To celebrate World Entrepreneurs Day, we caught up with our incubatees and asked them to share their top tip for aspiring entrepreneurs as well as finding out a little more about their experience so far!

Meet Marco from Super Sharp Space Systems Ltd

Super-Sharp Space Systems are an Earth imaging start-up developing self-aligning unfolding space telescopes in collaboration with the University of Cambridge. Their technology enables them to fit big telescopes in small satellites such as CubeSats; providing thermal Earth imagery with unprecedented detail daily.

Here is what Marco had to say …

1. What inspired you to develop your business model/idea?  

Before moving to the UK, I was working as the Project Manager of the first satellite mission in my home country (Costa Rica). This was a CubeSat mission that we launched in 2018 to monitor the nation’s rainforests and measure carbon sequestration. During the project, I saw the immense economic and social value that small satellites could provide, so I decided to move to the UK to start up a space company. After relocating, my co-founders and I spun out Super-Sharp Space Systems from the University of Cambridge, where we’re developing unfolding space telescopes to capture high-resolution thermal infrared images of the Earth.       

2. What attracted you to the ESA BIC UK?   

The ESA BIC UK is a fantastic programme for us since we’re an upstream company and ESA BIC provides not only technical support to develop our product, but also access to facilities that will allow us to build and test a space-rated telescope. The programme also offers valuable business support and access to the network at the Harwell Campus, which hosts one of the largest space clusters in Europe.

3. What would you say are the qualities of a good entrepreneur?

Above all, a good entrepreneur must be perseverant. There will be a lot of uncertainty when developing your start-up and things will rarely go as planned. The entrepreneur must make the best of the situation and find ways to keep growing the company.

4. What would be your ‘top tip’ for aspiring entrepreneurs? 

The top tip I would give to an aspiring entrepreneur is to listen to feedback, especially from potential customers. Try to understand what problems you are trying to solve before developing solutions. That way you know that you will have a demand for your product or service before you bring it to market.

Find out more about Super Sharp Space Systems Ltd:

https://www.super-sharp.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/super-sharp-space-systems-ltd/