Bridgit Mendler, from Disney kid in ‘Good Luck Charlie’ to CEO of a space company
The actress and singer known for her roles in Disney Channel’s ‘Lemonade Mouth’ and ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ is running Northwood Space, a satellite start-up aiming to create a data highway between Earth and space
Bridgit Mendler is 31 years old and has not wanted to be known as just a Disney kid for a long time. Her professional life has made a dramatic about turn, and Mendler is now leveraging her celebrity to promote Northwood Space, the startup company where she is CEO. The former singer and actress, known for roles in Good Luck Charlie, Lemonade Mouth and Wizards of Waverly Place, pursued graduate studies at MIT and Harvard Law School after graduating from University of Southern California. Now she has her own satellite company. “The vision is a data highway between Earth and space,” Mendler told a CNBC interviewer. Mendler recently tweeted that Northwood has already attracted $6.3 million in venture capital. “We are designing ground infrastructure from first principles to expand access to space... We have a lot of work ahead of us, but that’s the fun part.”
Northwood Space, based in El Segundo, California, focuses on mass-producing ground stations – large antennas connecting to satellites in Earth orbit – instead of building rockets or satellites. “Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult. You have difficulty finding an access point for contacting your satellite,” she said.
The former actress founded the telecommunications company with her husband, Griffin Cleverly (chief technology officer) and Shaura Luthra (head of software). The company’s name is inspired by the New Hampshire lake where she developed the idea during the pandemic lockdown. “While everybody else was making their sourdough starters, we were building antennas out of random crap we could find at Home Depot… and receiving data from [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] satellites,” Mendler said.
The company’s home page boldly proclaims its mission “Northwood is expanding access to space by rethinking shared infrastructure for satellite backhaul.” It’s also busy attracting high-profile venture investors, with initial funding raised from investors including Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz and Also Capital. Northwood’s website says it aims to make its first connection with space at the end of this year.
The versatile former actor also recently tweeted another major life event for her four million followers. “The other news I wanted to share is I’m a mama to a sweet 4yo boy. Started fostering in 2021 and adopted near Christmas of 2022. I’m so lucky – being a parent is the biggest gift and most defining experience there is. That’s my news for now folks.”
Expect the unexpected!
— Bridgit Mendler (@bridgitmendler) February 19, 2024
So excited to announce our $6.3M seed led by @foundersfund and @a16z with participation from @CapitalAlso, @LongJourneyVC , @BoxGroup, @humbavc
At @NorthwoodSpace we have our sights on building a data highway between earth and space. We are designing… https://t.co/JwtEuTOTJI
All the exciting news from Mendler quickly went viral on X, where she received messages of encouragement and congratulations from her followers. “Damn, what a career path you have there! I watched your shows with my kids growing up... the Lemonade Mouth soundtrack was pretty catchy. Obviously, you have unlimited talent. Good luck on this next adventure!” wrote one follower. Others are wondering whether Mendler will ever return to performing. “Wow! Ok we’ve been sat... now news for music soon... we’ve been waiting gurl!” to which Mendler jokingly replied, “ever heard of satellite radio?”
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