Tuesdays with Morrisey

Pursuing the Impossible: The New Space Race with Firefly Aerospace Co-Founder Eric Salwan

Many companies set out to do something hard. Firefly Aerospace set out to do the impossible. After 10 years and several existential moments, Firefly did what no private company ever had: in 2025, it successfully landed on the Moon. Before Firefly, only countries had ever landed on the Moon—and it took extraordinary national effort to do it. At its peak, the Apollo program consumed nearly 5% of the U.S. federal budget, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people and vast government resources. What was once only possible for superpowers is now being done by a private company. In the wake of that breakthrough, Firefly went public on the Nasdaq in the largest aerospace and defense IPO in history, reaching a valuation of roughly $8.5 billion. Welcome to Tuesdays with Morrisey. In the latest episode, host Adam Morrisey sits down with Eric Salwan, co-founder of Firefly Aerospace, to unpack the company’s improbable journey—from near-collapse to becoming the first commercial company to successfully land on the Moon. Together, they discuss the Firefly journey, the new space race, and Eric’s perspective on the power of pursuing the impossible. Top Takeaways * The Firefly journey was part of Eric’s spiritual path. Firefly launched in 2014, ran out of money in 2016, and shut down. Eric had invested his own money, brought in family and friends as investors, and had to lay off the entire team. On New Year’s Day 2017, with no company and no clear path forward, he made the decision that he would not leave until someone physically removed him from the building. Firefly Aerospace relaunched on May 1, 2017, with 20 employees. * There is power in relentlessly sharing the vision, even with people who have no immediate way to help. When Firefly needed capital at its most desperate moment, two of Eric’s friends went to their networks and raised $170 million of a $175 million round. None of those investors knew Eric personally, but they trusted the people who made the introduction. * People underestimate the personal cost of being a founder. Eric didn’t take a real vacation for nearly eight years. Firefly shut down once, had a rocket explode on the launch pad, watched tens of millions of dollars of work burn in a field during a test fire, and had to lay off 160 people who trusted the leadership to find a way forward. The Firefly story is incredible from the outside, but the lived experience was not always glamorous. * We are in the very early innings of the new space race, and the stakes are high. Eric walked through the key players, the orbital markets being created, and how competition between the U.S. and China continues to grow. His framing: when the first ships landed in America, no one could have predicted what would be built there 250 years later. Space is the next frontier. Full List of Topics Covered * Eric’s background and how he came to co-found Firefly Aerospace. * The original founding of Firefly in 2014, the shutdown in 2016, and the decision to restart. * The capital requirements of building a rocket company. * NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and how government contracts seeded the commercial space economy. * The personal toll of the founder journey, including layoffs, rocket failures, and years without a real vacation. * How Firefly became the first commercial company in history to successfully land on the Moon. * What the lunar landing felt like in the room when it happened. * How to think about the new space race and the roles of SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Firefly, and others. * Big power competition and the militarization of cislunar space between the U.S. and China. * Lessons Eric would share with students and young entrepreneurs. * The Firefly documentary coming to Amazon Prime. Eric Salwan is an entrepreneur and new space advocate who played a foundational role in building Firefly Aerospace into a leading player in the commercial space industry. Originally an early investor, Salwan later joined the company operationally, helping guide it through bankruptcy, restructuring, and eventual public listing. Under his leadership alongside founder Tom Markusic, Firefly achieved a historic milestone as the first private company to successfully land on the Moon. His background spans IT, startup operations, and venture building, with a reputation for resilience and long-term vision in high-risk industries.

Standards, Identity, and Legacy: Leadership Lessons from the All Blacks and Other Elite Teams with James Kerr

