The $30K Satellite Revolution | Julian Fernandez @ FOSSA Systems

Julian Fernandez is the co-founder and CEO of FOSSA Systems, a pioneering company building nanosatellites to democratise IoT connectivity and space access. In this episode of Rockets & Radars, Julian shares his incredible journey from launching satellites as a 16-year-old to scaling one of Europe’s most exciting space startups.Get intro to JulianTimestamps:(00:00) Introduction to the Podcast and Guest(6:06) Julian's Early Start in Space: From IoT Experiments to Satellites(9:58) Turning an Open-Source Project into a Company(14:37) Pricing Challenges and Shifting Business Models(19:26) Fundraising Journey: From Seed to Series A(24:58) The Value of Accelerators for First-Time Founders(28:13) Scaling Up: Launching Satellites with SpaceX(33:38) Expanding into Portugal: Opening an R&D Hub(36:59) Shifting Focus: From Hardware to IoT Services(42:48) Advice to Young Founders: Passion and FocusIn this episode, we discuss:Starting Young: How Julian turned his passion for IoT and space into a startup.Building Trust: Convincing customers and investors with an MVP launched on a $30K budget.Accelerators & Fundraising: Lessons from navigating European and U.S. ecosystems.Scaling & Culture: Balancing rapid growth while maintaining focus and passion.