Episode 19

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Published on:

8th Oct 2025

How do successful startups attract and close top talent?

Recruiting Best Practices for Space Startups

In this episode of VHTB, Brian Mejeur of AdAstra Talent Advisors takes the lead in a focused conversation on building a high-impact, scalable recruiting process for early-stage space startups. He's joined by co-hosts Matt Gjertsen of Better Every Day Studios and Justus Kilian of Space Capital.

Drawing on years of hands-on experience in the space startup world, including hiring lessons from companies like SpaceX, Brian breaks down six core principles for building a hiring process that not only attracts the right technical talent but also aligns with your company’s culture and long-term goals.

From why your ATS will break sooner than you think, to how verbal offers can dramatically improve close rates, this episode is loaded with hands-on advice for founders, hiring managers, and operators navigating the high-stakes talent market in aerospace and deep tech.

Episode highlights:

00:00  Kicking Off the Conversation on Recruiting

01:08 The Case for Getting Organized Early. Why a spreadsheet will eventually fail you

04:37 Designing a Repeatable Interview Process..

05:55 Structuring Interviews That Actually Work

07:42 Don’t Wait to Move Great Candidates

08:47 The First Call: Motivation Over Résumé

11:42 Common Misses in Candidate Motivation

12:48 Why Culture Fit Often Matters More Than Technical Skills

14:52 Delivering Offers the Right Way

17:20 Why Candidates Might Tell Your Recruiter the Truth

19:28 Why Speed and Clear Communication Win Top Talent

20:57 Wrapping Up: Build Recruiting as a Core Capability

Episode Takeaways

  • Get organized early. An ATS isn’t optional once your pipeline grows. Start simple, but start smart.
  • Define your process. Standardize the interview flow to create consistency, reduce delays, and compare apples to apples.
  • Dig deep on motivations. Don’t assume candidates know what they want. Help them find out, and reflect it back.
  • Hire for culture, not just credentials. Skill gaps can be closed faster than misaligned values.
  • Move fast, or lose people. Communicate constantly and don’t let top talent languish.
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About the Podcast

A VC, a Headhunter, and a Trainer Walk into a Bar
VHTB is your guide to the talent, culture, and finance side of the space start-up ecosystem. Each episode, hosts Matt Gjertsen from Better Every Day Studios, Seyka & Brian Mejeur of AdAstra Talent Advisors, and Justus Kilian of Space Capital will share stories and insights from their experiences working with some of the most innovative companies on the planet.

About your hosts

Brian Mejeur

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Founder, CTO/COO, Advisor | Space, Clean Tech & Defense Talent Expert | Ex-SpaceX Engineer | Husband | Dad

Brian is one of the founders of AdAstra Talent Advisors where he functions as CTO and COO while partnering with leading early stage startups in Space, Defense, and Clean Tech.

Having spanned 7 years at SpaceX, a stint at an early stage startup, and holding BS & MS degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Brian’s experience in the trenches as an engineer and in operations allows him to relate first hand to the talent and hiring needs of AdAstra's clients.

Seyka Mejeur

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Founder, CEO, Advisor | Space, Clean Tech & Defense Talent Expert | Pilot | Wife | Mom
(titles not in order of importance)

Relentlessly resourceful and unusually optimistic, Seyka is deeply involved with world-changing startups. As a founder and CEO of AdAstra Talent Advisors, she builds thriving teams in NewSpace, Clean Tech, and Defense - empowering innovation that future generations depend on.

With a passion for relationships and a belief in the power of empowered teams, she helps visionary leaders turn bold ideas into reality.

Justus Kilian

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Justus is a Partner at Space Capital, a seed-stage venture firm investing in space-based infrastructure and their applications. Portfolio companies include SpaceX, Impulse Space, Varda, and Xona. He is active on multiple portfolio company boards and manages the firm’s recruiting platform, Space Talent. Before his current roles, Justus worked at Acumen, a $250M early-stage venture firm investing across East Africa and South Asia supporting over 50 companies through growth, turnaround, and exit.

Matthew Gjertsen

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Matt Gjertsen is the founder of Better Every Day Studios, a leadership development company that focuses on turning great engineers into great managers. Prior to starting his own company, Matt spent five years as the head of Training & Development at SpaceX, and 10 years training future military leaders as an Instructor Pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He and his team are on a mission to help train better managers that build better companies, to create a better world.