The Man Making Supersonic Flight Possible | Blake Scholl & Boom Supersonic

Key Concepts

• Passion and drive outweighing knowledge and experience
• "Proud failure" - finding value in the attempt, regardless of outcome
• Importance of a motivating mission
• Gratification cycles and their impact on team motivation
• Storytelling as a crucial skill for founders, especially in hard tech
• Making progress tangible
• "Demo the build" - prioritizing iteration and visible progress over perfect demos
• Idiot Index and Slacker Index as metrics for supply chain efficiency
• Challenging conventional wisdom and qualitative claims on quantitative issues
• The bystander effect and its impact on innovation
• Inspiration as a key driver for teams

Main Topics and Key Points

The Importance of Passion and Drive

• Blake argues that passion and drive are more important than prior knowledge and experience for founders.
• Founders can learn what they need to know, but it's hard to change what they love.
• He emphasizes that ambitious founders will always push themselves to their personal "Red Line," so choosing a motivating mission is crucial.
• Example: Blake's transition from e-commerce and mobile apps to supersonic flight, despite having no prior aerospace experience.

The "Proud Failure" Framework

• Blake discusses a framework for choosing what to work on: how happy would you be if you succeeded, and how proud would you be if you failed?
• This framework emphasizes the importance of tackling a mission that is personally meaningful, regardless of the outcome.
• Example: Blake's daughter's response to the possibility of Boom Supersonic failing: "I'd be proud of you for trying."

Career Arc and Finding the Right Mission

• Blake's career path (Amazon, Pelo, Kaa, Groupon, Boom Supersonic) is presented as an example of finding the right mission through trial and error.
• He initially focused on what he knew, but eventually realized he needed to pursue something he was truly passionate about.
• He advises against putting exciting ideas on the shelf, even if you lack the "resume" for them.

Getting Your Head Around Complex Problems

• Blake emphasizes the importance of understanding the problem for yourself, rather than outsourcing it to technical experts.
• He allocated a year to learn about supersonic flight, starting with the failure of the Concorde.
• Process:
  1. Identify the reasons for Concorde's failure (high cost due to bad fuel burn).
  2. Determine the necessary improvements in fuel efficiency to match business class economics (single-digit percentage).
  3. Self-study through textbooks, online courses (Khan Academy), and building spreadsheet models.

The Software vs. Hardware Innovation Gap

• The discussion explores why software innovation seems easier than hardware innovation.
• Software has shorter product cycles and faster gratification cycles (immediate feedback from compilers and users).
• Blake argues that one of Boom's goals is to shorten product cycles in hardware.

Engineering Shorter Gratification Cycles

• Blake shares a story about the XB-1 rollout and the team's burnout after achieving the milestone.
• He realized that burnout is often caused by goals being outside of people's gratification window.
• Solution: Break down large goals into smaller, emotionally rewarding "Mission Success Events" with tangible payoffs.
• Example: Celebrating the first landing gear retraction or the installation of the pilot's seat.

The Importance of Storytelling

• Storytelling is crucial for hard tech companies due to long product cycles and high capital requirements.
• Founders need to create a durable "suspension of disbelief" and persuade investors, airlines, and suppliers to join their mission.
• Exercise: Blake imagined aviation history books in 2050 and how supersonic flight would be achieved.

Making Progress Tangible

• It's important to make real progress that looks like progress.
• Example: Building a physical model of the airplane design to demonstrate its aerodynamic efficiency.
• Key Phrase: "Don't build the demo, demo the build." Prioritize iteration and visible progress over perfect demos.

Supply Chain Efficiency and the "Idiot Index" and "Slacker Index"

• Blake discusses the importance of controlling the supply chain to reduce lead times and costs.
• Idiot Index: Final cost of a part divided by the raw materials cost.
• Slacker Index: Lead time on a part divided by how long it actually takes to make it.
• Example: Bringing turbine blade printing in-house to reduce lead times from months to days.

Challenging Conventional Wisdom

• Blake emphasizes the importance of challenging conventional wisdom and qualitative claims on quantitative issues.
• Example: The belief that people won't pay more for speed or that the supersonic market is too small.
• He encourages measuring these claims rather than accepting them at face value.
• Traffic Solution: Blake believes traffic is 100% solvable and easier than supersonic jets.

The Bystander Effect

• The bystander effect contributes to unsolved problems, as people assume there must be a good reason why nobody is addressing them.

The Business Model

• The traditional engine business model relies on spare parts and maintenance, which disincentivizes innovation.
• Boom Supersonic pledges to make money selling aircraft, not maintaining them.

Reflections on the Journey

• Blake notes that the core idea of Boom Supersonic (all-business class supersonic jet) has remained consistent throughout the journey.
• He was initially surprised that he had "stumbled across the unlock" for supersonic passenger flight.

Inspiration Matters

• Blake emphasizes the importance of inspiration for teams working on hard problems.
• He plans to display the XB-1 in the company lobby to inspire employees.

Homage to Test Pilots

• Blake expresses gratitude to the test pilots, Doc and Jepetto, for their courage and willingness to put their lives on the line.
• He acknowledges that test pilots are often remembered more than the engineers who build the aircraft.

Notable Quotes

• "Passion and drive Trump's knowledge and experience." - Blake Scholl
• "How happy would you be if you succeeded, and how proud would you be if you failed?" - Blake Scholl's framework for choosing what to work on.
• "Don't build the demo, demo the build." - Jeff Holden
• "The risky thing is spending my life not working on what I love 100%." - Blake Scholl
• "People won't pay more for Speed the Market's not big enough unless you solve Sonic Boom" - Blake Scholl

Technical Terms and Concepts

• Lift-to-drag ratio: A measure of aerodynamic efficiency.
• Sonic Boom: The sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound.
• Idiot Index: The final cost of a part divided by the raw materials cost.
• Slacker Index: The lead time on a part divided by how long it actually takes to make it.
• Rene 88/104: Advanced powder metal alloys for high-temperature engine components.
• ME3: A public, open-source material created by NASA.

Logical Connections

• The discussion starts with the importance of passion and drive, which leads to the "proud failure" framework.
• Blake's career arc illustrates the process of finding a mission that aligns with his passions.
• The challenges of hardware innovation are contrasted with the ease of software development, leading to a discussion of gratification cycles.
• Storytelling is presented as a crucial skill for overcoming the challenges of hard tech.
• The importance of making progress tangible and "demoing the build" is linked to the need for shorter gratification cycles.
• Supply chain efficiency is discussed in the context of reducing lead times and costs.
• Challenging conventional wisdom is presented as a way to identify overlooked opportunities.
• The business model of the engine industry is criticized for disincentivizing innovation.
• The discussion concludes with reflections on the journey and an homage to the test pilots.

Data, Research Findings, or Statistics

• A single-digit percentage improvement in fuel efficiency versus Concorde is enough to match the economics of business class.

Synthesis/Conclusion

Blake Scholl's interview emphasizes the importance of passion, drive, and a meaningful mission for founders. He advocates for challenging conventional wisdom, prioritizing iteration and visible progress, and engineering shorter gratification cycles to motivate teams. Storytelling is presented as a crucial skill for hard tech companies, and supply chain efficiency is highlighted as a key factor in reducing lead times and costs. The interview provides actionable insights for founders in both software and hardware, with a particular focus on overcoming the challenges of building in the physical world.