Episode 38

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Published on:

22nd Apr 2026

Q1 '26 Recap: NASA reset, SpaceX liquidity, and what comes next

What actually changes when leadership changes at NASA?

You hear a lot about culture shifts, but what does that actually look like in practice?

And how quickly does it show up in real decisions?

In this episode, the VHTB team breaks down a packed Q1 2026, starting with the shift happening inside NASA. From the Starliner fallout to a renewed focus on accountability and transparency, they break down what changes when leadership sets a very different tone and how that impacts risk, decision-making, and culture across the organization.

The potential SpaceX IPO could be a major inflection point for the entire ecosystem. With a wave of experienced talent potentially gaining liquidity, the question becomes what happens next. Do we see a surge of new founders, more early retirements, or a shift toward consulting and more flexible work?

Financial freedom changes how people evaluate motivation, how investors think about teams in this environment, and why hiring and building are becoming more competitive. It reflects a broader shift across culture, talent, and capital and what that means for anyone building in hard tech.

Episode Highlights

[00:00] Q1 2026 overview and why this quarter matters

[01:00] What Happens When NASA Starts Owning Its Mistakes?

[03:44] How Leadership at NASA Changes Risk and Decision-Making

[05:58] What NASA’s Leadership Shift Actually Changes in Practice

[09:59] The SpaceX IPO and the Next Wave of Space Founders

[12:13] What Actually Drives Founder Motivation in Hard Tech?

[16:27] The Rise of High-Conviction, High-Capital Space Companies

[20:12] What’s Next for Hard Tech Investment and Space Launches?

Episode Takeaways

  • Leadership defines culture most clearly in high-risk organizations where decisions carry real consequences
  • Transparency is not just cultural, it directly impacts trust, speed, and execution quality
  • Liquidity events don’t just create wealth, they reshape who builds, who stays, and who exits entire industries
  • When financial pressure changes, motivation becomes harder to read and harder to design around
  • Hiring is still one of the biggest bottlenecks in hard tech, even as capital increases
  • More capital is flowing into the ecosystem, but expectations for execution are rising just as fast
  • Building in hard tech is becoming more expensive, but also more structured and institutionalized than before

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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 capital forces shaping the hard tech startup ecosystem. Each episode, hosts Justus Kilian of Space Capital, Seyka, and Brian Mejeur of AdAstra Talent Advisors, and Matt Gjertsen of BUILT bring stories and lessons from the front lines of building and backing 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 BUILT, 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.