@ycombinator: In 1969, we landed on the moon and flew Concorde. Half a century later, we could do neither. Blake Scholl (@bscholl) fo…

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Summary

Blake Scholl, founder of Boom Supersonic, shares his journey building America's first supersonic airliner at Y Combinator's Startup School 2026, from a cardboard mockup to successfully breaking the sound barrier with the XB-1 jet.

In 1969, we landed on the moon and flew Concorde. Half a century later, we could do neither. Blake Scholl (@bscholl) founded @boomsupersonic (YC W16), the startup building America’s first supersonic airliner, to change that. At Startup School 2026, he shares how a cardboard mockup with Office Depot seats became XB-1, the first independently developed jet to break the sound barrier, and why founders have to build for both the worst day and the best day. 00:08 — Why the Future Stopped Moving Faster 03:14 — Why I Started Boom Supersonic 05:57 — Building a Supersonic Jet From Scratch 08:33 — The Worst Day and the Best Day 10:14 — How We Changed US Law 11:36 — How 50 People Built a Supersonic Jet 15:05 — Designing Hardware Like Software 17:54 — Financing a Multi-Billion-Dollar Startup 19:30 — Great Ideas Are Hiding in Plain Sight 24:05 — How AI Is Changing Hardware 27:16 — Working With Regulators 30:55 — Build Something You Love 36:27 — How to Build Confidence 39:35 — Learning Hard Things From First Principles 44:17 — When Should You Start a Company?
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In 1969, we landed on the moon and flew Concorde. Half a century later, we could do neither.

Blake Scholl (@bscholl) founded @boomsupersonic (YC W16), the startup building America’s first supersonic airliner, to change that.

At Startup School 2026, he shares how a cardboard mockup with Office Depot seats became XB-1, the first independently developed jet to break the sound barrier, and why founders have to build for both the worst day and the best day.

00:08 — Why the Future Stopped Moving Faster 03:14 — Why I Started Boom Supersonic 05:57 — Building a Supersonic Jet From Scratch 08:33 — The Worst Day and the Best Day 10:14 — How We Changed US Law 11:36 — How 50 People Built a Supersonic Jet 15:05 — Designing Hardware Like Software 17:54 — Financing a Multi-Billion-Dollar Startup 19:30 — Great Ideas Are Hiding in Plain Sight 24:05 — How AI Is Changing Hardware 27:16 — Working With Regulators 30:55 — Build Something You Love 36:27 — How to Build Confidence 39:35 — Learning Hard Things From First Principles 44:17 — When Should You Start a Company?

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