Relentless #49 - Ian Laffey, Cofounder & CEO of Theseus
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Sep 23, 2025 Ian Laffey, Cofounder and CEO of Theseus, dives into the challenges of drone navigation in GPS-denied environments. He reveals the innovative hackathon prototype that sparked his journey and discusses the pivot after realizing initial designs fell short. Laffey shares insights on using commodity sensors effectively, building trust with frontline users in Ukraine, and the crucial shift from CTO to CEO. With stories of failures, lessons learned, and enthusiasm for scaling their technology, he highlights the mission to empower drones in conflict zones and beyond.
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Hackathon Prototype Sparked Real Demand
- Ian Laffey built a GPS-free drone prototype at a hackathon that used Google Maps to fingerprint location.
- He posted it on Twitter, woke up to urgent messages from Ukraine and government contacts, and realized the idea mattered immediately.
Fix Prototypes By Hunting Source Knowledge
- Read academic papers and talk to researchers when early prototypes fail.
- Use expert conversations to rapidly converge on viable technical approaches.
GPS Fragility Drives Need For Alternatives
- GPS is central to military navigation and easy to jam, so GPS-only systems are fragile in conflict.
- Jamming forces adversaries to design non-GPS navigation for reliable terminal and precision guidance.