From NASA Internship To $67M EXIT | Vytenis Buzas @ NanoAvionics

Vytenis is the co-founder of NanoAvionics, a Lithuanian spacetech startup that transformed from a university project into a global player in the nano/smallsat market. Beginning with Lithuania's first satellite mission in 2014, he built a company that would eventually be acquired for €65 million by Kongsberg Group, representing one of Europe's biggest space industry success stories.In this episode, Vytenis reveals how he turned a university satellite project into Lithuania's first space success story that sold for €65 million. With no business experience and a team of passionate "no-lifers," he built a global company competing against industry giants. Vytenis shares critical insights on hardware startups and explains his controversial take on why building satellites is "just like making pizza".Want to get hired at Unmanned Defense Systems (Vytenis' new startup)? https://tally.so/r/npz1bZWant to get invest in Unmanned Defense Systems? https://tally.so/r/mJox9Y-----------------------------------------------Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction(05:17) - Birth of Lithuania's first CubeSat(09:37 - University project to NanoAvionics(14:35) - Core technology innovations(21:33) - From small grants to millions in funding(29:14) - Building a team of dreamers(39:59) - Strategic expansion into US markets(44:55) - "Amazon of CubeSats" strategy(53:00) - €65M acquisition by Kongsberg Group(59:52) - New startup: Unmanned Defense Systems-----------------------------------------------Takeaways:1) Follow Your Passion Before Business- Vytenis never intended to build a company; he was simply pursuing his engineering passion for satellites and propulsion systems - "I never thought that we would sell it... I just wanted to be a simple guy, simple engineer who is fulfilling himself"2) Create Opportunities to Get Lucky - The first Lithuanian CubeSat project (Lituanica SAT-1) started as a commemoration of a historical flight but became the foundation for a business- Multiple "lucky" encounters (NASA internship, NanoRacks connection, email from AST) changed their trajectory3) Prioritize Mentality in Early Hires - "Mentality, mentality, can-do attitude. The first thing and I think the only one"- Early team members were "no-lifers, hard workers" who were passionate enough to work beyond normal hours when cash was limited4) Solve the End-to-End Problem- Their key differentiator was offering full value chain solutions instead of just components- "We offered ourselves as being some kind of the Amazon of the CubeSats... full value chain for the customer"5) Be Ready to Adapt to Market Evolution- They evolved from selling hardware components to larger platforms as customer and market needs changed- Recognized when trends shifted (IoT → Earth observation → fundamental research) and adjusted accordingly6) Leverage Public Funding Strategically- Used EU funding (Horizon 2020) and Lithuanian government grants to accelerate growth- Initial €21,000 grant legitimized their efforts and created "a good precedent to dig deeper"7) Don't Be Afraid to Exit When It's Best for the Company- "Selling the control package to some other company is the best what you can do for this company... you have to do that step because it's the best for the company"8) Find the Right Strategic Partner- AST and later Kongsberg Group provided critical access to the US market and resources for growth- "It helped us to enter the market... the United States market, which is also a mystique thing"9) Only One Way to Test Your Ideas - His final advice: "There is only one way to find out. Go for it... But fight until the end... Only this is how you find out whether your idea was good or bad"10) Standardization Creates Efficiency- His vision for "New Space 3.0" focuses on standardized platforms where payloads adapt to vehicles, not vice versa- This approach makes the process more economically viable in the long term