Why Space Startups Need Marketing Early | Space Industry Growth & Branding

Susan Wise: Welcome to Star’s Launch Pod: Space Technology and Research Sciences, brought to you by starsciences.org, where we connect, collaborate, and accelerate. I’m your host, Susan Wise, and I’m really thrilled to have a very interesting and special guest with us today. Her name is Vanessa Mahoney, and Vanessa is from Wanderstar Marketing, specializing in marketing foundations and positioning for early-stage space companies and small- to medium-sized space industry companies, focusing on turning complex innovation into clear, growth-driven messaging.

And if you’re going to be marketing, you definitely need that. Welcome to the podcast.

Vanessa Mahoney: Thank you so much, Susan. I really love being here.

Susan Wise: Well, I want to find out — I mean, I’m thinking, “Space industry marketing already? Are we there? Is that where we’re at now?”

Vanessa Mahoney: I believe so, and I could talk a little bit more about that.

Susan Wise: Yes, absolutely. Tell us what you’re doing to further the space industry, and more about Wanderstar. I’d like to know more about it.

Vanessa Mahoney: As you mentioned, I think my niche has really been early-stage space companies, specifically founders who are so brilliant at the technology, at what they do, and at what they’re bringing to market, but don’t really have the bandwidth or the background to think about how they’re going to communicate that to the outside world — whether it’s investors or prospects.

So a lot of the work that I do right now is really focused on helping them understand that marketing isn’t really a luxury that you throw on later. It should really be part of your infrastructure. And what that means is how you’re showing up publicly, the consistency of your message, and the trust that you build before you even reach out to schedule a call. That’s really where the work starts.

It starts fairly early, especially if you’re trying to build traction with potential customers and raise capital.

Susan Wise: You know, in the old days, the space industry was really governments, but now it’s the private sector, and it’s booming. It’s growing so fast. So yeah, marketing has got to be part of your plan for sure. Do you work on things like your digital footprint, and in what ways?

Vanessa Mahoney: I really do focus on the commercial side of it because, as you mentioned, in traditional space, you talk quite a bit about government and government funding a lot of this new technology before it can be commercialized.

Now what you’re seeing in the space industry is this push for commercialization of new technology that’s space-based — either technology for space or space technologies for Earth. My role is to help companies understand how to communicate their messaging, their technology, what they do, and their reason for being in a way that can be understood by a multitude of audiences.

I also help them think about what marketing channels and digital channels they should focus on based on their budget. As you know, there are conferences every day of the week in the space industry if you really wanted to attend them all.

Susan Wise: Right.

Vanessa Mahoney: So where do you focus your limited budget, and how do you stay top of mind when you can’t be everywhere at once? That’s the challenge — and the joy — Susan.

Susan Wise: I bet. So, have you always been involved in the space industry, or do you bring knowledge and skills from other areas?

Vanessa Mahoney: I spent 15-plus years of my career in B2B technologies, working in other sectors that also have complex technology and also sell business-to-business.

I remember when I was researching the space industry and wondering how relevant my experience would be. So I started having conversations with a lot of those early-stage founders, and that’s really when I had a bit of an “aha” moment.

I realized the marketing challenges they experience aren’t so different from what I had seen in other B2B industries, particularly oil and gas, where you see long sales cycles, deeply technical products, and buyers that are slow to trust and slow to pull the trigger on a purchase.

I’ve spent most of my career in those environments, so I knew what works, what can show people credibility and trust, and I’ve also learned what doesn’t work — and I have some of the scars to prove it.

Susan Wise: That just helps you grow, right?

Vanessa Mahoney: Exactly.

Susan Wise: Okay. If somebody in the space industry comes to you and says, “You know, I need your help. Where do I begin?” What do you look at when someone comes to you?

Vanessa Mahoney: One of the first things I look at is how developed the product is. That’s a key one.

Susan Wise: Mm-hmm.

Vanessa Mahoney: The other thing I look at — and this is probably the biggest one — is: what problem are you solving that is timely for the market today?

Do you understand the bigger problem you’re solving for that B2B customer in a way that you can clearly articulate to them, but also to investors who are potentially looking to invest in your company?

If it’s a very technical founder, they often go deep into the details, so we try to distill that into something easier to understand for somebody who doesn’t live it day to day. But I think the bigger question is whether it’s timely for going to market.

Susan Wise: All right. What is one of your biggest challenges when you have a client like this?

Vanessa Mahoney: The pattern that I see over and over — and now that I illustrate it, you’re going to notice it too — is what I call the “launch hype, quiet void, and SOS cycle.”

What that really describes is a company having a big moment. They just raised funding, so they’re trying to drum up interest around it. Maybe they landed a new contract or hit a product milestone. There’s a flurry of activity. You see them at conferences talking about it. You see them on LinkedIn. You see some earned media.

And then it all goes quiet. Then there’s that internal panic.

Susan Wise: Then there’s the “Oh no! Oh no!”

Vanessa Mahoney: Exactly. And then you hear people in the market saying, “Oh, remember that company? They had that big announcement when they raised their Series A or Series B. Are they still around? No one’s heard from them.” Or, “I don’t even know what they do.”

So I think the biggest challenge is helping founders understand the importance of building credibility early — before they hit that wall, before they hit that void. That’s the challenge in my role.

Susan Wise: You’ve got to have a plan.

Vanessa Mahoney: And I think it’s especially painful in space because of those long sales cycles. We’re not talking about a two-week buying decision.

At any given moment — and this is true for any complex B2B industry — maybe only 5% of your potential buyers are actively in the market. The other 95% are silently observing you in the background, learning more about you on their own timeline.

They’re doing it quietly while trying to decide whether to trust you or not. So the way through that, in my opinion, is consistency. You don’t have to be everywhere all at once, but you do have to show up regularly so people don’t forget that you exist.

