Kingscrowd Podcast

Kingscrowd senior investment associates Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau and Teddy Lyons join host Brian Belley to break down bluShift Aerospace, a Maine rocket company that spent a decade building a cleaner hybrid rocket booster and has now pivoted to one of defense's most urgent shortages.

bluShift was founded in 2014 by Sascha Deri to launch small satellites with a nontoxic, biofuel-powered hybrid engine. When an advisor pointed to the shortage of solid rocket motors for defense testing, the company turned its existing technology toward that market. Its booster sells for about $1.1 million, compared with $4 to $5 million for a traditional solid booster, and it is easier to store and transport. bluShift recently signed a contract with hypersonics startup Specter for four boosters, worth $4.4 million.

Brian, who comes from the aerospace industry, explains how solid, liquid and hybrid rocket motors differ and why decades of supplier consolidation left the US short on solid rocket motor capacity. Léa and Teddy then look at the bigger question for investors: how deep tech companies fund long development timelines without diluting founders and early backers out of the company.

In this episode:

●      The pivot from green space launch to defense boosters

●      Solid vs. liquid vs. hybrid rockets, explained with the model rockets you launched as a kid

●      The $4.4 million Specter contract and why it changes the risk picture

●      How Rejuvenate Bio and Pirouette Pharma use partners to pay for development

●      The non-dilutive capital playbook: grants, government contracts, paid pilots, joint ventures and licensing

●      Unit economics: a $750K build cost today and a $250K target at scale

●      Why Kingscrowd likes investing in the "valley of death"

●      What Brian took away from meeting founder Sascha Deri

Host: Brian Belley, Kingscrowd

With: Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau and Teddy Lyons, Senior Investment Associates, Kingscrowd

bluShift Aerospace is raising on Wefunder, open to accredited and non-accredited investors. Kingscrowd's full analysis, including competition, market and team, is available to Kingscrowd Edge members at kingscrowd.com.

Disclosure: This episode is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Investing in early-stage companies is risky and illiquid, and you may lose your entire investment.

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley and Scott Kitun break down Kingscrowd’s H1 2026 Investment Crowdfunding Report and what the numbers reveal about the current state of online private markets. While investment volume has pulled back from 2025, Brian explains why H1 2026 still compares favorably to 2023 and 2024 — and why fewer Reg CF issuers may signal a more concentrated, more serious market rather than a disappearing one.

Scott brings an outlier-focused lens to the discussion, questioning how major raises like Newsmax can distort year-over-year comparisons and what that means for platform sustainability. The conversation then moves into Robinhood-style venture funds, public/private market access, and Boxabl’s volatile public-market debut, with both Brian and Scott returning to a core investor lesson: access matters, but valuation, timing, liquidity, and entry price matter just as much.

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley, Scott Kitun, and Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau examine two very different private market stories. First, Brian and Scott discuss Rally’s shift away from direct fractional ownership of collectibles and toward a more fund-like structure. They explore why the model struggled with liquidity, possession, exit mechanics, customer acquisition, and investor expectations — and why the pivot could foreshadow where more alternative asset and crowdfunding platforms are heading.

Then Brian and Léa review Oshi, a plant-based salmon company raising on Wefunder and presenting at Kingscrowd Demo Day. Léa breaks down Oshi’s traction across restaurants and retail, its strategic partnership in Latin America, its valuation reset from prior rounds, and the risks around a shrinking plant-based food market, high manufacturing costs, and negative gross margins.

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley is joined by Teddy Lyons and Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau for a July 4th episode that starts with a look back at one of America’s earliest crowdfunding stories: the Statue of Liberty pedestal campaign. Brian also walks through Kingscrowd’s upgraded market intelligence page, including new ways to analyze equity, debt, revenue share, Reg A, platform market share, and monthly private market trends.

Then Teddy leads a deal review of Lumida Wealth, an SEC-registered investment advisor building toward an AI-native wealth management platform. The team discusses Lumida’s existing advisor-led business, its AI investing app, the long-term vision for autonomous financial planning, and the core diligence question: if AI becomes standard across fintech, what will actually separate Lumida from incumbents like Robinhood, Schwab, Betterment, and others?

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley and Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau discuss Kingscrowd's recommendations to the SEC regarding private market investing and startup fundraising. They explain why mandatory valuation disclosure, better investor updates, and improved exit transparency could significantly improve the online private investing experience. The conversation highlights several practical reforms that could help investors make better-informed decisions and increase accountability across Regulation Crowdfunding offerings.

The episode then shifts to a deep dive on Harmony Baby Nutrition, a company developing infant and toddler formulas using human milk proteins produced through precision fermentation. Léa explains the company's phased commercialization strategy, why the opportunity resembles a biotech investment more than a traditional consumer products company, and how Harmony hopes to bridge the gap between conventional formula and human breast milk. The discussion covers regulatory hurdles, funding strategy, market demand, and why Kingscrowd Capital selected Harmony Baby Nutrition as a Top Deal.

