How Castelion Survived 100 VC Rejections and Bank Failure
Bryon Hargis on surviving 100 VC rejections, the SVB collapse, and how Andreessen Horowitz unlocked bank debt for Castelion defense tech.
Defense CEO on Elon Musk, Hypersonic Missiles & the Future of Defense
With David Weisburd, Bryon Hargis · Sunday, September 6, 2026
Bryon Hargis, co-founder of Castelion, joins David Weisburd to discuss revitalizing America's defense manufacturing capacity through mass-producible hypersonic weapons. Hargis shares operational lessons learned at SpaceX, explains why merging product and sales functions is critical in defense tech, and details Castelion's journey from nearly 100 VC rejections to constructing the world's largest dedicated hypersonic manufacturing facility.
Key takeaways
- Castelion faced nearly 100 venture capital rejections in 2022 because software-focused investors viewed defense hardware as uninvestable. Read more →
- Castelion co-founder Bryon Hargis splits operating bets into reversible errors and company-ending failures, applying rapid iteration only to decisions with low downside. Read more →
- Bryon Hargis founded Castelion to build mass-producible hypersonic weapons after facing nearly 100 venture capital rejections before breaking ground on a dedicated manufacturing plant. Read more →
- Castelion secured a 1,000-acre, 21-building industrial site in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, code-named Project Ranger, dedicated entirely to hypersonic weapon production. Read more →
- Legacy aerospace programs like SLS and Orion stall because multi-disciplinary committee reviews create gridlock and invent theoretical failure modes. Read more →
5 articles from this episode
Why Fast Hardware Builds Require Slow Hiring Discipline
SpaceX veteran Bryon Hargis explains why defense hardware startups must separate two-way door decisions from high-friction hiring choices.
Why Defense Tech Startups Must Merge Product and Sales
Castelion co-founder Bryon Hargis explains why defense startups fail when they separate engineering and sales teams, and why personal trust wins contracts.
Castelion's 1,000-Acre Bet on Hypersonic Scale
Castelion broke ground on a 1,000-acre hypersonic plant in New Mexico designed to build 6,000 Blackbeard missiles daily.
How SpaceX's Responsible Engineer Model Replaces Committee Reviews
Bryon Hargis outlines how SpaceX's Responsible Engineer system cuts hardware development cycle times and eliminates risk-averse design committees.
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