Susan Wise: Exactly. And when I think about space in the private sector, there’s Blue Origin and some other names that come to mind. But I wonder what’s going to make the next big thing. Is it going to be the marketing side of it, or the science, the invention — or being able to do both?

Vanessa Mahoney: I think it’s being able to do both. And there’s a nuance with space where you almost have to take a step back and think about the technologies these companies are bringing to market. A lot of them are new even within the space industry itself.

People have to understand why this is needed and why it’s needed now. So there’s a bit of market education that has to happen before you can even think about selling the solution.

Susan Wise: You know, I’m kind of old school, and when I think about marketing a business, I still think a lot of it is about building relationships. I still believe in that.

Vanessa Mahoney: That’s very true in the space industry. We’re talking about major investments in technology. We’re not talking about buying a couple of SaaS licenses for a small team to try out.

We’re talking about big investments in technology, years of development, and building trust.

Susan Wise: Mm-hmm. Yeah — big universe, small world. So, do you have a piece of advice you’d like to share with our listeners?

Vanessa Mahoney: I know this is going to sound easier said than done, but you have to start before you’re ready.

Founders and early teams at early-stage companies are usually heads-down building. Many of them want to wait until the product is further along, until they have a bigger team, or until things feel more polished. But in space, there’s also that extra educational layer — educating the industry on why the problem matters and why it matters now before people even start looking for a solution.

That takes time. You can’t really compress it. So start early.

Even if you don’t use a fractional marketing agency like mine that can come in part-time or help with strategy tailored to your needs, and even if you’re not ready to hire someone in-house, there are still ways to start getting your message out there.

In those early days, you’re doing a lot of founder-led sales anyway. Have the founder share their ideas and educate people about the problem. LinkedIn is a great example — the space industry is super involved and active there. Use it. Leverage it. Share what problem you’re solving and why it’s important to solve it today, whether it’s space debris, data centers in space, or something else entirely.

Start talking about it. You don’t need me or an in-house marketer to begin doing that.

The companies that build real momentum start telling their stories early. They help the market understand the problem before they ever pitch a solution. That’s so key — to keep that drumbeat going consistently, even when you think no one’s listening.

Susan Wise: Oh, they’re listening. I want to know — if someone was interested in seeking your advice or your help with marketing, how would they go about that?

Vanessa Mahoney: They can reach out to me through the website. LinkedIn is also a great way to connect. I spend time at conferences as well, so you can always see on LinkedIn where I’m going to be. I’m always happy to spend time in person, have a chat, and get to know these companies. That’s the fun part of my job.

Susan Wise: And that’s Wanderstar — W-A-N-D-E-R — wanderstarmarketing.com?

Before we wrap up here, Vanessa, do you have a passion project you’d like to share — either past or present?

Vanessa Mahoney: There’s one project that was a lot of fun and that I learned a ton from. Last year, I ran a limited virtual event series. It was a three-part series called Next Orbit: Fund, Build, and Scale.

The idea was to bring together experts that early-stage companies really need access to — people who could help with funding, business development, marketing, and operations — and create a space where founders could get practical guidance, inspiration, and a real sense of direction.

It all started as a conversation with a friend in business development who had worked in the Australian space ecosystem and later moved to Europe to work for a launch company there. We were having coffee and talking about all these ideas, and we thought, “How great would it be if founders could hear this kind of advice?”

He joked around and said, “Well, we should do something about it.” So that’s how the idea came together — over a couple cups of coffee and a few laughs.

We brought in a venture capital expert to talk about what founders need to think about when raising a Series A. It was live, so people could ask questions and get answers in real time. At the end, we provided a checklist of everything discussed so attendees would have something practical to take away.

Imagine getting that kind of advice in an hour without having to go anywhere.

For the business development, sales, and marketing session, it was me and my friend from the European launch company. What better way to talk about the importance of sales and marketing alignment than to do it together?

Susan Wise: I love this. I think you should do that again. Let’s make it a quarterly goal.

Vanessa Mahoney: I loved it. I think we should always keep learning as humans in general.

It was a great opportunity for me to step outside my marketing box and really sit in the shoes of founders to understand what they’re dealing with — funding, operations, sales, all of it.

Susan Wise: Everyone I talk to on Launch Pod says funding is their number one issue. It’s their biggest challenge.

Vanessa Mahoney: Yeah — funding.

Susan Wise: “How do I get funding?” They have the idea, they’ve created something amazing, and now they need the capital to move it forward. It’s always a challenge.

Vanessa Mahoney: You know what? I should put those recordings back up on my website. We had the recordings and the takeaways.

For the funding session, we had a checklist for raising your Series A. For the sales and marketing session, we created a playbook covering sales, marketing, and business development — practical guidance companies could use as they started implementing strategies within their own organizations.

And the last session was about scaling. We brought in an expert to talk about the processes companies should be thinking about as they grow, and attendees received a tactical handout they could use right away.

So people had the chance to ask questions live, learn, and then go execute with some guidance.

Susan Wise: I love it. I really hope you put it back on your website because it’s a wealth of information.

And you are a wealth of information. I love what you’re doing to help the space industry grow because it feels like we’re starting over again in many ways. There’s so much new activity happening, and it’s moving fast. A lot of people are going to need guidance in this area, and I’m so glad you’re here.

Vanessa Mahoney: Glad to be here. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really great founders and learn not just about the technology, but also about the passion behind it. That’s been really rewarding for me and continues to be.

Susan Wise: Vanessa Mahoney, thank you so much for joining us today on Launch Pod.

Be sure to join us where we connect, collaborate, and accelerate. And if you enjoyed this episode, make sure you leave us a review and subscribe.

Until next time, keep looking up.