Relentless Building Long-Range Hypersonic Missiles | Bryon Hargis, Castelion
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Oct 10, 2025 
Bryon Hargis, cofounder and CEO of Castellion, leads a breakthrough startup focused on hypersonic missiles. He discusses the rapid iteration processes inspired by SpaceX, emphasizing the importance of speed over traditional methods. Hargis shares his journey through fundraising struggles, the significance of transparency in financial matters, and lessons learned from hands-on engineering. He advocates for tackling medium-hard problems first and highlights the need for frequent testing to maintain national competitiveness in aerospace.
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Deterrence In A Can
- Hypersonic missiles offer a middle-ground deterrent between sanctions and nuclear options by closing distance quickly and surviving intercepts.
- Bryon Hargis argues they restore credible non-nuclear coercive options versus peer adversaries like China.
Make Your Own Luck With Relentlessness
- Be relentless: expect repeated rejection and keep trying until you get to yes.
- Bryon Hargis says persistence and grit are the controllable factors in startup success.
Brutal Early Fundraising
- Early fundraising was brutal and Bryon felt unemployed after leaving SpaceX because investors wouldn't fund defense hardware.
- A co-founder was so stressed he later couldn't remember months of that period.