> How does a 22 year old get the funding to start something like this?

By having SpaceX and Blue Origin on your resume. Noone was also in front of the FAA as a student, which turns heads.

They applied to YC in late 2015. I thought "Wild idea, but the founders know what they're talking about, have built stuff in the past, and understand the challenges." Other partners agreed and we gave them $120k. They built a prototype huge 3D printer on the cheap, showed it to more investors who were impressed enough to write checks, and it grew from there.

I hop Tim or Jordan will write more someday.