What does it take to leave a career at NASA, step into the unknown, and build a new path helping business owners grow their companies?
On this episode of The Flex Forward Podcast, Nic Espanet sits down with Rick Hashop, founder and managing partner of Space Rock Capital. Rick shares a career journey that began more than 35 years ago in the space industry and eventually took him to NASA, where he trained flight controllers, became a flight controller himself, and helped develop procedures supporting the International Space Station.
But Rick’s story goes far beyond spaceflight.
He explains why he eventually made the difficult decision to leave NASA and move into business development and entrepreneurship. Today, Rick and his partners at Space Rock Capital work with business owners on growth strategies, acquisitions, government contracting opportunities, and potential paths to the public markets.
Rick also shares his perspective on venture capital, maintaining control of a growing company, building relationships with larger businesses, and the importance of finding experienced mentors.
The conversation gets personal when Rick talks about being diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age two. After spending part of his childhood in a wheelchair and missing years of school, Rick says those experiences helped shape the person he became. His story offers a powerful perspective on resilience, hard work, and having the courage to make major changes.
Nic and Rick also discuss investing, real estate, creating generational wealth, paying knowledge forward, and why relationships can make such a difference in business.
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