Reflections on Aerospace Xelerated’s third cohort
In January, 10 exceptional startups from around the world joined the third cohort of our Aerospace Xelerated three-month accelerator programme.
What a success it was!
The startups — all specialising in autonomy and AI technology to the benefit of the aerospace industry — hailed from four continents (UK, Europe, North America and Oceania) spanning an 18-hour time difference.
60% were first-time founders, 30% had a female founder and 20% had a minority ethnic founder.
Once again, Aerospace Xelerated has demonstrated that it is the people that ‘make’ the program rather than the process. This year we had a truly spectacular group, with each participant scaling their own businesses, experiencing strong leads for future development, and overall growing together as a cohort.
While on the surface it may look like a standard 12-week program, the different offerings that each of our business units and partners bring to the table ensures that every cohort is unique.
We were also able to tailor the process to suit the needs of those taking part. This meant adapting to the current global environment, such as the impact of COVID-19, and allowing for greater flexibility with program material as evolve to the different opportunities that may arise.
On a lighthearted note, even though we had participants in Australia, UAE, UK, and the US, we always found a way to make it five o’clock somewhere. Overall, this third cohort simply jived. The level of engagement from everyone taking part, and the trust that they put in myself and the program team, has been incredible and ensured it was one heck of a wild ride! Beyond just the connection established with each founder and program participant, I also really got to see what they are building first hand and better understand the vision they are working towards.
With the focus areas of autonomy and AI, these teams are paving the way to some really big and impactful things. Give it 10 years, and I truly believe these businesses will be shaping the future for the sub-elements of tomorrow’s infrastructure and leveraging their services for a more safe, inclusive and connected world.
Listening in
This year, I was far more involved in the day-to-day workings of the program. Previously, you may have spotted me in the background doing lots of the planning, but this year I got to delve deep into the sessions and be a fly on the wall learning from the speakers and cohort members throughout their discussions.
Their expertise and input were hugely valuable, and while it took a significant amount of time, it helped me understand where they may be best positioned to add value internally to Boeing or other large corporates.
Having weekly one-to-ones with the members also helped guide those discussions. You also can’t ever learn the ins and outs of a cap table enough times — there are always new things to learn on the investment and financing front; regardless of if you have a finance degree or not!
New activities for 2022
For this cohort, we organized a valuable week of business meetings and cultural experiences in Galicia, Spain. (Boeing has a strong presence in Galicia supporting science, technology, education and math — STEM — education programs.)
Throughout the week, we held more than 60 meetings, connecting our cohort to regional companies and startups, including a great overview of advanced air mobility projects in Galicia and a tour of the impressive Galician supercomputing centre.
This year, we also launched the AX Mentorship Program, supporting female founders and operators on this third cohort, as well as in the wider AX ecosystem through mentorship, networking, and access to industry.
Other highlights included our first-ever ‘Defence Days’ put on by the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). Special shout out to Ellie Rice for all her hard work in coordinating that for the teams. It was not a light lift effort, and her dedication to coordinating and planning is what made it possible!
Future success
This cohort has been fantastic. I genuinely believe in each of their abilities and expect them all to thrive. Regardless of if it’s with Boeing, with another aerospace partner, or even another industry — I am excited for their growth.
Whether it’s digitizing solutions, creating AI pilots, developing safe and secure autonomy, or training our future police and defense forces to be more effectively prepared for any situation… One thing I am sure of is if we begin leveraging their solutions it will lead to a more inclusive and diverse ecosystem for all.
My personal takeaways and memories from cohort three:
- Faizan Patankar, founder & CEO at Amygda, is not only an avid blogger, but believes in his solution so much that he and his co-founder aren’t wrapped up in sensitivities around IP. Amygda believes that if their solution is meant to be, then it will enter the marketplace. Faizan places an emphasis on going to market and being active which I admire.
- Andy and Rosin O’Shea from The Airline Pilot Club are the best father-daughter working duo I have ever seen and do so with such professionalism and grace. They are also on to something far bigger than themselves, and I admire them for tackling the pilot shortage and challenges to becoming a pilot by creating a diverse pilot ecosystem, head on.
- It was a pleasure getting to know the team at Axion better, in particular Marcel Hedman. The team has had significant success in automotive and is also seeing real success in the defense space. While Axion’s success is surely attributed to their tech, having met Marcel, I’d also say it is attributed to its global and dynamic team too.
- During the week in Galicia, I learned more about Chris Daniels from Flare Bright. The whole team at Flare Bright is amazing (including the superstar Juliet Dudley), but I was mesmerized with how intelligent Chris is. He was educated at the University of Oxford and also served as an officer in the Parachute Regiment — a badge of honor he wears humbly.
- It was an honor to meet Anant Sahay, CEO of LexX Technologies, in Galicia as he flew all the way from Sydney, Australia! I was impressed not only with his background but also that of Mike Harris, as I learned they have more than 30 years of airline history, knowledge, and expertise between them, and it definitely shows when you meet them.
- Now, Diana Deca, CEO of Neurobotx, operates at a completely different level than most people. She is consistently on level 1,000 and I often have to decompress after our chats to process what she said, because that is how smart she is. Studying neuroscience and being a CEO, she is certainly much to be admired.
- I didn’t think there was more I could learn from the Pegasus team, having worked with them during the LaunchPad Canada program, so it was great to get to know Cole Rosentreter and John Hryniw on a more personal level. Being veterans (and Canadian) they are tough to crack; but I find it a personal win that I found a way to get a few chuckles here and there with the right Dad jokes. I also got to know Norah Landry and how incredibly diligent she is. Regardless if it was a program start at 4am her time, she would be ready, smiling and on camera. She understands the mission and adds value each day to her team and her customers.
- Throughout the program, I got to know the sees.ai team well, in particular John McKenna, and what I can say to him and the team, is a sentiment I am sure we all feel about raising investment: ‘this too shall pass’. He juggles 800 balls at a time, while having kids and having had COVID… Somehow is always able to stay sane. I see CEOs do it all the time, but it still amazes me. Johns ability to keeps his cool under high pressure, which makes me want to check on him even more; even if it is just to make myself feel better.
- It’s a case of ‘what didn’t I learn?’ from Stu Thomas at Seidr — including hot home décor tips, such as if you don’t have room for your skis, then just mount them on your wall! He could also probably give some of the best comedians a run for their money; so, if Seidr doesn’t work out, I am convinced my investment isn’t wasted. That said, jokes aside, Seidr is on to something truly huge and cutting edge with how we practice and train our military, defence, and police personnel. Uses of their solution can be so diverse and goes well beyond traditional emergency situations which has me anxiously waiting to see what is next for them.
- Finally, ToffeeAM — this is far from a new company to me as it is already a Boeing supplier and strongly advocated for by various Boeing teams, but what I didn’t know is how unique its team is. Despite being numerous Italians in London, they work with a range of customers on truly unique software for advanced manufacturing and I can’t wait to see how it supports manufacturing of the future across the board.
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