Mitch Hunter-Scullion is the CEO and founder of Asteroid Mining Corporation (AMC), Europe's first asteroid mining company with operations across three continents and partnership with Japanese lab that built HAYABUSA (actual asteroid missions).

In this episode of Rockets and Radars, Mitch shares his journey from a 21-year-old university student writing a dissertation on asteroid mining to building a space robotics company with operations across three continents. From registering the company name on a whim to appearing on BBC World News, from failed crowdfunding campaigns to million-pound investment rounds, Mitch explains how he transformed an "impossible dream" into reality. He discusses developing climbing robots for both terrestrial industrial applications and future space missions, navigating cultural differences between UK and Japanese space ecosystems, and how persistence through skepticism led to collaborations with Tohoku University and the Japanese space industry.

Want to get hired in AMC? https://tally.so/r/wbX6Go

Want to invest in AMC? https://tally.so/r/npXk1b

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Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:05) From University to Company

(07:00) Credibility Crisis: When Everyone Thinks You're Mad

(11:09) BBC World Breakthrough

(14:24) The Crowdfunding Disaster: Why It Failed

(18:40) Extreme Bootstrap: Living on £500 for Years

(22:51) Japan Partnership: Random Beer to Tohoku University

(33:22) Product Pivot: Satellites to Climbing Robots Strategy

(39:00) First Million: The Institutional Investment Reality

(47:48) Near-Term vs Ultimate Mission: Balancing Revenue & Vision

(58:23) Fire Round Questions

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Takeaways:

1) Say yes to every conversation, especially early on"If someone wants to talk, you always talk... Random emails and coffee meetings led to Mitch's biggest partnerships and investment opportunities.

2) One major media appearance can instantly establish credibility "When I first went on BBC News, people were like, okay, so I actually see something's real here." Early founders desperately need credibility - prioritize getting one big media hit over many small ones.

3) Crowdfunding teaches you what real business looks like"Projects are projects, but business is business. Business is about creating a product and being able to generate profits." Failed crowdfunding forced Mitch to understand the difference between cool projects and viable businesses.

4) Extreme frugality can extend your runway for years"I didn't have any more than £500 in my bank account... overnight buses from Glasgow to London."

5) Academic partnerships are the easiest way into new markets"Academic partnerships are a really good way for startups to get their foot into a new market." Universities provide low-risk entry, cultural guidance, and credibility in foreign countries.

6) Build sustainable revenue before attempting your moonshot"Slow and steady wins the race... we don't approve of the get to asteroids or go bust model." Terrestrial customers fund your space dreams and provide resilience against failures.

7) Design once, sell twice: space tech for Earth applications"We always knew there were going to be industrial applications... synergistic development opportunities." Every space technology should have an Earth market - maritime, nuclear, mining industries pay well and prove your tech.

8) Investors care more about timelines than technical perfection." Investors really wanted to see timelines... The quicker you can have something that you can demo, the better." Show progress and momentum over perfect engineering - demos beat specifications.

9) Prepare financially and mentally for inevitable space failures"Space is incredibly difficult... when things go wrong, you need to be resilient." Unlike software, space has catastrophic single-point failures - build multiple revenue streams and mental toughness before attempting orbital missions.