EPISODE SUMMARY
Today’s guest is Bill Perkins, a hedge fund manager, film producer, high-stakes poker player, and author of Die with Zero. If he wasn’t in those lines of work, Bill tells Ryan he’d be a farmer. More importantly for our purposes, Bill is the founder of SkyFi. The startup doesn’t fly its own satellites, and is instead tackling what it sees as a software problem.
EPISODE NOTES
Today’s guest is Bill Perkins, a hedge fund manager, film producer, high-stakes poker player, and author of Die with Zero. If he wasn’t in those lines of work, Bill tells Ryan he’d be a farmer.
More importantly for our purposes, Bill is the founder of SkyFi. The startup doesn’t fly its own satellites, and is instead tackling what it sees as a software problem.
SkyFi is developing a clean, consumerized experience for buying satellite imagery through a web browser or smartphone app. Behind the scenes, SkyFi’s platform pulls from 70+ satellites and leverages partnerships with more than a dozen EO partners. The app is in beta, with a global launch slated for next year. The marketplace supports (or will support) high-res satellite imagery, night, hyperspectral, satellite video, SAR, and stereo. Prices start at $20 for an existing image and $175 for a new one.
This convo was a fun one that you won’t want to miss. Just don’t listen to this episode at 2X speed.
*CHAPTERS*
(02:39) Bill voted early
(05:17) Die with Zero
(08:12) Life as an energy trader, what types of data funds are buying to gain an investing edge, and how it all ties into the origin story of SkyFi
(15:02) Bill’s frustrations buying millions in satellite imagery—and the industry status quo in sales cycles, target customers, and user experience
(30:36) Is SkyFi a consumer-focused venture? Who will use the product? Why would anyone use it?
(33:20) Bringing on Luke Fischer and handing him the reins as CEO, raising venture money, and recruiting from non-traditional space backgrounds
(45:30) The pitch to partners and how SkyFi signs on satellite operators
(36:25) Putting satellite imagery, data, and analytics into the hands of the geniuses of the world will help us solve “intractable problems,” like pollution, deforestation, and illegal fishing
(50:04) Sci-fi, wakeboarding, aliens, and the answer to: “Why are you building an Android app?” (Editor’s note/trigger warning: Both Bill and Ryan use Androids.)