How We Hatched: Lisa Rich, Founder & COO of Xplore

The Pair Program

How We Hatched: Lisa Rich, Founder & COO of Xplore

Welcome to “How We Hatched". In this episode, you’ll hear from Lisa Rich, Founder and COO of space startup Xplore. Get ready to learn all about what it takes for a startup to make it in the industry… and how you could join!

Lisa shares about:

• The story behind Xplore’s founding.
• Navigating funding (including government contracts and pitching to VCs)
• The challenges of starting a new business and ways to overcome
• Industry trends (diversity, the demand for talent, and more!)

About today’s guest: Lisa Rich is a successful serial entrepreneur, investor, strategist and communicator and thought-leader who entered the space industry in 2014 to accelerate sustainable, strategy-driven businesses that positively impact the environment, STEM education, national security, and advance the $1T space economy. She is Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Xplore, a commercial space services company using its high-capability multi-sensor platform to store and transmit data, achieve data fusion, on orbit processing and edge compute and is also a top venture-backed dual use company on Silicon Valley Defense Group’s NatSec100 list. Ms. Rich is also Founder of Hemisphere Ventures, a top early stage space sector VC that has invested in 37 outstanding commercial space companies including Axiom Space, Umbra and Lynk. She frequently presents at space and technology conferences, engages Fortune 500 companies in think tank conversations on space strategy and the landscape for space investment with institutional investors and wealth management firms. In 2022, Ms. Rich was nominated to the National Space Council User Advisory Group led by Vice President Kamala Harris, and was listed as the Top 12 Connectivity Execs To Watch. She played a pivotal role in establishing the Redmond Space District in Washington State, recently submitted to the Congressional Record (H. Res. 646) by Rep Suzan DelBene. Her media appearances include Bloomberg and CNBC. Dedication to the space industry is evidenced by relationships she has built with members of the House and Senate, U.S. Commerce Department, U.S. State Department, AFWERX, OMB, National Space Council and customers at the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, DIU, NRO, NSIC, NGA and NASA.

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