Aerospace is a notoriously complex industry—obviously in technological terms, but also in terms of its regulatory landscape and the 'who's who' relationships that form the basis for deeper industry partnerships and business interdependencies.

Because of this complexity, even aerospace entrepreneurs with their own existing subject matter expertise can very much benefit from additional mentorship and networking with space tech industry veterans. As Founder Institute's Space Tech Virtual 2022 accelerator prepares for liftoff, we're excited to showcase here a small sampling of the confirmed aerospace industry startup mentors who will be joining the program:

Brian Lim

Brian Lim is a telecommunications entrepreneur with over a decade of experience across the US, Australian and Singapore markets. He is currently the CEO of Dandelions, where he is building the world’s first on-demand telecoms network that can be deployed by air, designed to provide voice/video/data communication over any terrain and environment within hours.

Brian Lim has supported more than a 1,000 startups across 100 market verticals and 6 continents in his career. He has founded multiple companies, including several in the space industry. He has mentored for the World Food Program's incubator and been an Entrepreneur in Residence for the Singularity University incubator’s 2018 Cohort.

Brian Lim's focus on deep tech and its value in global transformation lead him to the International Space University - Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program, which further deepened his passion and connections across the aerospace industry.

Ronald Goedendorp

Ronald Goedendorp is a partner at GoGo Ventures, and owner at Gorongo LLC, where his focus is primarily on commercialization and corporate development. He has raised more than $21M in venture capital, and created $33M in SaaS, Media and Aerospace business development deals. Ron's professional specializations include strategic sales, technical talent acquisition, predictive and prescriptive analytics, and aerospace platforms and EO analytics.

Ronald Goedendorp is notably the former VP for Space Opportunities at NanoRacks LLC, where he developed platforms and opportunities for microgravity research, testing, and commercial applications, from concept through deployment into LEO or on the International Space Station (ISS). He enjoyed working with colleagues across academia, government, and private industry to advance the emergent space ecosystem - in a sense, he was the key VP for Product LAUNCH - that is, launching people's ideas literally into orbit.

Newton Paskin

Newton Paskin is a Senior Operating Executive with extensive global experience in Technology, Consumer Electronics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Consumer Goods Products, and Defense segments, and currently COO at Radiant.

Newton Paskin brings 30+ years experience in P&L and Balance Sheet responsibility, establishing strategic partnerships, and corporate development. That 30 years experience includes implementing and managing business operations for Consumer Electronics (Litl, Jawbone) and Consumer Goods; as well as supporting operations for Hardware OEMs (Apple, IBM, DELL, HP, Cisco, Seagate, Motorola, Phillips, Netgear, Foundry and Meru Networks), Software (Microsoft, Adobe, SEGA), Consumer Electronics (Sony, Bose, Handspring, Seiko Instruments), and Medical Devices (LifeScan, J&J, 3M) and Defense (Army).

He holds an MBA in Finance, MIS and MS in Economics, and BS in Industrial Engineering, and is a fluent speaker in English, Portuguese and Spanish, and conversant in French. He is also a previous business mentor for the Singularity University's Global Solutions Program, Executive Program, and SU Ventures.

Founder Institute has teamed up with Outlandish Ventures and leading aerospace industry partners to launch the new Founder Institute Space Tech Virtual 2022 accelerator program - final application deadline May 1st.

We are also hosting several free online aerospace startup events in the coming weeks, where you can learn from top industry entrepreneurs and investors:

• Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession

In addition to the mentors highlighted above, many other top aerospace industry founders, CEOs, advisors, and investors have signed on to mentor participating entrepreneurs in the Space Tech Virtual 2022 Founder Institute program:

• Aaron Patzer: Founder, Mint.com
• Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
• Alexandra Johnson: Managing Director, DFJ VTB Aurora
• Alexandra Wilson: Founder, Investor & Advisor, Gilt Group, Montage Ventures
• Alexis Beechen: Co-Founder & CEO, The Drop, Mangrove Estates
• Bob Richards: Founder & CEO, Moon Express
• Bram Cohen: Founder, BitTorrent, Chia Network
• Cheryl Yeoh: Founder, Investor & Advisor, Reclip.It, MaGIC
• Claire Mc Gregor: Co-Founder, Appbot
• David Sacks: Founder & Investor, Yammer, Paypal, Zenefits
• David Wu: General Partner, Maveron Ventures
• David Rose: Author & CEO, Gust, New York Angels
• Divya Gugnani: Co-Founder, Send the Trend, Wander Beauty
• Emna Ghariani: Global Director, Founder Institute MENA
• Eren Bali: Founder, Udemy, Carbon Health
• Eric Ries: Author & Founder, The Lean Startup, Long Term Stock Exchange
• Garrett Camp: Founder, Uber, Expa, StumbleUpon
• Gina Bianchini: Founder & CEO, Mighty Networks, Former CEO of Ning
• Heather Harde: CEO, TechCrunch
• Holly Liu: Co-Founder, Kabam
• Jason Calacanis: Author, Investor & Founder, Inside.com, LAUNCH Accelerator
• Jason Johnson: Founder & CEO, August
• Jeffrey Paine: Managing Partner, Golden Gate Ventures, Singapore
• Jessica Alter: Entrepreneur & Advisor, Tech for Campaigns, Social Capital
• Jessica Mah: Founder & CEO, inDinero, Impact Collective
• Jill Stelfox: Co-Founder, Graffiti Sports, Binary Group
• Jilliene Helman: CEO, RealtyMogul.com
• Joanna Lord: CMO, ClassPass
• Jonathan Greechan: Co-Founder & CEO, Founder Institute
• Jonathan Abrams: Founder, Nuzzel, Friendster
• Justin Moore: CEO & Investor, Axcient
• Kenneth Hogrefe: CEO and Founder, Tech Africa Pte. Ltd.
• Kirsten Rose: Head of Low Emissions, BHP, Clean Energy Entrepreneur
• Lucy Beard: Founder & CEO, feetZ
• Mark Pincus: Founder, Zynga
• Michael Seibel: CEO & Partner, Y Combinator
• Nitin Pachisia: Founding Partner, Unshackled Ventures
• Phil Libin: Founder, All Turtles, Former CEO of Evernote
• Rashmi Sinha: Co-Founder, SlideShare
• Robin Chase: Co-Founder & Former CEO, Zipcar
• Rosemarie Truman: Founder & General Partner, Gazelle Futures, Center for Advancing Innovation
• Sam Yagan: Co-Founder, OK Cupid, ShopRunner, Techstars Chicago
• Scott Heiferman: Co-Founder & CEO, Meetup
• Scott Painter: Founder, Fair.com, TrueCar, CarsDirect.com
• Sergio Maziano: Founder & CEO, NEXT Solutions
• Tim Ferriss: Angel Investor & Author, 4-Hour Workweek

Join the new FI Space Tech accelerator in 2022. 

Apply to the Space Tech Virtual 2022 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/space.  

Graduates of the Founder Institute are creating some of the world's fastest growing startups, having raised over $1.85BN in funding, and building products people love across over 200 cities worldwide.

See the most recent news from our Grads at FI.co/news, or learn more about their stories at FI.co/journey.