Connecting Entrepreneurs and Aviation
Starting an industry-backed accelerator
Six months ago I wrote my first piece on Medium about the aerospace and aviation industry’s need for true innovation and how it’s only a matter of time before players step up and start swinging.
It stirred up attention with key people from inside industry and even more from outside. More importantly, it educated me of the many accelerator formats that exist as well as building relations with credible programs. I found myself attending demo days in Berlin, visiting shared workspaces and events in Paris, London, San Francisco, New York, and DC, buying into each creator’s vision and meeting investors from all walks of life. The tech sector has officially consumed me, leaving me restless and enthusiastic about the future, with traditional corporate lurking in the shadowy distance.
My best attempts at self-medication left me spending increasing amounts of time with partner innovation departments as well as my own company’s ideas lab.
Meanwhile, more web summits conclude with guest speakers like Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale howling on about the lack of true evolution in critical industries like transportation and travel.
Eventually, in Paris I meet the team at Starburst — home of the only existing external incubator for aerospace companies, who not only subscribe to the same pains but have established a precedent that brings startups together and empowers them with a network of mentors and deep industry connections in Europe.
We agree plans for setting up the first US-based aerospace accelerator with the aim of seeking corporate backing from specific market segments, targeting Boeing for aircraft, GE/UTC for engines and avionics, SFO for airport, Virgin/Alaska for airline, Deloitte/Crowell for professional services, and let’s not forget safety and regulatory backing from the likes of FAA and NASA as well as academia such as CalTech, Embry Riddle and MIT. Meetings to gauge interest are already in place.
Once committed, the challenge is which format to institute at an acceptable pace between the corporate procurement lifecycle and startup business models. Both Startup Bootcamp and Techstars have expressed interest in helping set the framework for a program as well as link into their powerful alumni network, so this begs the question —
“Who is the target entrepreneur and at what stage of product development should a candidate startup be in for this to work?”
Traditional seed funding for acceleration is awarded after MVP (minimum viable product) but are we opening doors for startups enabling market traction or lowering barriers to entry for new thinkers? There is much more to this industry than GoPro drones, Uber for private jets, and travel booking websites, so you can argue it should offer both.
One example to consider is in Paris where I visited NUMA, one of the city’s oldest tech centers, home to more idea generation and product development than any other single space in Europe. Each floor houses a startup at a different stage in its growth cycle — the higher the floor the more developed the business model.
Next we have to consider location. Assuming this is backed by industry, government, and academia, where do you house its future entrepreneurs? San Francisco? Home to futurists and innovative thinkers; Los Angeles? Home to the largest concentration of aerospace engineering; Seattle? Home of the majors — Boeing, GE, Amazon, Microsoft; or Washington, DC? Co-locate with big industry and policy makers.
Techstars just launched its first multi-corporate accelerator in Detroit combining forces between big auto and tech entrepreneurs. While Startup Bootcamp just launched its first foray into the US in San Francisco for smart transportation.
I suppose a hub where traditional engineers are imported and intensely exposed to the ‘futurists’ of San Francisco seems like a no-brainer, but if we’re targeting mature startups to be part of an ecosystem where they can collaborate with one another and seek industry connections for further product development, then Los Angeles or Seattle makes more sense. However, if we’re talking about later stage startups already turning over millions seeking scalability into big industry then we should consider Washington, DC as a temporary hub for engaging big industry and policy-makers.
We’ll just have to wait and see how the fundraising meetings go.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions. I’ve launched a website as part of our movement to accelerate aerospace and aviation innovation — here.
