I’m an engineer and exited bootstrap entrepreneur helping companies do hard things well
ABOUT MEI have spent the last decade working across the interface of deep tech engineering, business, and entrepreneurship.
I got my start at SpaceX, helping lead the design, build, activation, and operation of SLC-4E, the launch site at Vandenberg AFB.
Then I moved on to lead the field work of the Recovery landing barges from early build through serving as Deck Boss on the first missions.
Most recently, I founded The Launch Company, a bootstrapped space hardware company based in Alaska which I successfully sold to Voyager Space.
But before all that, I grew up working in my family’s small air cargo company, helping fly groceries, fuel, and other critical supplies to dozens of communities off the road system across Western Alaska.
Core Values
These are some of the principles I follow when engaging with clients in the often challenging, stressful, and time-constrained world of hardware engineering and coaching.
Resourceful
Being resourceful means being adroit, adaptable, and capable in all situations. It means not knowing all the answers, but having the tools to work to craft or discover the best solution for each unique situation.
Calm
As my Dad used to say, “If you’re flying through a storm lost, taking on ice, running low on fuel, and decide to panic… well, you’ll definitely die.” Staying calm ensures that we don’t let our worst instincts derail us or obscure the narrow path forward.
Courageous
Courage doesn’t mean charging ahead with no fear. It means being brave enough to move deliberately with discipline, to admit when we’re wrong, and to have the hard conversations to make things right.
Humble
There is no one person that is singularly capable of solving any real challenge that matters. Similarly, there is no fixed path through development. By remaining humble and grounded, we are able to keep our eyes open to possibility and constantly interrogate our assumptions.
Curious Questioning
Maintaining a mindset of curious questioning, where all assumptions and ideas are evaluated with first principles thinking is key to finding the most efficient solution. We find new paths when many voices question from different perspectives and we are humbly, honestly, and courageously open to whatever the answer may be.
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The mission of the Arctic Encounter Symposium is to convene leaders and experts from every arena to tackle the shared interests and concerns of the united states and the global community as we look north to the last emerging frontier—the arctic.
The arctic encounter strives to challenge the status quo dialogue, critically address challenges to realizing the arctic's full potential, advocate for the peoples who live there, and collaborate on sustainable solutions for the future.
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I serve on the advisory board for Borealis, a two-month cohort-based remote work experience in Anchorage, Alaska helping people connect with this great state!
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I serve on the board of directors for Commonwealth North, whose mission is to educate Alaskans on significant public policy issues and assist in identifying effective solutions.
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I am the EIR for the University of Alaska inside of the Center for Economic Development where I focus on intellectual property licensing, coaching entrepreneurs, and helping run curriculum for in-house accelerator Upstart Alpha.
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I am a member of Swage Ventures whose mission of is to provide deep industry expertise to nurture and propel early and mid-stage companies toward success. By offering a wide range of services, including due diligence, mentorship, and revitalizing turnarounds, we strive to provide invaluable guidance and support to companies at all stages.
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The First 30 Trips is a memoir that explores a failed search for worthiness and identity through work, and the adventures that happen along the way.
Set against the backdrop of a youth spent flying through the bush of Alaska and the insanity of the New Space Race building launch pads and landing rockets on the high seas, The First 30 Trips examines the limits of our ego’s desire to be known and to make a mark upon the world while imploring us instead to let the world be known through us.
It is the story of how I transitioned from a small, fast, tightly controlled existence dominated by the mind to a slower, wider, deeper heart-centered life of discovery.
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The Next 30 Trips is about navigating the next 30 years of life, whether you’re 20, already 30, or somewhere beyond. More, it’s an evolving exploration of purpose and career outside of the typical path, and the typical norms.
By the time I was thirty, I’d lived a lot of the early dreams I thought I had: I’d launched rockets, worked on landing them at sea, and found myself totally burnt out with no joy. That’s how I started my next 30 trips around the sun, with the intention to live a more present and authentic life.
From learning to slow down, to finding the real motivations behind what drives us, to learning to do really hard things the best we can, this newsletter seeks to explore the interfaces and edges of what makes up our lives so we might best pursue our authentic paths.
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The Wolfpack
Les Loups Lumineux (or Laylu for short) seems like a funny name for a hard tech coaching and consulting firm, but it is the basis of why I do the work I do. It comes from my daughter’s nickname for our family — “The Wolfpack.”
I keep my children in mind with every project I am a part of because the world we are leaving them needs revolutionary hardware that actually works. Not hype, not vaporware, not half-cocked prototypes that barely run to juice investor returns.
Just as importantly, our world needs the companies that create those technologies to be run by those who truly understand the people and communities they serve, as well as the legacy they leave behind.
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