Breaking the Sound Barrier with Blake Scholl from Boom Supersonic | E2186

Breaking the Sound Barrier with Blake Scholl from Boom Supersonic | E2186

Author: Jason Calacanis September 30, 2025 Duration: 1:05:02

Today’s show:

How do you get investors excited about jets when they’re hyper-focused on new AI tools?

In a fresh TWiST 500 interview, Alex sits down with Blake Scholl of Boom Supersonic to talk about the Overture, the world’s fastest plane that recently broke the sound barrier over the Mojave Desert. (That’s a first for a private company, rather than a military or government.)

Hear about the secrets to avoiding a noisy and disruptive sonic boom, using satellites to set the most efficient routes, designing the Overture’s complex engine, dispelling the common myth that hardware startups are money pits and much much more.

PLUS we’ve got two brand new companies entering our Gamma Pitch Deck Competition. Time to see how they stack up to our first impressive entrant, Where2Wheel.

Timestamps:

(02:22) Introducing Blake Scholl from Boom Supersonic

(04:03) How Boom is improving on the classic Concorde experience

(08:29) How hyper-fast Overture flights could change passenger behavior

(10:02) Gusto. Check out the online payroll and benefits experts with software built specifically for small business and startups. Try Gusto today and get three months FREE at Gusto.com/twist.

(11:10) The long road to breaking the speed barrier

(14:34) How satellites could help guide Boom’s planes

(16:37) The next milestones to check off Blake’s list

(19:13) Breaking up the jet engine duopoly

(20:57) Nexos.ai Stop Shadow AI in its tracks with the unified platform for secure AI adoption and productivity. Try it with a free 14-day trial at nexos.ai/twist.

(24:28) How 3D printing speeds up the R&D process

(30:26) DevStats translates complex engineering metrics into a shared language everyone at your company can understand. Get 20% off by going to https://www.DevStats.com/twist(34:10) Gamma Pitch Deck Competition: Confy vs. The Drive AI


Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com

Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com

Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp


Follow Lon:

X: https://x.com/lons


Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm


Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis


Thank you to our partners:

  • Gusto. Check out the online payroll and benefits experts with software built specifically for small business and startups. Try Gusto today and get three months FREE at Gusto.com/twist.
  • Nexos.ai Stop Shadow AI in its tracks with the unified platform for secure AI adoption and productivity. Try it with a free 14-day trial at nexos.ai/twist.
  • DevStats translates complex engineering metrics into a shared language everyone at your company can understand. Get 20% off by going to https://www.DevStats.com/twist

Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland


Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis


Follow TWiST:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com


Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916


Every week, Jason Calacanis dives headfirst into the swirling vortex of Silicon Valley and global tech with This Week in Startups. It’s a direct line to the conversations shaping our digital future, moving far beyond surface-level news. You’ll hear Jason’s unfiltered analysis on everything from market shifts and media trends to the underlying mechanics of building a business, all delivered with a blend of enthusiasm and seasoned skepticism. The core of this podcast, however, lies in the guests. Jason sits down with the very people driving change-founders who have scaled impossible heights, operators managing daily chaos, and investors who spot trends before they become obvious. These conversations are less like formal interviews and more like insider debriefs, pulling back the curtain on real strategies, painful failures, and unexpected successes. For anyone curious about how technology is built, funded, and ultimately changes the world, this series offers a front-row seat. It’s the context behind the headlines, providing a deeper understanding of the forces at play in startups and technology. Tune in for a consistently engaging and insightful look at the ecosystem, straight from someone who lives and breathes it.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

This Week in Startups
Podcast Episodes
Are Brain-Computer Interfaces Actually Ready for Humans? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:45
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Caldera + Lab - https://CalderaLab.com/TWISTNorthwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistLemon - https://Lemon.io/twistToday’s show:Computers that read…
One Genius Rule That Made This Coffee Brand Famous | EP 2262 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:27
Legendary British ad man Rory Sutherland invented a fake business on a podcast, a coffee shop appealing to the busy commuter called “Flat White or F**k Off.”But it’s one thing to have a post go big on TikTok or Instagram…
The Global Expansion of Self-Driving Vehicles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:18
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Circle - http://circle.so/twistSentry - http://Sentry.ioDeel - http://deel.com/twistPlaud - http://Plaud.ai/twistToday’s show:It’s self-driving time! We’re going deep on one of t…
How agents will change banking forever | E2260 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:38
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Northwest Registered Agent - ⁠⁠northwestregisteredagent.com/twist⁠⁠Quo - ⁠⁠quo.com/TWiST⁠⁠Gusto - ⁠⁠Gusto.com/twist⁠⁠Plaud - http://Plaud.ai/twistAthena - https://www.athena.com/…
Wisdom of the $TAO: the future is decentralized AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:26
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Every Banking - https://Every.iohttps://Lemon.io - Lemon.io/twistWispr Flow - https://wisprflow.ai/twistPlaud - https://plaud.ai/twistRo.co - https://Ro.co/TwistToday’s show:*Sur…
Is Anthropic Making the Biggest Mistake in AI History | E2258 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:55
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Plaud - Plaud.ai/twistLinkedIn Jobs - https://LinkedIn.com/twist.Deel - https://deel.com/twistIru - https://iru.com/twist!Today’s show:It’s a packed TWiST Today! WITH US, we’ve g…
The Biggest Private Funding Round in History | E2256 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:17
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Deel - http://deel.com/twistWispr Flow - https://wisprflow.ai/twistLuma AI - https://lumalabs.ai/twistToday’s show:*$110 billion buys you 15% of OpenAI. Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftB…
Behind the Scenes with an early OpenClaw contributor! | E2252 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:11
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Lemon IO - https://Lemon.io/twistEvery.io - https://every.io Sentry.io- https://sentry.io/twistToday’s show:We’re going behind the curtain today — it’s a packed show!We found Tyl…