Thespaceshow's Blog

Dr. Sean Casey, Tuesday, 2-12-13 February 13, 2013

Dr. Sean Casey, Tuesday, 2-12-13

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1949-BWB-2013-02-12.mp3

Guest:  Dr. Sean Casey.  Topics:  Space Entrepreneurism, Silicon Valley, space startups, Silicon Valley Space Center events, programs, & objectives.  Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com.  Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information.

We welcomed back Dr. Sean Casey, co-founder of the Silicon Valley Space Center business accelerator (http://svsc.org).  You can “like” them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Silicon-Valley-Space-Center/139916589409748.  The SVSC can also be found on LinkedIn. While hour 2 hour 40 minute program was in two segments, this summary will be in one part as our themes and topics went back and forth in the same area throughout the discussion.  Dr. Casey started with a summary of 2012 activities and events for the Silicon Valley Space Center (SVSC).  During our discussion, Dr. Casey talked about, mentioned, and listed many space entrepreneurial startups and businesses, far to many to list or mention individually.  He also outlined coming events for the SVSC which are available to the public and will be online for those unable to attend in person.  Responding to listener questions, he cited company example after example of space startups and we even talked about Northern California, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley being the center of this effort.  Upon listeners questioning him on the subject, Sean suggested additional startup space efforts in other parts of the company.  While Silicon Valley does not have a lock on this new industrial development, as you will hear, startups and space entrepreneurism are developing in centers across the country.  We also talked about venture capitalist ROI expectations over five years coming in around 30%.  We discussed the hockey stick graph and what this means for space entrepreneurs.  Sean spent time on the SVSC website and Facebook page going through the coming 2013 events and programs.  Doug called in with a question about track records for startups and investors.  In his response, Dr. Casey talked about the various business incubators now in place to mentor and help space entrepreneurs, even non-profits.  He suggested how you might find a reputable business incubator in your own city or area though one could probably work with one of the organizations Sean mentioned, even if you are outside California.  Another issue that came up was lobbying members of congress and state representatives on space policy.  Here, we talked about California and I again shared my experiences with Sacramento and California Space Day over the last six or seven years.  Dr. Casey addressed the uphill battle with gaining more political support for all aspects of the space industry, especially in California.  Dr. Casey provided us with one of the most comprehensive space startup and entrepreneurial programs heard on The Space Show.

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog mentioned above.  You can reach Dr. Casey through me or directly at sean.casey@siliconvalleyspacecenter.org.