Launched in 2001, our 501c3 nonprofit named NATBI (Northern Arizona Technology and Business Incubator) set out to help Northern Arizona entrepreneurs start building their dreams.

In 2007, NATBI was rebranded to NACET (Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology) but it wasn't until 2008 when the EDA (Economic Development Association) grant funded the NACET incubator building. In order to receive the funds, a non-profit organization was needed: enter NACET. The original grant funding partners were Northern Arizona University, The City of Flagstaff, and NACET.

The city of Flagstaff contracted NACET to run the entrepreneurship program and manage leasing/facilities on campus. The city of Flagstaff owns the campus.

In 2016, the Accelerator building opened offering additional office, lab, and light manufacturing space to startup founders in Flagstaff. Scott Hathcock was brought on as President and CEO in late 2016.

In 2017, Hathcock rebranded NACET to Moonshot—honoring Flagtaff’s rich history of training Apollo astronauts—and continued to help Northern Arizona founders thrive and grow.

In 2018, Moonshot also launched a multi-city entrepreneurship competition focusing on rural Arizona and became a trusted mentor to other cities across Arizona, Nevada, and Washington state, helping those communities create entrepreneurial ecosystems while expanding Moonshot's footprint and network of founders and mentors. In 2024, Moonshot was awarded $2.2 million dollars in grant funding to help expand the tour to 20 stops across Arizona.

Since 2017, Scott and the Moonshot team have grown the nonprofit budget from $700K annually to $2 million dollars annually in 2025.

Today, we're still proudly headquartered at the City of Flagstaff campus, but we continue to strive to help all Arizona entrepreneurs, no matter where they live. Particularly those in rural Arizona.