Stay ConnectedFew companies make it from pilot to production in the defense market. Those who do often change the industry in the process.
How do they do it? What lessons can startups take from their trials, successes, and failures? Crossing the Valley tells the stories of the trailblazers who are forging a new path for America’s defense.
Copyright: © Noah Sheinbaum
In this conversation with Second Front Systems CEO Tyler Sweatt, we dive into Tyler's own transition from military to startups, what the Defense Department and startups miss about each other, and what the future holds for defense tech.
Timestamps:
2:22 - Tyler's background and the journey to the C-suite
6:30 - The Second Front team and Kessel Run origin story
9:00 - Tyler reacts to the Defense Ventures Fellowship news
12:20 - What Second Front is doing and why
16:45 - How Second Front went to market initially
20:54 - You are not at a startup unless...
23:20 - "Mo ways for mo apps is mo better"
26:40 - Federal vs commercial business
31:16 - How to structure the government business for growth
33:55 - Startup culture vs big DoD culture
42:48 - Why a Prime didn't build Second Front's product
44:40 - Tyler's hopes for the industry
For more on Second Front: secondfront.com
To learn more about Offset Symposium: secondfront.com/offset-symposium
To read the case study: frontdoordefense.substack.com
Overview
CFD Research is a small business founded in 1987 in the Singhal family garage in Huntsville, Alabama. Today it is a $75M business that has received more than $100M in SBIR funding, with one of the highest commercialization rates in the business.
We spoke with CEO and President Sameer Singhal about the company's business model, and how they go about delivering for the mission of national defense.
For more:
* On CFD Research: www.cfd-reserach.com
* On Sameer Singhal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sameer-singhal-304b6018/
* Crossing the Valley: https://www.youtube.com/@FrontdoorDefense
Case Study: From Zero to A Billion - the Making of an Identity Verification Unicorn
I met Blake Hall in 2020, during COVID, as my nonprofit organization was looking to help surge healthcare professionals into the fight against the pandemic. One of the key challenges was identifying and verifying user credentials. Enter ID.me; Blake and team offered to do it for the healthcare facilities who were vetting our volunteers - and incredibly, to do it for free. His heart for service runs deep. I’m excited to share his story - the ID.me story - with you.
For more info:
* On Blake Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hallblake/
* On ID.me: https://www.id.me/
⏲️ Timestamps ⏲️
2:23 - The ID.me founding story
6:40 - Finding their first users
11:55 - Early funding, the power of serendipity, and the burden of expectations
14:55 - The power of niche: focusing where others had flared
18:25 - ID.me's approach to product
26:20 - Approaching the federal government
30:55 - Commercial as a launchpad for federal
33:15 - The first government grant
38:10 - The cautionary tale of Connect.gov
43:00 - Blake's take on adversity
47:20 - The fatal sin of entrepreneurship
48:25 - The value of certifications and testing
54:15 - The first $1 trillion identity company?
58:50 - Blake's friendship with Elon Musk
1:02:20 - Blake's advice to people entering the federal market
“Skipping the Valley” - the ZeroEyes Story
ZeroEyes was founded in 2018 by a team of Navy SEALs and technologists: Mike Lahiff, Sam Alaimo, Tim Sulzer, Rob Huberty and Dustin Brooks. The company launched following the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas elementary school to prevent future school shootings.
In this episode, we speak with James “JT” Wilkins, a Marine who served fifteen years until he was medically retired. As he prepared to retire, JT had a management consulting offer in hand, and was preparing to move into the analytical lifestyle when COVID hit. What seemed like a disaster at the time turned into a blessing: when the firm pushed his offer back six months, JT knew he had to go back to work. So he discovered defense technology, and a firm called Immersive Wisdom, which gave him his foray into the industry, and an opportunity to continue the national security mission by other means. Over time, as his work brought him into contact with the ZeroEyes team at Tyndall Air Force Base, he decided to join forces with their remarkable team (more on that later).
For more on:
JT Wilkins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameswilkins610/
ZeroEyes: https://zeroeyes.com/about-us/
Crossing the Valley: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsYH_WbObFJwM3IkLx1UyUQ
Apogee Research is a small engineering firm that developed one the Defense Department’s latest solution to the age-old challenge of interoperability. Over seven years, Apogee not only engineered a technical solution, but helped build a constituency for the tool chain inside the ecosystem, and equipped warfighters with the know-how to use it.
In this episode I spoke with David Gerson, the firm’s Vice President, about how they engineered from transition, how building for defense is different, and what the future may hold. Check it out and let me know what you think! And if you like it, please don’t forget to share and subscribe!
⏲️Timestamps ⏲️
2:43 – Introduction to Apogee Research
6:36 – The Apogee model
13:00 – What it means to build for transition
17:00 - Helping program managers craft great programs
20:28 – How Apogee partners
26:07 – Why interoperability is hard for DoD
29:20 – The genesis of DARPA’S SoSITE Initiative
33:59 – How DARPA works
37:50 – Why global standards fail
46:36 – The STITCHES customer discovery process
50:00 – Running the Gauntlet: Building buy-in among user communities
54:20 – Finding a transition partner
57:30 – Contracting for transition
1:04:49 – The future of defense technology
Welcome to the first episode of Crossing the Valley!
I’m excited to bring you Accrete AI’s story of tech transition. It’s a story about a commercial-first bootstrapped company finding its way in the defense market. The interview was super interesting, as our two guests have such different backgrounds: Prashant was a financial trader, while Brian had a 20+ year career inside the government. But they play off each other incredibly well, and have some absolute truth bombs for our listeners. This case study includes key takeaways, timestamps, company contracts (thanks to our friends at Procure FYI), and much more.
If you like the audio version, check us out on YouTube, and read on for the Case Study highlights!
And please let me know what you like and what you want more of! noah@frontdoordefense.com.
⏲️TIMESTAMPS⏲️
00:00 - Intro
01:43 - Prashant's Background and Accrete's Founding
08:47 - Brian's Background and Transition from Government
13:37 - Accrete's Commercial-first Strategy
17:47 - The DIU Application Process
24:24 - DIU's Acquisition and Transition Process
29:53 - How Accrete Built with the Customer to Pass Technical Milestones
32:44 - The First Transition
35:42 - Expectations vs. Reality of Transition
43:02 - Advice to Small Companies
50:17 - What Does the Future Hold?
Each year, thousands of companies show up to sell their products and services to the Department of Defense.
But so few make it across the “Valley of Death” from pilot to production.
The ones who do?
Their stories are rarely told.
Until now.
In this show, we go deep into the stories of the companies that have blazed a path in the federal market, to understand the tools, tips, and playbooks to getting to scale inside the Department of Defense.
Each episode will be accompanied by an in-depth case study - subscribe to never miss an episode!
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