Jill Rutan Hoffman

Jill Rutan Hoffman comes from a family where napkin sketches ended up in the halls of history. Her father, Dick Rutan, flew Voyager around the world without stopping. Her uncle, Burt Rutan, designed aircraft engineers said couldn't be built. Growing up inside that world didn't teach her confidence. It taught her something quieter and more useful, the discipline of thinking clearly under pressure.

She has founded three companies, including Path 2 Flight, featured in a three-part Freakonomics series on grit, failure, and knowing when to quit. She has delivered more than 500 speeches across the country. She is the author of How to Build an Airplane in Your Living Room and the creator of In Her Orbit, an ongoing essay series on space, technology, and the human experience.

She doesn't tell people to be more confident. She helps them get clearer. That's a different conversation and it's the one most people need.