All Quiet on the Second Front

Latest Episodes:

99. Nick LaRovere, Co-Founder and CEO of Pryzm Aug 12, 2025

Show notes

What happens when a bunch of Palantir and Lockheed alums get fed up with how hard it is to do business with the government—and actually do something about it? You get Pryzm: the common operating system for capture.

In this episode, Tyler sits down with Nick LaRovere, co-founder and CEO of Pryzm, to talk about building for the part of the defense ecosystem everyone hates (but no one can ignore): procurement. From scraping sam.gov to stitching together Salesforce, JIRA, and inboxes, Nick shares how Pryzm is bringing order to chaos—and helping both industry and government move faster.

They also get into:

What it really takes to build a mission-driven company—and why most give up
The hidden cost of stovepiped teams and siloed data
How policy, budget, and capture are finally starting to talk to each other
Why talent and team dynamics are just as critical as the tech you’re building

98. Noam Oz, Former Director of Innovation Operations at NavalX Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

What does it really take to get disruptive tech to the fleet?

In this episode, Tyler is joined by Noam Oz—former Director of Innovation Operations at NavalX and now Navy Portfolio Lead at Divergent—to unpack what’s working, what’s broken, and what’s changing across the national security ecosystem. Noam brings hard-earned insights from both sides of the table.

What's happening on the Second Front

Lessons from building inside NavalX and the Navy's Unmanned Task Force
Common mistakes startups make when trying to work with the Navy
How to translate technical innovation into operational relevance
Why understanding incentives—not just requirements—is key
Where real momentum is building across government, industry, and venture

97. Larsen Jensen, Founder and General Partner, Harpoon Ventures Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

On this episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, Tyler sits down with longtime friend and Harpoon Ventures GP Larsen Jensen—Olympian, SEAL, and now defense tech investor—for a raw conversation on transitioning out of service and building tech that actually gets to the warfighter. Larsen also shares why he believes we’re at an inflection point in defense tech and why the next generation of founders has a duty (and an opportunity) to step up.

What’s Happening on the Second Front

Why this is the golden age of defense innovation
How Black Flag is helping founders navigate the maze of government
What needs to change—fast—to keep private capital in the fight

Connect with Larsen Jensen: LinkedIn

Connect with Tyler Sweatt: LinkedIn

96. John Conafay, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrate Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

On this customer spotlight episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, TJ Rowe sits down with John Conafay, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrate—a platform built to manage complex programs for the world’s most ambitious hardware. Today, it’s helping the Space Force move faster.

John shares what it took to move from fragmented workflows and siloed tools to a secure, scalable solution now deployed across defense and commercial space programs. They also dig into what it means to build dual-use software that actually works—for the mission, and the people behind it.

What's Happening on the Second Front

Why product-market fit with government isn’t that different from commercial
What makes the government a better customer than most startups expect
Why trust and usability—not compliance alone—define real dual-use software
Why risk isn’t optional when you’re building for national security

If you’re building tech for the front lines—space, cyber, or otherwise—this one’s for you.

95. Rob Boeckmann, Director of Social at Black Rifle Coffee Company Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

On this episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, Tyler sits down with longtime friend and fellow West Point grad Rob Boeckmann, now Director of Social at Black Rifle Coffee Company, to talk about his unconventional path from field artillery officer to global brand strategist.

They dig into the real-world parallels between military ops and modern marketing, how to build brand voice with precision, and why good marketers operate like fire support officers. Rob also shares lessons from running social at AWS, launching a top influencer agency in Europe, and how AI is reshaping creative execution.

What’s Happening on the Second Front:

Transitioning from active duty to creative/brand roles
Lessons from marketing at scale (AWS, Black Rifle Coffee)
How military leadership translates to commercial success
The grind and strategy behind modern social media
The role of AI in creative and operational acceleration

94. Connected for Impact: Trust, Build, Deliver (Live at Offset '25) Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

In this special episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, we’re bringing you a live recording from Offset 2025. Moderated by Danielle Metz, 2F Chief Policy Officer, this panel tackles a question that’s easy to say but hard to operationalize: how do we actually build trust between government and industry to deliver secure, mission-ready technology?

