I am the founder and CEO of Spaceside OÜ, an independent boutique online marketing and social media agency for space. I am also the co-founder of the Space Communications Alliance, a network of media and communication professionals in the space industry.

My story started with the misconception that you had to have a STEM background to work in space. I have a management and business background, so I focused on other industries and worked in IT, business process management, and management consulting, until I found the space community on social media, who convinced me that not all space professionals have a STEM background. Then I got to know the International Space University where I attended the Space Studies Program, which then changed everything in my life. I started taking volunteer roles in the World Space Week Association, until I started my own business, combining my passions for online marketing communication and social media and space.

In my opinion there is now too much emphasis on STEM skills in the space sector. So much, that it discourages space enthusiasts with other backgrounds to consider a career in space. The contribution and value of communication and marketing specialists in space should need no explanation, as space is no different from other industries in that regard. Products and services need to be brought to the attention of potential buyers, who represent an increasingly wide variety of non-space sector applications. In space we tend to overemphasise the role of technology, and underemphasise the applications of that technology and the impacts on society. We need marketers and storytellers to bridge that gap, especially to a non-space savvy audience.