"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
-- Dr. Wayne Dyer
This is where you often expect to find effusive, flowery, hyperbolic prose, justifying ridiculously high fees for sub-par effort. We consider ourselves to be more authentic than that, and we believe that you are looking for more than that.
We established Exodus because our passion for extending the human economy into space compels us to help others who share that passion. And our passion for helping entrepreneurs and businesses grow is equally powerful! To this end, we seek entrepreneurs and firms developing technology, products and services for use in space. These could also be space-related, such as power systems, bio-regenerative systems, tourism, media, software and other supportive solutions. Space-scalable© (1) is another category that excites us.
Of course, we realize that many entrepreneurs and firms work in the "aero" side of aerospace, and clients such as these have also come to us. We have also helped those in non-aerospace industries.
In all cases, as consultants our role is to help you see through different eyes, assist you with difficult choices, and help you achieve your desired outcomes. To these ends, we will perform our work with humility, determination, integrity and grace.
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(1) Space-scalable©: Technologies primarily developed to solve problems here on Earth for commercial benefit and profit, but are also scalable to solve key long range space problems when the demand ultimately exists, to help make the settlement of the space frontier a reality. This could include biotechnology, nanotechnology, medicine, radiation mitigation, smart materials, alternative energy, or next-gen IT hardware, among many other possibilities.
Thomas Andrew Olson –
Founding Partner
For nearly three decades, Mr. Olson has been a business systems engineer
and analyst in the Communications, Aerospace, and Publishing sectors.
In addition, he has worked in an investment analysis and operations capacity
in the Financial Services area (cash and fund management). A serial entrepreneur,
he co-founded Exodus Group as a "catalyst" helping tech startups
and Angel/VC/Institutional investors find each other. He served on the
original organizing committee for the ’Space Investment Summits’, a semi-annual
event that brought together interested investors and space entrepreneurs
for knowledge sharing and professional networking. Today he's working
with the DCArchAngels group, who are reinventing Angel tech-sector investment,
and plans to start a chapter in New York.
Jeff Krukin – Managing Partner
Beginning in 1981, Jeff combined his technology
and space interests as an IBM Systems Engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space
Center. During a 25-year Information Technology career that also included
Attachmate Corp. and independent consulting, he specialized in strategic
business and technology planning and implementation, technical sales, business
development, marketing and communications.
In 2004, Jeff left the IT industry to focus exclusively on his space
business interests, beginning with various consulting projects. He initiated
the North Carolina Aero/Space Economy Project and twice received grant
funding to educate political, business and economic development leaders
about the entrepreneurial NewSpace industry and its potential impact
on the state's key space-scalable industries.
From January 2005 through December 2007, Jeff was Executive Director of
the Space Frontier Foundation, the first and most prominent NewSpace advocacy
organization. During this period and continuing today, he has engaged
in various space business consulting projects for companies as diverse
as Caterpillar, SpaceWorks Engineering, American Aerospace, Blue Force
Technologies, and Presence Displays. In 2009 he was hired by the North
Carolina Aerospace Alliance to organize and speak at the state’s first
NewSpace Commerce Forum.
Dr. David Livingston – Founding Partner
Dr. David Livingston is a business consultant, financial advisor, and strategic planner. For more than twenty-five years, he has worked in oil and gas exploration, real estate development sales, the finance and security industry as well as in marketing and direct advertising sales. Dr. Livingston is also the founder and host of The Space Show®, broadcast multiple times per week on radio and the internet. In addition, Dr. Livingston is an adjunct professor at the University of North Dakota Graduate School of Space Studies, both on campus and in their distant learning program, specializing in space commerce economics, ethics, and management classes. He has also served as an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Business at Golden Gate University teaching Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management and he has guest lectured at other university programs including Stanford University and Sonoma State University. He earned his BA from the University of Arizona, his MBA in International Business Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, and his Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) also at Golden Gate University. His doctoral dissertation was titled Outer Space Commerce: Its History and Prospects.
His academic and conference lecture topics include venture capital for space investments, RLVs and space tourism, effective business, strategic and assumption planning, along with developing the solutions to the barriers to space enterprise, talking to the public about space, tracing the dollars spent on space through the economy, business ethics and corporate responsibility for off-Earth business ventures and New Space Industries. In addition, Dr. Livingston has written a Code of Ethics for Off-Earth Commerce which has been widely published and revised. Dr. Livingston is a contributing author to the newly published book, Beyond Earth: The Future of Humans In Space. His chapter, “Making Space A Popular Goal,” documents how to move forward to a space-faring culture based on nearly five years of hosting The Space Show.
Dr. Livingston’s most recently literary efforts address lunar economic development, lunar access, and marketing these efforts for capital acquisition. When not teaching, occupied, or working with space matters, Dr. Livingston is an avid reader, photographer, a NAUI SCUBA instructor, and a licensed private single engine land and sea pilot.
Paul Contursi – Communications Specialist. Technical Analyst
Paul Contursi has been involved in business analysis and technical documentation for more than 25 years. In the 1980s, he produced requirements, functional specifications and technical documentation for most of the leading Wall Street firms. He has worked on transaction processing and back office systems for equities, debt securities, global custody and portfolio management. Beginning in the 1990s, his consulting work enabled him to expand his horizons to insurance, telecommunications, media and other sectors. His recent projects have ranged from smartgrid applications that provide decision support for managers of large public utilities to satellite encryption systems for cable television providers. He also volunteered his time to such non-profits as The Mars Society and the Space Frontier Foundation.
Joel Viñas – Operations Specialist and Analyst
Joel Vinas was born in Florida, in the shadow of the space coast. He served in the Marine Corps for five years as an Equipment Calibration Technician. At various duty stations he impressed both peers and officers by continually improving his shop’s process efficiency and performance, and by leading training sessions for multiple units. When transferred to an administrative position he quickly rebuilt a poorly performing department. While in Iraq, Joel established the foundation of the Marine Corps’ first forward deployed calibration lab.
After the service he worked at Expo Design Center, an upscale home furnishings store. He continually exceeded sales goals, trained fellow associates on product knowledge and sales techniques, and engaged management to improve store-wide sales.
Most recently, Joel worked as a marketing analyst for Service Payment Plan, a Chicago-based finance company. His ability to obtain and analyze critical company metrics allowed the company to improve its sales performance and develop a strategy for future business growth.
Joel received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Central Florida, where he was Vice President of the Entrepreneurship Club. He was invaluable to students as they crafted their sales pitches and business plans, and he increased club membership through persistent outreach to students and local businesses. He was equally resourceful as a member of SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space).
An ardent supporter of human space settlement, Joel has worked at each of the National Space Society’s International Space Development Conferences since graduating from college. Since 2010, he has played a critical role on the Space Frontier Foundation's New Space Business Plan Competition staff.