Dynasties are rare. Most teams rise, win for a season, and fade. A superstar retires. A coach leaves. The chemistry shifts. What once felt inevitable suddenly looks fragile. Sustained excellence is far harder than a single championship run — it requires standards that survive ego, systems that outlast individuals, and a culture strong enough to hold its shape under pressure. But a small handful of organizations manage to sustain excellence for decades — across generations, coaches, and changing eras. The real challenge isn’t winning once; it’s continuing to win as the faces change, the pressure intensifies, and expectations evolve — and understanding the kind of leadership that makes that possible. So here’s the real question for leaders, founders, coaches, and executives: What creates sustained high performance—and how do you build a culture that wins not just once, but over generations? Welcome to Tuesdays with Morrisey. In the latest episode, host Adam Morrisey sits down with leadership consultant, speaker, and bestselling author James Kerr to explore what the legendary New Zealand All Blacks—and other elite teams—can teach us about leadership, identity, and legacy. Drawing from Kerr’s global work across sport, business, and the military, the conversation dives into how culture is shaped, how identity becomes performance, and why the best teams think beyond the individual. Top takeaways… * Success is often countercultural. Great teams and individuals stand out as a result of doing something different. Sometimes it’s the simple and obvious things — showing up consistently, orienting toward service, lifting others up, or playing the long game. In the episode, James paraphrased Anna Karenina: “Dysfunctional teams are dysfunctional for all sorts of reasons; highly functional teams are highly functional for the same reasons.” * The best teams — whether in sport, culture, or business — have shared identities, beliefs, and a sense of belonging. The All Blacks, for example, represent a nation and are committed to the idea that the team is bigger than the individual, captured in the players’ effort to “leave the jersey better than you found it.” When you look at great teams and cultures, they usually share a common story, mission, vision, and values. James commented that “first we shape our story, and then our story shapes us.” * Greatness often comes from humility and doing the little things right. The All Blacks have a practice of cleaning their own locker room after each game, known as “sweeping the sheds.” In each of our domains, there are things that seem small, but the true masters of the craft understand their importance. * Meaning comes from deciding that something matters and then choosing to take responsibility for it. Whether at your job, in your fitness routine, or at home, there is a shift when you commit to a particular thing and own it. James gives the metaphor that levels of maturity and meaning are reflected in the number of keys on your keyring, representing the different things you are responsible for or looking after. * Emotional regulation is leadership. This has been a consistent theme throughout the 65+ episodes of the podcast. In order to lead others, we must first lead ourselves, and in times of crisis, people often turn to the person who is the calmest. If we can’t regulate ourselves, we risk repeating patterns and losing the ability to lead ourselves or others forward. Topics covered: * Why the All Blacks are the most sustained high-performing team in history * Culture versus talent in elite performance * Identity, story, and belonging in leadership * Humility and responsibility as cultural pillars * Sweeping the sheds and servant leadership * The haka as ritual, meaning, and psychological preparation * Cohesion as a competitive advantage * Self-regulation and calm under pressure * Leadership as responsibility * Culture built through teams * Contribution, meaning, and legacy * Long-term thinking in sport, business, and life James Kerr is an international leadership speaker, performance coach, and the bestselling author of Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life. He works with elite sports teams—from the Premier League to Formula One—alongside Wall Street firms, leading technology companies, and military units to build high-performance cultures. Through his work, he helps leaders translate vision into standards, purpose into practice, and culture into a sustained competitive advantage.

Craftsmanship and the Soul of Cities with Top Real Estate Developer Mike Ablon

More than half the world already lives in cities—and the UN projects that share will rise to 68% [https://www.un.org/uk/desa/68-world-population-projected-live-urban-areas-2050-says-un] by 2050, adding roughly 2.5 billion more people to urban areas. At the same time, the “experience economy” has reshaped what people value in places: not just what a city has, but how it feels to live, work, and gather there. Against that backdrop, fast-growing metros like Dallas–Fort Worth are being forced to answer a high-stakes question: how do you scale growth without losing authenticity? So what does it actually take to build a city with a soul—one made of neighborhoods people name, remember, and choose across the seasons of their lives? On this episode of Tuesdays with Morrise [https://marketscale.com/shows/tuesdayswithmorrisey/]y, host Adam Morrisey [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhmorrisey/] sits down with Mike Ablon [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeablon/], Principal at PegasusAblon [https://www.pegasusablon.com/], for a wide-ranging conversation about craftsmanship, urban identity, and the long game of building places where culture and commerce reinforce each other. Together, they explore Mike’s counter-cultural view of entrepreneurship, the ingredients for great cities, and how authenticity, neighborhoods, and talent migration will shape the future of American cities. Top Takeaways: * Mike’s path to entrepreneurship came after decades of working with great real estate developers such as Robert Venturi, and he saw starting his own firm as the best way to continue his pursuit of becoming a master craftsman. I find this to be a refreshing view on entrepreneurship as our culture has become more and more fixated on founders, and anything less than that can be seen as playing small. Mike’s journey is a story of taking the long road and a focus on craft. * Great cities are defined by distinctive neighborhoods, such as New York’s SoHo, West Village and Meatpacking District, and by their ability to support people through different seasons of life from early career and family formation to later years. * Mike places a lot of emphasis on the space between the spaces, and how walkability is more than sidewalks, it’s how you feel when spending time in a particular area. People remember how a place makes them feel more than the buildings they were in or around, and they intuitively know which places are authentic versus manufactured. In the Dallas Design District, Mike implemented a “no nationals” policy so the neighborhood would be made up entirely of local stores and restaurants, preserving its creative character. * The future of cities will be shaped by talent migration. The old model was that people went where the jobs were. The new model is that talent goes where it wants to live, and the jobs follow. The cities that will win over the next 100 years will be the ones that create places people actually want to be part of, with real culture, character, and a sense of belonging. Full List of Topics Covered: * Mike’s counter-cultural view of entrepreneurship as a byproduct of craft * Why founder identity is overrated and mastery is underrated * The role of mentorship in becoming a master craftsman * What actually makes a great city * Why neighborhoods matter more than skylines * The space between the spaces and why it defines urban life * Authenticity versus manufactured development * How Dallas evolved and what young cities can still become * Experience economy versus ownership economy * Density, walkability, and suburban urban cores * Why talent now moves first and jobs follow * What gives a city soul * Building places that make people feel they belong * Long-term thinking in decades, not development cycles * The responsibility of builders in shaping culture Mike Ablon is the founder of PegasusAblon, a Dallas-based real estate development firm behind the transformation of the Dallas Design District, and a former Dallas mayoral candidate. Mike has spent his life striving to “build things that matter,” focusing on places where culture and commerce intersect, through a deep commitment to craftsmanship and long-term thinking.

