Started from Zero at 33 — Now He’s Building a $1B Airline | Blake Scholl

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

March 21, 2025

Duration

40m

Channel

Silicon Valley Girl

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

📌 FREE marketing report to improve your marketing strategy with powerful tools, proven strategies that will boost your 2025 marketing approach and help you stay ahead in an AI-first world - https://clickhubspot.com/q0iw Blake Scholl is the founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, the company revolutionising air travel with supersonic jets. Blake openly shares the mindset shifts that helped him overcome rejection and industry skepticism, transitioning from a software engineer at Amazon to leading an aerospace company valued at more than $1 billion. Links: 📩 Follow my Newsletter: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe 🔗 My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ 📌 My Companies & Products: https://Marinamogilko.co 📹 Video brainstorming, research, and project planning - all in one place - https://partner.spotterstudio.com/ideas-with-marina 💻 Resources that helps my team and me grow the business:

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⭐ Download my English language workbook - https://bit.ly/3hH7xFm Timestamps: 00:00 - Teaser 0:54 - His early career, 14 years in tech 2:12 - "People have to declare big things for big things to actually happen." 3:31 - Working at Amazon with Jeff Bezos, the lessons he learned there 7:38 - What led him to transition from a corporate job to starting Boom 8:20 - Why he quit his stable job at 33, with newborn twins and a toddler daughter 9:06 - How much money he saved for his startup 9:44 - How he managed his time with family while building a startup 10:30 - How he started a company without formal education 12:57 - How he moved from theory to practice 14:30 - Challenges in hiring the right people 15:50 - "When I told people I was building a supersonic jet, they said, 'Are you crazy?'" 17:18 - Why you shouldn’t listen to industry experts and should check the information yourself 19:20 - No one can tell you what you’re capable of, except yourself 19:56 - The failures that can turn out to be winning moments 20:33 - The hardest day at Boom 21:17 - 3 weeks from bankruptcy – What separates a successful founder from a failing one? 22:00 - Why 99% of startups fail 22:30 - How close they are to launching 24:00 - Legal bans and challenges that stopped them 26:12 - How everything can change in just 4 weeks 26:20 - How to navigate the challenge of 3x the carbon emissions that jets use 28:58 - The costs of flying on a supersonic jet 30:18 - Why increasing speed is important and how it can drive growth in other fields 32:45 - How he manages work-life balance while working at a startup 33:35 - "The world is really open to supersonic right now. We have to move fast. I haven't had a day off in 4 months." 34:40 - The story behind the Trump photo 37:00 - Advice for someone who’s stuck with their idea of building a startup but is facing obstacles 38:00 - Stop being afraid of failure 39:18 - What he would say to the younger version of himself This video is sponsored by Hubspot. I use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using my affiliate links, I will get a bonus). #siliconvalleygirl #boomsupersonic #podcast

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Marina Mogilko

  host

• Blake Scholl

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Silicon Valley Girl, featuring Marina Mogilko and Blake Scholl, Started from Zero at 33 — Now He’s Building a $1B Airline | Blake Scholl explores from Amazon engineer to supersonic airline founder, defying conventional wisdom Blake Scholl recounts quitting a well-paid corporate role at 33—while raising a toddler and newborn twins—to start Boom, betting that supersonic passenger travel was economically and technically viable despite widespread skepticism.

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