# Planet: Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-12-13
- Length: 1h 00m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler

## Summary

Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler, co-founders of Planet, explain how they left NASA to build small, inexpensive Earth-observation satellites, starting with prototypes in a garage and launching the first Dove satellites in 2013. They detail the strategic decision to leverage consumer electronics and accept higher failure rates to achieve daily global imaging, eventually scaling to a fleet of over 400 satellites. The company recently went public on the NYSE, raising nearly $600 million, while maintaining an ethics committee to manage the dual-use nature of their data for both humanitarian and security applications.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler#t=0) Introduction: Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler of Planet
- [1:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler#t=61) The First Image and Early Inspiration at NASA
- [14:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler#t=889) PhoneSat and Leveraging Consumer Electronics
- [26:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler#t=1596) Leaving NASA to Build Satellites in a Garage
- [38:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler#t=2339) Building 'Clean Enough' Rooms and Prototyping
- [41:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler#t=2498) The 2013 Launch and First Successful Images
- [48:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler#t=2926) Scaling to 400+ Satellites and Public Listing
- [52:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler#t=3126) Ethics, Security, and Dual-Use Data Policy

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Planet (company)
- NASA (company)
- PhoneSat (product)
- Dove (product)
- SpaceX (company)
- Google (company)
- Tesla (company)

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