40 Minute Mentor

Episode 288

April 16, 2025

Rafel Jorda Siquier: Solving the Earth’s biggest challenges from space with Open Cosmos

In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Rafel Jorda Siquier, Founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, the UK-based satellite company on a mission to monitor and combat climate change. 

Founded in 2015, Open Cosmos delivered its first satellite in record time with a team of just five people. Since then, the business has scaled to over €100 million in satellite contracts, a team of over 130 employees in Spain, Portugal, Greece and the UK, and $50 million in Series B funding from leading Investors. 

In today’s episode, you’ll find out more about Rafel’s journey into entrepreneurship, lessons from scaling such a successful business and the important role of satellites in combatting climate change. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40 Minute Mentor: Rafel Jorda Siquier
“Think customer first and grow that traction with the customer, because that makes it so much easier to raise from the right people.”

Rafel Jorda Siquier

Tune in to discover

➡️ A surprising route into aerospace engineering [03:15] 
➡️ The origin story of Open Cosmos [07:30] 
➡️ The huge impact of data [11:30] 
➡️ The decision not to fundraise straight away [14:15] 
➡️ More about today’s episode sponsors [18:30] 
➡️ Scaling the team & attracting high-performers [23:40]  
➡️ Spotting great talent & Rafel’s secret weapon [31:30] 
➡️ Using data to tackle climate change [39:50] 

Listen on

Helpful links

🔍 Find out more: 

Connect with Rafel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaeljorda?originalSubdomain=uk 

More about Open Cosmos: https://www.open-cosmos.com/ 

 

📣Learn more about today’s sponsor: 

Today’s episode is sponsored by Capsule, the neo-broker powered by cutting-edge API technology, redefining insurance for high-growth scaling businesses. 

Capsule streamlines the insurance process, removing manual hassle and delivering tailored solutions that evolve with your business. 

If you’re a venture-backed startup looking to outsource the buying and management of your insurance, head over to www.capsulecover.com to find out more. 


🎧 You may also enjoy: 

Steve Etherton: Building the NASA of the Ocean with DEEP

Pierre Paslier: Making Packaging Disappear with Earthshot Prize Winners Nopla

Adrienne Adhami: How to make decisions in a world of endless choice

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

Explore more episodes

40 Minute Mentor: Rafel Jorda Siquier
16 Apr, 2025

Rafel Jorda Siquier: Solving the Earth’s biggest challenges from space with Open Cosmos

40 Minute Mentor: Adrienne Adhami
09 Apr, 2025

Adrienne Adhami: How to make decisions in a world of endless choice 

40 Minute Mentor - Pooja Sikka
26 Mar, 2025

Pooja Sikka: Launching the first mental health fund in partnership with the NHS