Alts Innovators: UT Austin’s Dr. Ken Wiles on Private Equity

Private equity is entering a period of adjustment after decades of expansion fueled by falling interest rates and abundant capital. That long-running tailwind reversed beginning in 2022, when interest rates rose sharply, disrupting deal activity, slowing exits, and bringing renewed attention to a long-standing vulnerability in private markets: liquidity. Industry reports have highlighted softer fundraising, longer holding periods, and growing pressure on pension funds and other long-term investors to generate cash distributions. At the same time, advances in AI, cloud computing, and on-demand development talent are lowering the cost of building companies, reshaping how entrepreneurship and private capital intersect. So, what happens to private equity—and to entrepreneurs—when liquidity dries up, valuations adjust quietly, and technology makes it cheaper than ever to build a business? Welcome to the fourth and final episode of our mini-series on the alternative asset market. Tuesdays with Morrisey host Adam Morrisey welcomes Dr. Ken Wiles, a clinical professor of finance and the Executive Director of the Private Equity Center at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. In this episode, we explore the evolution of private equity from the early LBO era to today’s liquidity constraints, and why Dr. Ken believes this is the best time in history to be an entrepreneur. With decades of experience spanning investment banking, software, restructuring, and academia, Dr. Ken brings a rare blend of practitioner and academic insight into private markets. Top Takeaways * Dr. Ken explains how lower discount rates, the development of the junk bond market, and abundant inefficiencies in the 1980s created the perfect runway for PE to grow from a niche into a $22T asset class. * When the Fed raised rates at the fastest pace in its history, valuations dropped sharply. Unlike public markets, however, private-market declines play out quietly. Fundraising slowed, deal flow fell, and many firms extended maturities, restructured portfolios, or “extended and pretended” — largely out of view of anyone outside the industry. * “Liquidity doesn’t matter until it does and then it’s the only thing that matters.” According to Dr. Ken, liquidity is the biggest risk in private equity today. Pension plans, which provide two-thirds of all PE capital, aren’t receiving distributions as quickly. Without liquidity, returns fall, fundraising slows, and many funds will struggle to raise their next fund, which may lead to consolidation across PE and VC. Dr. Ken sees the rise of new technologies leading to a new golden age in entrepreneurship. “This is the  greatest period to be an entrepreneur or have an idea in history. It’s amazing. Thanks to AI, cloud infrastructure, and on-demand development talent, the cost of building a company has collapsed. Tasks that once required millions and large teams can now be executed by small groups in weeks. Barriers to entry have never been lower.” Topics Covered * The origins and evolution of private equity * The impact of interest rates on four decades of private equity returns * The 2022–2024 “private market crash” no one saw * Liquidity challenges and their impact on pensions and funds * How private credit prevented a maturity crisis * Manipulated unicorn valuations and extend-and-pretend dynamics * The new economics of entrepreneurship in an AI-enabled world * College students, AI, and modern career preparation * The shrinking operating costs of building software * Entrepreneurship through acquisition and the rise of search funds * Why more businesses will be built with smaller teams * The growing consolidation of trades, CPA firms, and local service businesses * The future of private equity, venture capital, and public markets interplay Dr. Ken Wiles is a Clinical Professor of Finance at the University of Texas at Austin and Executive Director of the Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Center for Private Equity Finance at McCombs, where he focuses on private equity, valuation, and corporate finance. He brings decades of practitioner experience as a former COO and CFO of multiple companies, including firms taken public and one sold to Oracle, as well as a leader of restructuring, investment banking, and asset management firms. Widely published in leading academic and practitioner journals and a former chair of the Nevada Economic Forum, Dr. Ken also serves on investment committees and boards, bridging academic insight with real-world private market expertise.

