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

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Sep 30, 2025

Guest

Mircea (Confi)

Guest

Blake Scholl

Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, shares his vision for revolutionizing air travel with the Overture supersonic airliner. He reveals how the recent XB-1 flight broke the sound barrier, a milestone for private aviation. Blake discusses innovations to mitigate sonic booms and improve passenger experience, while debunking myths about hardware startups. Mircea (Confi), on the other hand, pitches an AI tool to enhance event connections and ROI, highlighting the importance of design and user experience in tech solutions.

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ADVICE

Make Hardware Iteration Fast

Vertical integration and rapid iteration cut hardware development time and cost.
Scholl recommends embedding software engineers with hardware teams and using 3D printing for fast iteration.

INSIGHT

Aviation Stuck In Long Cycles

Aviation has been stagnant: few new airframes launched in decades.
Scholl contrasts long industry cycles with Boom's aim to shorten iteration and innovate again.

ANECDOTE

Overture Production Timeline

Boom plans to start building the first Overture next year and roll it off the line in 2027.
Target is first flight in 2028 and passenger service in 2029, with a small chance of slipping a year or two.

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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

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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

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