/ About this event
Building something that works in space is one problem. Getting someone to pay for it is another entirely. The space industry is littered with brilliant technology that never found a market, and quietly powered by companies that figured out who writes the checks.
The Small Steps & Giant Leaps community is gathering for a panel with people who've actually done it: taken space technology from lab, garage, or government program and turned it into a business.
Our panelists will get into the real paths to revenue:
* **Government contracts:** winning work from NASA, the Space Force, and defense agencies, and the reality of navigating procurement, SBIR/STTR grants, and the long sales cycles that can make or break an early company
* **Academic tech transfer:** licensing university and national-lab research, spinning a dissertation into a product, and the messy business of who owns what when breakthrough IP leaves the lab
* **Selling to other space companies:** the picks-and-shovels play of becoming a supplier, where a single component or subsystem can anchor a business as the industry scales around you
We'll dig into how these paths differ, when to pursue which, and the mistakes that sink promising companies: pricing hardware like software, underestimating certification timelines, betting everything on a single customer.
Whether you're a founder mapping your go-to-market, a researcher wondering if your work has a commercial future, or an investor sizing up where the durable businesses actually are, this is a conversation about the unglamorous reality of making money in space.
Come for a clear-eyed look at what it takes to build a space company that lasts.
This event is a part of #SFTechWeek—a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem. Learn more at www.tech-week.com.