Danielle is joined by Rob Nolen, Chief Technologist for DoD at AWS, Dan Garcia, Chief Information Security Officer at EnterpriseDB, and Eric Sanders, Chief Information Security Officer at DHS (I&A) and, together, they unpack the cultural and structural baggage that slows innovation—and explore what it’ll take to shift hearts, minds, and bureaucracies toward impact.

What’s Happening on the Second Front:

Building security into systems from the start (not bolting it on later)
Measuring impact through velocity, not vanity metrics
Risk tolerance vs. risk avoidance in government tech
The role of policy and regulation in accelerating trust
Why a shared language between builders, buyers, and approvers is mission-critical

92. Bret Boyd, Cofounder & CEO of Sustainment May 06, 2025

Show notes

This week on All Quiet on the Second Front, Tyler sits down with Bret Boyd, co-founder and CEO of Sustainment, to talk shop on reshoring U.S. manufacturing, rethinking the defense industrial base, and why clipboards and PDFs are still running the depots. Bret’s got the receipts—combat deployments with the 75th Ranger Regiment, 15+ years in tech, and now building one of the largest networks of non-traditional U.S. manufacturers.

What’s happening on the Second Front:

How small manufacturers hold the key to reindustrialization
The real bottlenecks behind readiness: not weapons, but parts
Why defense acquisition needs fewer PDFs and more CRMs
The case for a U.S. “manufacturing ready reserve”

Connect with Bret

Linkedin: Bret Boyd

Connect with Tyler

LinkedIn: Tyler Sweatt

91. Cameron McCord, CEO & Co-Founder, Nominal Apr 22, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, Tyler sits down with Cameron McCord, CEO and co-founder of Nominal, to talk about why testing & evaluation is finally getting its moment in the spotlight—and why that matters more than you think. From time at Anduril and Lux Capital to launching Nominal, Cam shares a candid look at the bottlenecks slowing down national security and how the right software (and the right team) can tip the balance.

What's happening on the Second Front

Why test data is the next frontier for advantage in defense
How government incentives and contracting structures need to evolve
What it really takes to build a mission-driven team in this space
The difference between missionaries and mercenaries

Connect with Cameron

LinkedIn: Cameron McCord

Connect with Tyler

LinkedIn: Tyler Sweatt

90. Samuel Semwangu, CEO of Bazze Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

On this episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, TJ Rowe (2F CRO) sits down with Samuel (Sammy) Semwangu, CEO of Bazze—a company redefining how commercial data is delivered into the national security enterprise. Sammy shares his journey from special operations to Silicon Valley, the tough lessons learned building in defense tech, and how Bazze evolved into the commercial data infrastructure behind some of today’s most forward-leaning intel operations.

What’s Happening on the Second Front

The shift from nation-state dominance to commercially driven intelligence
How Bazze built a federated API to unlock insights from 20+ data vendors in seconds
Why aligning with primes and integrators is key to scale—and survival
The incentive problem inside the building—and why smart software alone doesn’t solve it
Partner-led GTM, SBIR heartbreak, and why timing > everything

Connect with Sammy

LinkedIn: Samuel Semwangu

Connect with TJ

LinkedIn: TJ Rowe

89. Software Defined Warfare with Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan and Stephen Rodriguez Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

Dive into an exciting surprise episode of All Quiet on the Second Front with host Tyler Sweatt, joined by Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan and Stephen Rodriguez from the Atlantic Council's Software-Defined Warfare Commission. This episode cuts through the complexities of defense technology to focus squarely on the transformative role of software in modern warfare. Tyler, Jack, and Stephen discuss Department of Defense initiatives, underscore the urgency of innovative strategies, and share personal anecdotes that illuminate the path toward a software-driven defense landscape, shedding light on pivotal developments that are reshaping military engagement across the globe. Tune in to understand the stakes and opportunities in software-defined warfare.

What’s Happening on the Second Front

Insights into Project Maven and the JAIC’s impact on military strategies.
Lessons from Jack Shanahan’s Air Force career and Stephen Rodriguez’s tech ventures.
How the DoD is adapting to software-centric warfare for technological superiority.
The need for rapid, actionable strategies to ensure future readiness.

Connect with Jack