323 | From Chapter 11 Bankruptcy To Multi - Billion $ Company |Matthew J Desch, CEO Of Iridium

On this episode of the Scale Up Valley Podcast, Mike Dias speaks with Matthew J Desch, CEO of Iridium.

Matt Desch, the CEO of Iridium, shares his journey of scaling the company from $15 million EBITDA to over $450 million EBITDA. He discusses the challenges and pivotal moments that shaped the growth of Iridium, including securing funding, building partnerships, and launching new products.

Sound Bites

"No one wins the Super Bowl or the World Cup or the Olympics without just a little bit of luck." "The more I practice, the luckier I get." "Find something you can do better than anyone else and specialize on that." "Doing something very unique, very differentiated" "Play a game you can win" "Team needs to be evolving as the company scales"

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background of Iridium 05:12 Taking Over as CEO and the Challenges Faced 08:12 Company Growth and Expansion 11:55 Subscription Revenue and IoT 16:25 Key Moments of Truth in Scaling Iridium 26:12 Importance of Team and Company Culture 28:21 Differentiation and Innovation 31:02 Building a Strong Team and Culture 37:07 Transitioning to a Listed Company 43:21 Managing Stress and Work-Life Balance