Joe Latrell, CEO of Beyond-Earth Enterprises was the guest for this Space Show program. We began our discussion by asking Joe about his winning the recent business plan competition and the NewSpace 2007 conference. We covered his preparation for the competition, his critique during the day when the judges worked with Joe, his team, and the same for the other competitor, SpeedUp. Joe found the critique to be hard hitting and very useful and talks openly about it on the show and with listeners. Joe suggested a strong focus on what investors wanted and expected from a company in reading the business plan so you will want to hear this from Joe's perspective. Bill, a Virginia listener, asked Joe if his crew was still voluntary with day jobs or if they were full time now that the company was located in Roswell, NM. It was interesting to hear that two of the employees commute to Roswell each weekend to work on the rockets. At this time, there are three full time employees at Beyond-Earth. I asked Joe about buying rocket motors and if so, who does he buy from or does make his own. His answer was interesting. Don't miss it. Also, how he fabricates the rockets, the material used, and how he makes the motors if necessary. One listener asked him a few political questions about the Spaceport America and Gov. Richardson running for president. While Joe fell short of endorsing Richardson, he did tell us an interesting story about the serious interest Richardson has in space development. You will want to hear this story. One thing Joe and his crew understood from the business plan "school" was their need to really understand their market. The suggestion was given them that they might be better off splitting the company into two parts, one for the consumer products and one for launch services. I'm sure you will find this a most interesting discussion. The Beyond-Earth Enterprises website is at www.beyond-earth.com/. You can reach Joe Latrell through the website by selecting Company at the top and to the right. Or you can email him directly at joe_latrell@beyond-earth.com.
Guest
The Space Show
