E160: How a SpaceX Rocket Engineer Became a Top Deep Tech VC

Jamie Gull is the GP/Founder of Wave Function Ventures, a deep tech seed fund, and an engineer turned investor who previously worked at SpaceX during its early, intense years of scaling. In this episode, Jamie and I discuss the high-responsibility culture at SpaceX, how it shaped Jamie’s approach to company building and investing, and what makes a deep tech founder stand out. We also explore why fast iteration matters more than perfect planning, how techno-economics drive investment decisions, and why deep tech’s reputation for being overly capital-intensive is becoming outdated. Jamie shares firsthand stories from his time working under Elon Musk, his angel investments in companies like Boom Supersonic and K2 Space, and the founding principles behind Wave Function Ventures. If you're interested in the future of deep tech investing, how to identify category-defining founders, or how hardware startups can scale efficiently, this is a must-listen.