Bianca Cefalo, Co-Founder and CEO of Space DOTS
Space Dot
Imagine this: you are the Space Systems Thermal Product Manager at Airbus Defence and Space.
We are passionate about innovating cutting-edge solutions that will make the next generation of communications spacecraft lighter, less expensive and more powerful.
In fact, the advanced materials needed already exist, but several hurdles stand in the way.
First, the “industry bible” of information on materials properties, the Spacecraft Thermal Control Handbook, was originally written in 1994 and hasn’t been updated in over 20 years, so it lacks data on recent innovations such as 3D printed materials and nanocomposites.
At the same time, there are no international standards for testing and certifying these advanced materials for space use, meaning that in-house certification would require travelling around hundreds of testing facilities.
And even after years and millions of dollars of testing and simulation, performance still needs to be verified with actual “flight experience” because no customer wants to be first in space.
This was the experience of Bianca Cefalo, whose frustration with bureaucracy and the slow pace of innovation at existing aerospace and defence companies led her to co-found Space DOTS with former Airbus colleague James Sheppard Alden.
Materials science is advancing so quickly that the space industry has not been able to keep up, she says: “We think of space technology as science fiction, but in reality, a Formula One race car is more science fiction than a spaceship.”
So their core idea is: “What if we actually tested the materials we need to use in space in space?” And they’re developing a smartphone-sized testing lab that can be launched directly into orbit to do just that.
With the entry of private startups such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, the space sector is growing rapidly and is poised for innovation, with its value expected to reach between $760 billion and $1 trillion by 2030, according to GlobalData.
With $1.5 million raised in a pre-seed round from Boost VC, Sie Ventures, 7Percent Ventures, Blue Wire Capital, and angel investors Elaine Lau and Alex Ionescu, Space DOTS is ready to go commercial.
Renita: You recently received the Space Business Catalyst award from Thales Alenia Space and have now launched a strategic partnership. There are a lot of synergies there.
Bianca: Yes. We will be part of their industrial accelerator in Toulouse and we will have access to their facilities. Their experts will peer review our designs and help us understand the market. We will learn how much aerospace companies really spend on materials, testing, qualification. Right now they are spending millions of dollars and they don’t know why or what they are spending it on.
Renita: So it creates a valuable feedback loop. I imagine there were a lot of pivots in your two years of operation. What were some of the big decisions you made in the growth of your startup?
Bianca: Yeah, it’s been fascinating and chaotic behind the scenes. It was a difficult decision, but ultimately the best one for everyone involved. It was based on the lessons I learned from my father.
My father ran an auto parts business in Naples, Italy, where I grew up, and although it was very successful at first, a bad decision by his business partner led to its bankruptcy.
That financial hardship affected our family and taught me a lesson, which is why when we founded Space DOTS in January 2021, we insisted on having a Shareholders Agreement between myself, my current co-founder James, and a third co-founder also named James, even though it took us months and legal fees to get all the terms together.
Over the first year, we began to see friction points with the second James, such as whether to build in stealth mode and the level of commitment in terms of time and money.
So they decided to “disband” at the end of 2021, and Second James stepped down as director.
Because we had a shareholders’ agreement we knew exactly what the share allocations were going to be and we were able to part ways amicably. Without that, it would have all been a lot more painful.
Renita: It sounds like there were two key decisions. One, getting into a shareholders agreement in the first place. It takes a lot of conviction to do that between friends when you don’t feel you need to. And then the delicate tipping point where you have to make the decision to be able to maintain your friendship.
Bianca: That’s true. I tend to get emotional about my business, but like any founder, I need to take a step back and get emotional distance.
Renita: Right. So your team is nine people now. What are some lessons you learned through the hiring process?
Bianca: Our first key hire was an electronic design engineer, someone we absolutely needed to develop our MVP. However, electronic engineers were in high demand and we couldn’t find the people we needed.
After a few months, the recruiting agency finally sent us a profile of a promising candidate. Although he was very inexperienced, he understood the vision and had the right skills.
We felt like we didn’t have the time, so we made him an offer, even though James and I had our doubts. It wasn’t about him as a person, it was because we wanted his team to come to the office for all-hands meetings and brainstorming sessions. He lived two hours away from London. I kept asking if the commute would be a problem, but he said, “No, it’s fine. I’m moving to London.” Then, two days after we verbally accepted, he came back with a counter offer. He wanted more money.
This confirmed our initial intuition that we were driven more by fear and scarcity than enthusiasm, so we said that’s not going to happen.
And lo and behold, we found Sophie, from Mercedes Benz Formula One, who had exactly the experience we were looking for. Lesson learned: trust your instincts, especially when hiring.
Renita: That’s great. Trusting your intuition often opens up unexpected opportunities.
