that have made Silicon Valley scalable. They focus on designing low-cost satellites that can provide high-quality images.

Q: What is the benefit of Skybox's satellites producing video as well?

Skybox's satellites not only produce imagery but also high-resolution video from space. This can provide people with better insight into daily activities happening around the world.

Q: How does Skybox differentiate itself from current mapping services like Google Maps?

Skybox aims to provide not just pictures but also data and answers to questions about the images they capture. They want to provide information that can help businesses, governments, and consumers make more efficient and safer decisions.

Q: How did the founders come up with the idea of starting Skybox Imaging?

The idea for Skybox Imaging came about when Dan Berkenstock, a PHD student in aeronautics and astronautics, saw an opportunity to apply the principles of Silicon Valley to the aerospace industry. He gathered a team of talented individuals and started exploring the possibility of building small satellites for overhead monitoring.

Q: What were the initial challenges faced by Skybox Imaging?

One of the initial challenges faced by Skybox was raising funds for their project. They also had to find a market and validate their technology before they could launch their first satellite. Additionally, they had to learn how to navigate the regulatory landscape and build a team with diverse skills.

Q: How did Skybox overcome the challenge of getting real data before launching their first satellite?

To overcome the challenge of getting real data, Skybox created simulated imagery and bought existing satellite imagery to show potential customers what they could expect from their satellites. They even went as far as buying a Learjet and attaching a camera to replicate the type of images they would capture from space.

Q: How did Skybox build its team?

Skybox initially hired their friends from Stanford who had experience in various fields, including space missions and big data companies. As they grew, they focused on hiring people with diverse backgrounds and skills. They also formed partnerships and sought advice from experts in the industry.

Q: How did Skybox maintain transparency and collaboration as the company grew?

Skybox maintained transparency by having regular updates and briefings for the entire team, including sharing board meeting materials with the entire company. They also created a culture of openness and collaboration, where ideas and feedback were encouraged and valued.

Q: What lessons did the founders learn during their journey with Skybox Imaging?

The founders learned the importance of having a clear vision, being scrappy and resourceful, building strong relationships, and constantly iterating and adapting. They also emphasized the need to scale the company's culture as they grew and to focus on hiring people who are passionate about the company's mission.

Takeaways

Skybox Imaging's founders shared their journey of building the company, highlighting the importance of having a clear vision, being resourceful, building strong relationships, and constantly iterating and adapting. They emphasized the need to focus on the near-term path to revenue and to hire people who are passionate about the company's mission. The founders also highlighted the importance of maintaining transparency and collaboration as the company grows and to scale the company's culture. Overall, they emphasized that building a startup is a journey that requires determination and the ability to learn and adapt along the way.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Skybox Imaging began with Stanford students exploring whether CubeSat-inspired methods could support a commercial lunar mission. When the 2007–2008 financial crisis eliminated prospective financing, the founders retained their core idea: apply Silicon Valley practices, commercial electronics, open-source software, and cost-conscious engineering to aerospace systems.

• The founders entered MS&E 273 after a venture capitalist told them that their technology concept lacked sufficient market understanding. Using their Stanford affiliation, they interviewed satellite-imagery resellers, studied existing demand, developed a business plan, refined their pitch, and incorporated the company after completing the class.

• Skybox sought to build small, inexpensive satellites capable of producing high-resolution imagery and video. Its broader goal was to monitor tens or hundreds of thousands of locations daily, then transform pictures into information such as vehicle counts, historical comparisons, and global indicators supporting profitable, efficient, and safe decisions.