Why deep tech selling is a de-risking exercise | Troy M. Morris

Kall Morris Inc (KMI Space) is an in-space logistics company providing Relocation as a Service, covering end-of-life services, orbit change maneuvers, and active debris removal for satellite operators. In a recent episode of BUILDERS, we sat down with Troy M. Morris, Co-Founder & CEO of KMI Space, to learn how the company turned a hard physics problem into a service customers could name, understand, and buy. Topics Discussed: ● Why KMI Space reduced a complex orbital servicing category to "Tow trucks for space" and how long that clarity actually took ● How constant de-risking, not better renderings, moved KMI through its first government contracts ● Why KMI Space partnered with MIT, Stanford, and USC before applying for its first SBIRs, and how it framed those partnerships ● The 35-proposal exercise KMI Space ran against the Space Force Orbital Prime opportunity and how it narrowed to six ● The jump from a roughly quarter-million-dollar SBIR Phase I to a Phase II closer to $1.25 million, and what changes between them ● Why KMI Space built relationships with technical points of contact within hours of winning Phase I ● The customer insight that reframed the entire product: operators wanted prevention, not recovery ● Why "we want to partner with NASA" is not a go-to-market plan ● The decision to build a space company in Marquette, Michigan instead of El Segundo or the Space Coast ● What KMI Space proved on the International Space Station across 172 test runs ● How a US government shutdown and budget gap shaped KMI Space's 2026 priorities GTM & Technology Adoption Lessons: Message clarity is earned through customer contact, not workshops: KMI Space's positioning now compresses into a single phrase, "Tow trucks for space." Troy was direct about the cost of getting there. "we can absolutely lie and say that was day one. Selling deep tech is a de-risking exercise, not a demo: Troy reframed early contract wins as risk reduction rather than persuasion. "You can build awesome sketches, you can have the coolest AI write a speech or make a visual. Borrowed credibility only works if the partnership is real: KMI Space partnered with MIT, Stanford, and USC before applying for its first SBIRs, which changed how reviewers read the application. Troy drew a sharp line on how to think about it. "really leveraging it every step, not to borrow the prestige of the other group, but earn the partnership." Generate wide, then cut to where you have earned the right to win: KMI Space responded to the Space Force Orbital Prime opportunity by drafting 35 separate proposals, then narrowing to about six based on internal specialty and which partners they could actually recruit. The filter was capability plus access, not enthusiasm. Start the next contract the day you win the current one: Troy's rule for government sales is to move immediately from celebration to relationship-building with the people who will evaluate the work. "find the people who are going to be reviewing this, working with you, and build that relationship." Customer discovery is what separates an interesting capability from a fundable one: Asked what he would send back to his earlier self, Troy gave two words. "it would absolutely be two words: customer discovery." Institutions are not buyers. People inside them are: Troy described the most common mistake he sees, including from his own earlier self, as treating a large agency as a single addressable entity. "which part of NASA? What center? What mission? What human is going to read this?" // Sponsors: Front Lines -- Silicon Valley's leading Podcast Production Studio. We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. Mention you are a listener and get a 10% discount. www.FrontLines.io/Podcast-as-a-Service