Michael Boyarsky, CEO & Co-Founder of Extellis: Building a SpaceTech Company in NC and Meta Materials 101
Michael Boyarsky, CEO and co-founder of Extellis, joins me to talk about turning more than a decade of Duke metamaterials research into a satellite imaging company.
Michael explains what metamaterials are and why heat, not cold, is the real challenge for satellites in orbit. He also describes the conference moment when a competitor bragged about 2 percent uptime, and he thought the industry could do far better. He walks through the path from a DARPA-funded ground prototype to a spreadsheet that made the business case clear, and from there to spinning out of Duke with help from Duke New Ventures.
The conversation also covers how Extellis is getting to orbit without building its own satellites. The company is partnering with Astro Digital and riding on the ecosystem SpaceX made possible. Michael shares the details of its oversubscribed 6.8 million dollar seed round led by Oval Park Capital and the upcoming Pathfinder satellite. He closes with advice for researchers who are thinking about starting a company: begin with a real market need, not a technology looking for a home.
This is the Tweener Fund's first space investment, and it's a great listen for anyone curious about deep tech, university spinouts, or the new space economy.
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to NC Tweener Talks
00:25 Thanks to our sponsors
01:35 Scot's intro: the Tweener Fund's first space investment
03:30 Welcome Michael Boyarsky
04:00 From Boston College physics to Duke's metamaterials lab
06:35 What is a metamaterial?
08:05 Negative refraction and the invisibility cloak
10:45 From lab demos to satellite imaging
11:45 Why heat is a problem in space
13:45 The 2% uptime moment
15:35 DARPA prototype: could we hit 20-25%?
17:00 How you build a metamaterial
20:10 "The company started in a spreadsheet"
21:55 Duke New Ventures and learning to run a company
24:00 Customer discovery in deep tech
26:45 Target markets beyond defense
29:30 Why Extellis needs its own satellite, but not its own factory
32:25 SpaceX and the space ecosystem
36:40 Fundraising: Oval Park Capital and Shell Ventures
38:55 The pathfinder: Astro Digital and a ride on a Falcon
41:05 Pathfinder goals, size, and orbit
46:00 Advice for deep tech founders and wrap
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Where to Find Michael Boyarsky:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelboyarsky/
Extellis: https://www.extellis.com/
Where to Find Scot Wingo:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/
Tweener Times: https://www.tweenertimes.com/
X: https://x.com/scotwingo
---
This episode of Triangle Tweener Talks is hosted by Scot Wingo, presented and produced by NC Tweener Fund, with creative assets and design support from Walk West.
We couldn’t share posts like this without our amazing sponsors:
Platinum:
NC IDEA: https://ncidea.org
Gold Sponsors:
- Balentine: https://www.balentine.com/triangle-entrepreneurs
- EisnerAmpner: https://www.eisneramper.com
- Robinson Bradshaw: https://www.robinsonbradshaw.com
Silver Sponsors:
- Automated Consulting Group: https://automated.co
- Bank of America: https://business.bofa.com/en-us/content/technology-industry-group.html
Michael explains what metamaterials are and why heat, not cold, is the real challenge for satellites in orbit. He also describes the conference moment when a competitor bragged about 2 percent uptime, and he thought the industry could do far better. He walks through the path from a DARPA-funded ground prototype to a spreadsheet that made the business case clear, and from there to spinning out of Duke with help from Duke New Ventures.
The conversation also covers how Extellis is getting to orbit without building its own satellites. The company is partnering with Astro Digital and riding on the ecosystem SpaceX made possible. Michael shares the details of its oversubscribed 6.8 million dollar seed round led by Oval Park Capital and the upcoming Pathfinder satellite. He closes with advice for researchers who are thinking about starting a company: begin with a real market need, not a technology looking for a home.
This is the Tweener Fund's first space investment, and it's a great listen for anyone curious about deep tech, university spinouts, or the new space economy.
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to NC Tweener Talks
00:25 Thanks to our sponsors
01:35 Scot's intro: the Tweener Fund's first space investment
03:30 Welcome Michael Boyarsky
04:00 From Boston College physics to Duke's metamaterials lab
06:35 What is a metamaterial?
08:05 Negative refraction and the invisibility cloak
10:45 From lab demos to satellite imaging
11:45 Why heat is a problem in space
13:45 The 2% uptime moment
15:35 DARPA prototype: could we hit 20-25%?
17:00 How you build a metamaterial
20:10 "The company started in a spreadsheet"
21:55 Duke New Ventures and learning to run a company
24:00 Customer discovery in deep tech
26:45 Target markets beyond defense
29:30 Why Extellis needs its own satellite, but not its own factory
32:25 SpaceX and the space ecosystem
36:40 Fundraising: Oval Park Capital and Shell Ventures
38:55 The pathfinder: Astro Digital and a ride on a Falcon
41:05 Pathfinder goals, size, and orbit
46:00 Advice for deep tech founders and wrap
-----
Where to Find Michael Boyarsky:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelboyarsky/
Extellis: https://www.extellis.com/
Where to Find Scot Wingo:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/
Tweener Times: https://www.tweenertimes.com/
X: https://x.com/scotwingo
---
This episode of Triangle Tweener Talks is hosted by Scot Wingo, presented and produced by NC Tweener Fund, with creative assets and design support from Walk West.
We couldn’t share posts like this without our amazing sponsors:
Platinum:
NC IDEA: https://ncidea.org
Gold Sponsors:
- Balentine: https://www.balentine.com/triangle-entrepreneurs
- EisnerAmpner: https://www.eisneramper.com
- Robinson Bradshaw: https://www.robinsonbradshaw.com
Silver Sponsors:
- Automated Consulting Group: https://automated.co
- Bank of America: https://business.bofa.com/en-us/content/technology-industry-group.html
------
Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:
Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:
- Atomic Object: https://atomicobject.com/