Highlights include...

SpaceX's highly anticipated IPO is finally here, and Brian Belley and Scott Kitun break down what it means for retail investors. They discuss the performance of pre-IPO vehicles like Republic's mirror tokens, the challenges faced by some secondary market allocations, and why investors should understand the structure behind SPVs, syndicates, and private market access before chasing the next hot IPO. The conversation also explores how investors should think about valuation, long-term conviction, and avoiding emotional decision-making when high-profile companies hit public markets.

In the second half, Brian welcomes Teddy Lyons to review Rejuvenate Bio, a gene therapy company focused on aging-related diseases. Teddy explains the company's unique strategy of commercializing animal-health applications first, supported by partnerships with major industry players including Merck Animal Health. The discussion covers the company's technology, revenue opportunities, development milestones, and why Kingscrowd Capital is closely evaluating the deal.

Report and discuss why equity crowdfunding activity fell to its lowest level since 2021. From seasonal fundraising trends and filing deadlines to increasing competition for retail investor dollars, the duo explores what may be driving the recent slowdown in startup investing.

The conversation also examines broader market dynamics, including the impact of booming public markets, high-profile IPOs like SpaceX, and the growing number of alternative private market products competing for investor attention. Despite the slowdown, Brian and Teddy highlight several positive signals, including strong raises from select issuers and emerging trends that investors should continue monitoring in the months ahead.

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley, Scott Kitun, and Teddy Lyons tackle one of the biggest stories in investing: the upcoming SpaceX IPO. With reports suggesting a valuation approaching $2 trillion, the team breaks down what investors are actually buying—from rocket launches and Starlink to AI infrastructure, orbital data centers, and Elon Musk's long-term vision for humanity beyond Earth.

The discussion explores SpaceX's financials, the surprising dominance of Starlink revenue, the role of AI through XAI and Colossus, and whether today's valuation reflects current business performance or a bet on a future that hasn't been built yet. The team also discusses what the IPO could mean for secondary markets, accredited investors who bought into private shares, and the broader evolution of private-to-public investing.

Highlights include...

1. SpaceX Is No Longer Primarily a Rocket Company

Starlink generated roughly 70% of revenue in Q1 2026, while launch services represented just 13%.

2. Investors Are Buying a Vision of the Future

The IPO valuation appears tied less to current profits and more to SpaceX's potential dominance in AI infrastructure, connectivity, and space-based computing.

3. Retail Investors Could See Historic Liquidity

Many accredited investors gained exposure through secondary markets, SPVs, and other private vehicles. This IPO may become one of the largest retail exit events in private-market history.

4. The Next IPO Wave Could Be Massive

SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Stripe represent trillions of dollars in potential future public-market demand.

5. The Public-Private Market Divide Is Shrinking

SpaceX staying private for more than two decades highlights how value creation increasingly occurs before companies reach public markets.

This week on the Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley and Scott Kitun break down three major developments shaping the future of retail investing and online private markets. First, they reflect on the 10-year anniversary of Regulation Crowdfunding, exploring how the industry has evolved from an experimental framework into a market that has helped companies raise more than $13 billion from everyday investors.

The conversation then shifts to the newly proposed CLARITY Act and the emergence of “Reg Crypto,” a potential new fundraising exemption designed specifically for blockchain-native projects. Brian and Scott discuss what the legislation could mean for tokenized assets, startup fundraising, liquidity, and the broader future of private investing. Finally, they examine the viral “Let’s Buy Spirit Airlines” campaign and what it says about retail investor appetite for collective ownership and crowd-powered finance.

Chapters

00:13 Welcome Back + 10 Years of Reg CF

Brian Belley and Teddy Lyons open the episode with a reminder about Kingscrowd’s upcoming Atlanta Startup Showcase before diving into Totem, a consumer hardware startup building wearable offline tracking devices for concerts, festivals, cruises, and crowded venues (00:00-01:32). Teddy explains how Totem’s proprietary mesh network technology allows users to locate friends and family without relying on cellular service, GPS, or Wi-Fi, and why the product immediately resonated with live event audiences (01:32-05:06).

The conversation then shifts toward Totem’s early traction, including 52,000 users, $1.7 million in 2025 revenue, and more than 600 million organic social media views generated with virtually no paid advertising (05:06-08:46). Brian and Teddy debate whether the company’s virality can translate into long-term scalable growth, discussing subscription potential, venue partnerships, hardware margins, and rental opportunities across festivals, cruises, and amusement parks (08:46-14:31).

Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau joins later in the episode to question Totem’s customer acquisition durability, pricing strategy, and adoption hurdles, while the team explores how the company may evolve from a viral gadget into a broader consumer platform with recurring venue and analytics opportunities (14:31-17:52).