Precision Cargo Delivery From Space | Justin Fiaschetti, Inversion
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
In this episode, Justin Fiaschetti, cofounder and CEO of Inversion, discusses his company's ambitious mission to revolutionize global logistics through space-based cargo delivery. (00:50) Inversion builds reentry vehicles that store payloads in orbit for up to five years and deliver them anywhere on Earth in under an hour, landing softly under parachute. (02:42) The company launched its first demonstration mission "Ray" earlier this year, built entirely in-house by just 25 people, as a stepping stone to their main product ARC - a four-foot wide, eight-foot tall lifting body reentry vehicle. (43:00) Fiaschetti argues this technology will fundamentally change how we access the globe, similar to how aircraft transformed warfare and logistics a century ago.
- Main Theme: Space-based cargo delivery as the next evolution in global logistics and military operations, focusing on making Earth more accessible through orbital storage and precision delivery systems
Speakers
Justin Fiaschetti
Justin Fiaschetti is the cofounder and CEO of Inversion, a company building autonomous reentry vehicles for precision cargo delivery from space. He previously worked at SpaceX in the launch industry, where he gained insights into reusable rocket technology that would later inspire Inversion's business model. Fiaschetti founded Inversion in January 2021 and went through Y Combinator's Summer 2021 batch, successfully raising a seed round and building the company from a garage startup to a team that launched their first demonstration mission within four years.
Key Takeaways
Focus on Structural Truths for Long-Term Success
Fiaschetti emphasizes building businesses around "structural truths" - fundamental aspects of human nature that have remained constant for thousands of years and will continue for thousands more. (17:17) He identifies that humans always want to access more of the globe faster, space provides excellent global access, and militaries always want to operate inside their adversary's decision loop (OODA loop). By grounding major business decisions in these unchanging principles rather than temporary trends, entrepreneurs can build companies with lasting relevance. This approach helps navigate the uncertainty of long development cycles in hardware businesses where feedback loops span years rather than days.
Vertical Integration as a Strategic Advantage
When supply chains are inadequate or moving slowly, vertical integration becomes essential for maintaining quality, speed, and cost control. (45:04) Fiaschetti explains that Inversion builds nearly everything in-house because existing suppliers often have 18-month lead times and don't prioritize startup needs. For example, when quoted three years and millions of dollars for parachutes, they hired a team and bought sewing machines to make their own. This strategy works particularly well when you need faster iteration than your supply base provides, but should be avoided when suppliers are innovating faster than you can, like with consumer electronics components.
Build Company Culture Around Question Authority
Rather than implementing formal processes to eliminate outdated requirements, embed questioning into company culture. (66:30) Fiaschetti advocates hiring people who naturally ask "why are you doing that?" and modeling this behavior as leadership. Many constraints and requirements made sense early in development but become obsolete as circumstances change. The fastest way to speed up progress is often to eliminate unnecessary work entirely rather than trying to do it faster. This requires a team culture where everyone feels empowered to challenge assumptions and decisions, leading to continuous optimization without bureaucratic overhead.
Hire for Future Founder Potential
Screen for people who could become successful founders themselves - those driven by purpose bigger than themselves with creativity and independent decision-making capability. (58:06) Fiaschetti uses unconventional interview questions like asking candidates to create three product ideas from two random objects in the office. This isn't about the specific ideas generated, but rather understanding how someone thinks under pressure and what creative connections they make. These future-founder types don't need to be told what to do and can hold the full context of complex systems in their heads, enabling rapid decision-making across disciplines.
The Power of Inevitability in Decision Making
The hardest part of building something revolutionary isn't solving technical problems - it's making the initial decision to commit fully. (73:59) Fiaschetti describes spending the first month looking for competitors because the idea seemed so obvious that someone must already be doing it. Once you recognize something as inevitable and make the decision to pursue it, everything else becomes a series of problems to solve within that framework. The feeling of inevitability - that the world will definitely look different because of this technology - provides the conviction needed to overcome the countless obstacles in building hard technology companies.
Statistics & Facts
- SpaceX just flew their life-leading booster for the 31st time, demonstrating the massive production savings enabled by reusability compared to building 31 separate boosters. (23:42)
- Inversion built their entire Ray spacecraft with just 25 people, accomplishing what traditionally would require much larger teams through focused talent density and vertical integration. (57:21)
- Current military logistics systems have 5-6 hour lead times for cargo delivery, which Inversion aims to reduce to under one hour from space-based storage. (33:28)