Alts Innovators: AllianceBernstein’s Brent Humphries and Marc Cooper on Private Credit

Private credit has become one of the most significant shifts in modern finance—quietly but rapidly reshaping how private companies access capital. Over the last decade, assets under management in the space have surged from roughly $500 billion to about $2 trillion, fueled by post-crisis regulation, a growing appetite for yield, and the rise of private equity. With headlines increasingly focused on “shadow banking,” retail access, and the long-term implications of private lenders replacing banks, the conversation around private credit has never been more timely. So, the core question is this: How did private credit grow so quickly, why does it matter now, and what does its rise mean for investors, lenders, and the broader financial system? In the third episode of our mini-series on the alternative asset market, Tuesdays with Morrisey host Adam Morrisey speaks with AB Private Credit Investors‘ President Brent Humphries and Managing Director Marc Cooper. As leaders within AllianceBernstein’s $800 billion global investment platform, they break down what private credit is, why it has accelerated so dramatically, and how the industry is evolving as it enters its next phase of growth. Top Takeaways * Private credit has quietly become one of the biggest shifts in modern finance. It is now the primary way many private companies access capital, replacing what used to be a market run by the traditional banking system. * The rise of private credit was largely created by regulation. After the financial crisis, new rules made it harder for banks to hold certain loans, and private lenders stepped in with faster, more flexible financing that met the needs of private equity and middle-market companies. * Investors have been drawn to it because of its combination of yield, downside protection, and floating rates. It has delivered strong, steady returns without taking on other risks tied to interest rates, foreign currency, or market volatility. * The big question now is where the risk sits. As more lending moves outside the regulated banking system, pension funds, insurance companies, and individuals hold a growing share of the credit exposure. * Its next phase will include more retail access, more participation from insurers, and continued specialization among lenders. At the same time, AI is beginning to reshape underwriting, research, and operations, making investment teams faster and more efficient. Topics Covered * What “private credit” means and how direct lending works * How bank regulation after 2008 shifted lending outside the traditional system * The role of the unitranche structure in simplifying deal execution * Why private credit returns have attracted pensions, institutions, and high-net-worth investors * How to evaluate private credit fund managers (track record, team retention, sector edge, platform model) * Perceived risks and the “shadow banking” debate * The role of insurance capital and the rise of investment-grade private credit * How AI is influencing underwriting, research, and software-sector lending * Future outlook for the next 5–10 years in private credit Brent Humphries is the President and a founding member of AB Private Credit Investors, where he oversees investment strategy, originations, underwriting, portfolio management, and investor relations for the firm’s middle-market direct lending platform. He previously led Barclays Private Credit Partners and held senior roles at Goldman Sachs’ Specialty Lending Group and the Texas Growth Fund, building deep expertise across private credit, direct lending, and middle-market private equity. Humphries, who began his career in leveraged finance with NationsBank and J.P. Morgan, holds a BBA in finance from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Marc Cooper is a Managing Director at AB Private Credit Investors, where he leads software-focused direct lending and tech capital solutions, building on nearly a decade of experience rising through the firm’s investment ranks. His background spans structuring and underwriting secured lending solutions across software, healthcare, business services, and other middle-market sectors, with earlier roles at Fifth Street Asset Management and Prudential Capital Group providing deep experience in technology lending, private placements, and credit analysis. Cooper also serves as a board observer for multiple technology companies and brings a strong foundation in financial modeling, underwriting, and direct deal sourcing from his early investment banking and analyst roles.