Matej Pretković is the founder of the Cyclop SpaceTech Substack. I had reached out to Matej to understand how an expert thinks about “space as an industry,” and more importantly, how investors should frame opportunity and risk in a sector that’s still early, complex, and easy to misunderstand.
“I’m helping with due diligence. So I use my expertise and my consultancy, right? And then I help some investors that are emerging into space tech, and I also connect them with some other, let’s say specific niche experts, that can help them with even, I would say, deeper due diligence for their cases.
Because when it comes to space technology, it’s always very new. It’s a lot of, let’s say, research and development. And, you know, there is a lot of uncertainty if that kind of technology will actually succeed or not, right? So there is, like, a big need of very specific, let’s say, university experts, that can actually de-risk this kind of technology and help investors reduce the risk.” - Matej Pratkovic
Matej’s started his career at PwC, digging through financial statements and learning how companies present themselves to investors. From there, he moved into sell-side analysis at a European bank, working with institutional investors, before eventually launching his own consultancy focused on simplifying complex financial processes through automation and AI. Space technology wasn’t where he started, but it’s where curiosity and pattern recognition eventually pulled him.
Why Space Is Still Small, But No Longer Fringe
One thing Matej emphasized early on is that space is still a relatively small industry. This isn’t software or healthcare. But it’s changing fast. For decades, space was almost entirely government-funded. That’s no longer true.
What caught his attention was capital flow. He pointed out that ten years ago, there were only a handful of venture funds focused on space. Today, there are hundreds. That doesn’t guarantee success, but it tells you where some smart capital is starting to look.
At GeoInvesting, our team likes to pay attention to early signals. Obviously, you don’t invest just because money is flowing in, but ignoring it completely can be a mistake. Capital tends to sniff out future demand before earnings show up.
Why Private Markets Matter, Even If You Invest Public Stocks
Most of Matej’s research lives in the private markets. That might sound irrelevant to public investors, but it isn’t. In fact, I’d argue it could be essential. However, it’s probably a full-time job in itself.
Public space companies are limited in number. Private companies can show you where the industry is heading long before it appears in public company earnings reports. Matej uses public company disclosures as anchors, then works backward to understand what private companies might eventually look like when they mature.
Understanding how private and public companies intersect to gain a first mover advantage and become a better investor is definitely on my bucket list.
Matej only invests in public companies, but he helps investors with due diligence on private deals, often bringing in technical experts to assess whether a technology is viable or just a good story. That’s an important distinction in space, where R&D risk is very real. I’ll probably be taking him up on this “offer.”
Rocket Lab and the Reality of High Valuations
We spent some time discussing RKLB 0.00%↑ Rocket Lab, one of the better-known public space companies. Matej sees it as one of the few credible launch providers outside of SpaceX, with improving revenue, increasing launch cadence, and a growing satellite manufacturing business.
Of course, the valuation question comes up immediately. These stocks don’t look cheap by traditional metrics. I asked him directly whether that concerns him.
He understand that valuations matter, but demand could matter more. If a company has a product the market genuinely needs, and demand is growing, he believes high price-to-sales ratios may eventually normalize through growth.
That doesn’t mean every expensive space stock works. It means investors need to separate hype from reality.
The Picks-and-Shovels Angle Still Applies
One area I personally gravitate toward is the boring side of exciting industries. Components. Infrastructure. Picks and shovels.
I asked Matej whether he sees opportunity there too. His answer was yes, but mostly in private markets for now. He gave the example of a European company that quietly became a major supplier of space components after starting small, eventually becoming a regret for investors who dismissed space as uninvestable.
This lines up with how we’ve approached other boring companies that get reborn from finding new growth avenues in exciting industries, like multibaggers such as TSSI 0.00%↑ PSIX 0.00%↑ QBAK and so many others. All three stocks reside in the Microcap Quality Index (MSMqi) platform.
Satellites, Data, and Why ‘Materials’ Matter More Than You Think
As you would expect, recurring theme in our discussion was satellites. Weather monitoring, earth observation, communications, data collection. These are already revenue-generating services, not science experiments.
What I found particularly interesting was the discussion we had on materials. Temperature extremes, radiation, and equipment lifespan constraints create real engineering challenges in space. A company that extends satellite lifespan from seven years to ten years to more… gains an immediate competitive advantage.
This is the kind of detail investors might overlook and why I love talking to experts in their field(s). Just like that, I will now be more aware and get a little excited if i hear about a public company solving “wear and tear” problems in space.
Data Centers and Pharma in Space Sound Crazy, Until They Don’t
We also talked about some of the more futuristic ideas, like data centers in space and pharmaceutical research in microgravity.
On data centers, Matej was realistic. Cooling and energy remain major challenges. “There’s no air in space.” Heat dissipation is expensive and inefficient. The technology isn’t ready yet, but companies are already working on it.
With regards to pharma in space, microgravity allows molecules and proteins to form differently than on Earth. That opens new research pathways, potentially accelerating drug discovery. Companies like Axiom Space (private) are building infrastructure to support this, including plans for commercial space stations as the ISS eventually retires.
Commercial Versus Government Demand Isn’t Either-Or
Another important point Matej made is that most space companies serve both commercial and government customers. Governments are often the largest buyers, but commercial demand is growing.
Private capital tends to focus on commercialization, while government contracts provide scale and stability. Companies that can navigate both worlds tend to survive longer.
This dual-track demand model is something investors need to understand before assigning simplistic narratives to space stocks.
Why I Found This Conversation Useful
What I appreciated about this Skull Session is that it wasn’t promotional. Matej didn’t oversell the future. He acknowledged uncertainty, long timelines, and the real technical hurdles that still exist.
I’ve always tried to approach emerging industries with curiosity, skepticism, and patience. Space technology deserves the same treatment. There will be winners. There will be failures. The key is understanding where real value might be created and who is quietly building toward it.
If you want to dig deeper into space from a business and investing lens, Matej Pretković work Cyclop SpaceTech is worth following. And as always, we’ll keep filtering these themes through a public-market, risk-aware lens for our community.
This is one of those areas where paying attention early doesn’t mean acting early. Sometimes it just means learning before the crowd shows up.
