SWF Hosts Roundtable on Value Creation in Commercial Space

Thursday, October 20, 2016

On October 18, 2016, Secure World Foundation (SWF) and the Heinlein Prize Trust held a small, invite-only Roundtable on Value Creation in Commercial Space at the Explorers’ Club in New York City, NY. The event focused on interactive investor and industry actor discussion of how developments in commercial space are creating and sustaining value beyond the start-up, angel and venture capital phases, with a focus on how value is defined, measured, communicated.

The Roundtable brought together a cross section of space industry representatives, including both service and hardware providers, as well as investors from various stages of the funding cycle including angel investors, venture capital firms, and institutional investors. During the day three “Discussions” were held, each focusing on a thematic topic: launch, disruptive technology & business models, and the beyond-LEO economy. Each Discussion began with short presentations from invited speakers; followed by a moderated dialogue between all attendees and participants which aimed to identify the questions, challenges, and opportunities surrounding efforts to create and sustain commercial ventures and value in each area.

Themes discussed during the Roundtable included: concepts of social and economy value generation (and the link between them); the impact of reusable and dedicated small satellite launch vehicles in the market; the importance of creating intermediate revenue streams to support long-term business venture; and the relationship of legacy and emerging companies as part of a broader ecosystem; among other topics. A summary report will be published by SWF in the near future.

For more information, please contact SWF Project Manager Mr. Ian Christensen or SWF Executive Director Dr. Michael Simpson.