The Valley of Death, Part II: Surviving the Middle
In this episode of VHTB, hosts Brian Mejeur of AdAstra Talent Advisors, Matt Gjertsen of Better Every Day Studios, and Justus Kilian of Space Capital continue their deep-dive series on one of the hardest stretches in the life of a space startup. the middle of the Valley of Death.
After the early wins and momentum of scaling up, this phase tests a company’s culture, leadership, and clarity of mission. The team explores how founders can maintain alignment, make difficult organizational decisions, and protect morale while navigating financial constraints and operational complexity.
From lessons on leadership cadence and communication velocity to real-world examples like True Anomaly and Ursa Major, this conversation sheds light on how experienced founders survive the mid-valley turbulence, and how a clear mission and disciplined decision-making can determine whether you climb out or stall midway.
Episode Highlights
00:00 Setting the Stage: Entering the Middle of the Valley
03:45 Reflection Cadence: When and How Often to Reevaluate
06:25 Restructuring and Accountability: Signals It’s Time for Change
09:09 Communication Velocity: The Hidden Growth Driver
12:11 When Growth Stalls: Making Tough Organizational Calls
13:27 Lessons from Ursa Major: Pivoting Through Pain
15:59 Preserving Morale Amid Layoffs and Change
18:17 The Importance of Milestones and Long-Term Vision
19:56 Selective Hiring in a Constrained Environment
23:07 Wrapping Up: Staying Lean, Aligned, and Vision-Driven
Episode Takeaways
- Pause and Reflect: Build quarterly off-sites into your cadence to assess alignment, performance, and priorities.
- Structure with Clarity: Replace personality-driven org charts with accountability-based structures to prevent chaos.
- Maintain Communication Velocity: Fast information flow equals fast growth — keep communication channels tight and consistent.
- Make Hard Calls Early: Identify misalignment and address it decisively before cultural or financial decay sets in.
- Lead with Vision: A shared mission can sustain morale through layoffs, pivots, and funding crunches.
- Hire with Intention: Even in lean times, strategic hires in critical functions can make or break your path through the valley.
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Social media links for each organization can be found on their respective websites.
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