Episode Details

This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers. 

________

What does it take to go from an introverted kid obsessed with robotics to building rockets at SpaceX and co-founding a $13 billion energy company? And what happens when an intense, no-BS operator decides to build a company of his own?

Justin Lopas is Co-founder and COO of Base Power, one of America's fastest-growing energy companies, which has raised over US$2 billion since launching in 2023. Previously, he helped build SpaceX's Starbase manufacturing operations in Texas and led manufacturing at Anduril, one of America's leading defence technology companies.

In this unusually candid conversation with Vidit, Justin reveals how volunteering for a job in a town he'd never heard of led him to help build SpaceX's Starbase, the leadership mistakes he made under intense pressure, and why he eventually walked away. He reflects on his childhood, his father's influence, and the lessons from SpaceX and Anduril that shaped his approach to building and leading teams.

They explore how an unlikely partnership with Zach Dell became Base Power, a $13 billion company reimagining America's electricity grid through home batteries and distributed energy infrastructure. Justin shares what it takes to scale manufacturing at extraordinary speed, why he and Zach argue constantly, and the unconventional culture behind Base's rapid growth, from starting all-hands meetings with failures to the infamous "hot potato" rule.

Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.

_______

Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com

Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Allens, Macquarie Capital, Xero, JP Morgan and more. 

Show notes and more episodes here

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website

This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers. 

________

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Intense, direct and no-BS
01:30 – How his wife's family ended up cooking for hundreds of Base employees
03:00 – Midwest America childhood and his father's influence
08:15 – Growing up antisocial, obsessed with robotics and uninterested in fitting in
10:00 – The strict routines behind Justin's intense personality
16:00 – Inside SpaceX and what separates its exceptional engineering talent
21:15 – Volunteering to build Starbase
24:00 – SpaceX burnout
28:45 – Becoming COO and why titles matter less than execution
31:30 – Making choices and finding his next chapter at Anduril
38:00 – How SpaceX and Anduril hire, develop and challenge exceptional people
41:00 – Building factories and scaling at extraordinary speed
47:15 – Why Base Power