#234 Jared Isaacman - Will China Trigger the Next Sputnik Moment for NASA?

The Shawn Ryan Show

Shawn Ryan Show

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.9 • 38.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2025

⏱️ 184 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jared Isaacman is an American billionaire entrepreneur, pilot, and commercial astronaut. He founded Shift4 Payments in 1999 at age 16, growing it into a leading integrated payment processing company that went public in 2020, handling transactions for a third of U.S. restaurants and hotels. An accomplished aviator with over 7,000 flight hours, Isaacman set a world speed record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet in 2009 and founded Draken International in 2012, the world's largest private air force providing adversary air support. In space exploration, he commanded the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission in 2021, raising $240 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Polaris Dawn in 2024, conducting the first private spacewalk and testing Starlink communications. Nominated by President Trump for NASA Administrator in December 2024, the nomination was withdrawn in June 2025 due to prior political donations, after which Isaacman donated $15 million to U.S. Space Camp programs. He advocates for advancing human spaceflight, public-private partnerships in aerospace, and philanthropy, including support for Make-A-Wish and veteran causes through his Polaris Program. Married to Monika with two children, Isaacman continues to push boundaries in business, aviation, and space. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: https://betterhelp.com/srs This episode is sponsored. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/srs and get on your way to being your best self. https://bunkr.life – USE CODE SRS Go to https://bunkr.life/SRS and use code “SRS” to get 25% off your family plan. https://meetfabric.com/shawn https://shawnlikesgold.com https://helixsleep.com/srs https://mypatriotsupply.com/srs https://patriotmobile.com/srs https://prizepicks.onelink.me/lmeo/srs https://rocketmoney.com/srs https://ROKA.com – USE CODE SRS https://simplisafe.com/srs https://ziprecruiter.com/srs Jared Isaacman Links: X - https://x.com/rookisaacman IG - https://www.instagram.com/rookisaacman Shift4 Payments - https://shift4.com Polaris Program - https://polarisprogram.com/team/jared-isaacman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Jared Isaacman, welcome to the show.
0:07.1	Thanks for having me.
0:08.6	Man, I've been excited about this one.
0:11.0	I'm honored to be here.
0:13.6	But honestly, looking around the room, don't feel very worthy.
0:17.5	But it's great to be here in chatting with you.
0:19.0	Oh, man, a lot of people think that, but you're perfect for this show.
0:25.7	So I've been following you.
0:28.2	I was really excited about the NASA thing, and then, you know,
0:32.3	that got pulled, and we'll talk about that soon in the interview.
0:35.2	But I appreciate the humility, but you very much, I love
0:42.4	having you here, and it's an honor to have you. So thank you for making the time.
0:46.6	Thank you. Thanks for having me. It's a real pleasure to meet you, by the way. You too. You're an
0:50.2	American hero. Thank you. You too. All right. Everybody starts off with an introduction.
0:55.9	So here we go.
0:58.0	Jared Isaacman, billionaire, entrepreneur, adventurer, and commercial astronaut.
1:03.8	CEO of Shift 4 Payments, a company you started when you were just 16 years old and now a global leader in payments.
1:10.8	Founder of Drake and International, world's largest private tactical fighter fighter when you were just 16 years old and now a global leader in payments.
1:10.8	Founder of Draykin International, world's largest private tactical fighter fleet for military
1:16.1	training.
1:17.9	Record-setting pilot with over 7,800 hours in a jet aircraft, that's almost one full year
1:24.6	in flight.
	...

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