In this episode of 'Building The Impossible,' host Jocelyn Houle talks with Rob DeMilo, CEO of Sophia Space and venture partner at Spark Labs Global. Rob shares his unique journey from working at NASA and MIT to becoming a serial entrepreneur with seven exits and IPOs. He discusses the necessity of shifting from a scientific to a CEO mindset, the challenges of innovating in space, and the future of deep tech that’s worth investing in. Rob's current venture, Sophia Space, aims to move cloud servers into orbit, addressing issues like power consumption and cooling by using space as a solution. They’re developing self-sustaining, modular servers called tiles designed to function efficiently in space, offering applications ranging from missile tracking to real-time weather prediction. Rob emphasizes the importance of building one working component first and maintaining a unified hardware-software approach to ensure success. This episode is a deep dive into the future of computing and the strategic steps needed to go from lab to launch successfully.

In this episode of 'Building the Impossible,' host Jocelyn Houle converses with Jeff Reid, founder of the Georgetown University Entrepreneurship Initiative. They delve into the significance of entrepreneurship as a life skill, the impact of Jesuit values on creating societal good, and the unique challenges and opportunities in the entrepreneurial landscape. Jeff shares insights on developing an entrepreneurial mindset, the essence of customer empathy, and the importance of a supportive ecosystem. They also discuss Georgetown's holistic approach to fostering innovation across various disciplines and Jeff's plans for exploring entrepreneurial opportunities in Africa.

00:00 Welcome to Building the Impossible

00:43 Introducing Jeff Reid and Georgetown's Entrepreneurship Initiative

01:52 The Importance of an Entrepreneurial Mindset

02:40 Supporting Real Companies and Alumni

03:08 Jeff Reid's Role as a Professor

03:43 Holistic Approach to Entrepreneurship Education

05:59 The Evolution of Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

07:49 Jeff Reid's Journey into Entrepreneurship

10:01 Advice for Technical and Scientific Founders

11:06 The Role of Technology in Entrepreneurship

13:24 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Washington, DC

16:14 Challenges and Realities of Entrepreneurship

18:57 Building a Thriving Entrepreneurial Community

21:15 Expanding Beyond Business: Integrating with the Community

22:09 Navigating the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

23:28 The Importance of a Balanced Entrepreneurial Mix

24:55 Fostering Innovation and Commercialization

26:05 Encouraging Boldness in Young Entrepreneurs

30:05 Case Study: Vinnie Fernando's Entrepreneurial Journey

34:50 Upcoming Events and Opportunities

37:14 Resources and Future Endeavors

Building the Impossible is the podcast for technical founders and innovation leaders who are obsessed with one big question: how do we get really big ideas from lab to launch?

Hosted by Jocelyn Houle—Tech lead, founder, and investor—this show uncovers the stories behind transformational products and the people who build them. We explore the hard-fought paths from prototype to product for technical founders in energy, space, data, AI and frontier tech.

In this episode, Jocelyn speaks with Jim Anderson, of Whisker Labs and author of Good Enough for the Climate. Jim explains how Ting, a smart home sensor powered by AI and real-time cloud analysis, is helping prevent electrical fires in homes while also supplying critical intelligence to modernize the national electric grid.

From personal safety to climate resilience, this conversation reveals how deep tech and mission-driven entrepreneurship can power change at scale.