It is rocket science: Gilmour Space and Vow on non-technical founders in deep tech

Despite being the CEOs of deep tech companies, both Adam Gilmour (Gilmour Space Technologies) and George Peppou (Vow) happily admit that they are non-technical founders. In fact, they believe there are unique advantages founders and leaders like them can bring to tech startups.

The pair discussed this during a fireside chat at the Tech Council of Australia’s Parliamentary Innovative Tech Showcase in Canberra on Monday. Both founders agreed that non-technical founders can bring a fresh perspective that is crucial for the sector.

“I have a science degree but I would say I’m far from being a scientist,” Peppou said.

“The advantage of a venture are these more generalist founders that have found a problem not necessarily in their own domain and they’ve figured out how to create the start of a culture that can solve these problems in a repeatable way.”

According to Peppou, not being specialised in one particular area lets him connect the dots across multiple disciplines.

“We can look at a problem and say, actually, that particular problem has been solved really well in aerospace, so we need to go and hire people or find expertise from aerospace,” Peppou said.

“Or that particular problem can be really well solved medtech… or software.”

Peppou also believes that combining expertise from different fields is essential for deep tech success in Australia.

“You’re able to figure out the types of skills you need, get them together… and hopefully create an environment where they can work together and solve those problems.”

Gilmour, who started in financial markets, explained how his experience with mathematical formulas in derivatives trading translated unexpectedly well to rocket science.

“A lot of the formulas for pricing derivatives are not too far away from the formulas to calculate how much payload you can get to space,” Gilmour said.

Hiring the right experience

But technical expertise is still imperative.

Both Gilmour and Peppou emphasised the importance of hiring top-tier talent to bring specialised knowledge to their teams.

Peppou recounted how recruiting experts from SpaceX has been pivotal for Vow.

“When you look at the system of the rocket, and you look at the system of a bioreactor, they are both pressure vessels with a bunch of tubes and valves. So your likelihood of failure is proportional to the complexity of the system,” Peppou said.

“So you get some from Starship and they know how to make stainless steel cheap and reliable and they have a heap of understanding on how to simplify that.

“So then it’s a question of how do you attract people like that to move here?”

Peppou said creating a compelling narrative is necessary to attract talent and cash. And both companies have done incredibly well on that front. Gilmour Space closed on $55 million in Series D back in February and Vow landed $73 million in late 2022.

“The capital is there if you have a compelling story, and the talent problem can be solved if you can tell an inspiring story and get a few key experts to move to Australia,” Peppou said.

The timing on this was interesting considering it coincided with the release of the TCA’s AI jobs report, which highlighted a critical need for skilled workers in the space — something that continues to apply to the broader tech sector in Australia.

“You’re able to join the dots and figure out the skills you need, then create an environment where they can work together to solve problems,” Peppou said.

Looking beyond our own shores, and sky, Gilmour highlighted the increasing global demand for launch capabilities and the strategic importance of Australia developing its own.

“There’s only six nations that launch to orbit regularly — and when we go we’re the seventh. That’s a big deal. So we’re not only supporting Australia’s space capability, but we will support all of our allies as well,” Gilmour said.

Never miss a story: sign up to SmartCompany’s free daily newsletter and find our best stories on LinkedIn.