# You Don’t Have To Be A Billionaire To Launch Satellites

**Author:** Jared Friedman, Diana Hu
**Type:** Video
**URL:** https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Lm-you-don-t-have-to-be-a-billionaire-to-launch-satellites
**YouTube ID:** Q0Xs0lGgwVA

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There’s a misconception that in order to build a hard tech company you need billions of dollars to even create an MVP.
But that’s not always the case. Take Astranis, for example. They got their start building a small prototype in an
apartment, and today, they're worth more than a billion dollars and are gearing up to launch four new satellites into
space on a dedicated Falcon 9 rocket.   
  
We visited Astranis co-founders John Gedmark and Ryan MckLinko to find out how they pulled it off and what lessons they
have for founders who want to build a hard tech company of their own.

