The value of novel technology that could dramatically strengthen the defense capabilities of the United States and its allies is undeniable. 

But even the most urgently needed defense technology won’t get past the initial idea stage if it doesn’t have a cohesive go-to-market strategy that fulfills complex customer requirements. 

The federal government is well-known for being a tough customer. In recent years, startups have taken on a progressively larger role in the U.S.’ mission to create a more robust, resilient, and reliable defense system. While the agility and speed of startups is much needed at a time of mounting geopolitical tension (and increasingly well-equipped adversaries) their success ultimately rests on whether their company’s vision aligns with the objectives — and budget — of the Department of Defense (DoD). 

This is why having experienced government insiders on your team can be your most powerful asset as a defense tech startup. People with extensive careers within the DoD (and who often have experience working with or within legacy primes) are indispensable in this multilayered sector. They serve to align your product strategy with government needs, advocate for its adoption by guiding you through the pilot and procurement process, and lend credibility and authority as you build relationships to pursue sensitive government work requiring a security clearance. 

Eclipse spoke with two such individuals who are acting as DoD “champions” for defense tech startups: Ursa Major’s Chief Business Officer Ben Nicholson, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran whose career spans more than 20 years in the government and a decade leading government relations for companies in the aerospace industry; and True Anomaly’s Senior Vice President of Space Defense Steve Kitay, an Air Force veteran who spent nearly two decades in government across Intelligence, Community, Congress, and Space Policy for the DoD. 

Here, Nicholson and Kitay offer a framework for successful government collaborations. 

Don't Take This Moment For Granted

We’re living in a new era of opportunity for the private sector to have a major impact on the U.S.’ national security. The government has never been more receptive to working with startups — and the onus is on startups to ensure that door stays open. 

“Government leadership, energy, and focus is in the right place for collaborations with startups to be successful,” says Kitay, who helps True Anomaly scale their products and business and deliver on customer needs. “Now is the moment to bring innovation and lower costs to Defense — but the open question is whether the execution follows through. The actions must match the words on both sides.”

It’s true that moving (and often failing) fast is simply the nature of startups, but the DoD needs reassurance that the rapid-fire iterative process will actually lead to something as durable as the previous, considerably longer, and more expensive style of defense tech development. That means startups should prepare to engage with the government immediately, and expect the experience to be a learning process on both sides. 

“For years, before startups really penetrated the space, the aerospace industry and defense sector had a really formulaic way of doing everything — raising grants, building out technology, etc.,” says Nicholson, who manages all of Ursa Major’s external-facing functions. “That doesn’t work anymore when speed is the hallmark of your business, and when you need to embrace risk in order to innovate.” 

Crucially, startups cannot lose sight of the fact that although the nature — and timelines — of DoD-startup partnerships are changing, the customer is still the federal government. That means recognizing that innovation will always have to work alongside security, compliance, and reliability. Flashy demos mean nothing without a path to viability for long-term integration. Your customer has long sales cycles and buys based on their mission need, not on how cool or delightful your technology seems. 

“It’s one thing for the government to point to startups and showcase innovation, but it’s an entirely other thing for them to actually award contracts,” says Nicholson.

While defense tech startups headed by military veterans have an edge insofar as domain expertise, operational credibility, and demonstrated awareness of the high stakes, it’s still easy for small companies to get distracted balancing the dual complexities of business strategy and government partnerships. Likewise, the DoD needs people who can straddle both worlds, balancing objectives in a way that fulfills governmental requirements for safety and compliance while preserving the startup’s ability to build, test, and iterate quickly. Seizing this moment the right way is exactly why people like Kitay and Nicholson are joining startups. 

“Having worked in the government for almost two decades and then in industry (working product strategy at Microsoft Azure Space), I do believe that we need a product development approach to upgrading our defense,” says Kitay. “The DoD’s acquisition processes are not keeping up with the needs of our nation, and working at True Anomaly was the chance to put my career focus on building and delivering space capabilities much faster and at a lower cost to meet the needs of the warfighter.”

The best way to do that is to have close coordination with all stakeholders from the get-go, say Kitay and Nicholson, and equip them with as much information as possible. 

That starts with your insiders. 

Arm Your DoD Advocate With Knowledge

Developing novel defense technology is a complex undertaking. On top of deep military domain knowledge and operational experience, companies like True Anomaly, Ursa Major, and Blue Water Autonomy are built upon extensive expertise across a wide range of disciplines including specialized engineering, AI, software, manufacturing, policy, and go-to-market strategy. 

Government advocates like Kitay and Nicholson need near-constant, bi-directional and transparent communication with those various departments in order to develop a cohesive, candid, and credible message and strategy to the DoD. 

“There is a lot of competition, so you have to work harder to get the compelling information that will actually make your company stand out from all the noise,” says Nicholson. “You can’t just say what your differentiators are — you have to be able to corroborate it.”

On the flip side, your advocates also need enough information to ensure all initiatives are working in the same direction. For instance, a specific contract may seem like a great opportunity to pursue a certain engineering endeavor, but the financial cost outweighs the overall benefit to the business, or there are legal constraints that bar you from working on another important project. 

“Depending on the contract, it can be a huge value add or a major detractor to your business,” says Nicholson. “You have to be cognizant of how it cuts across those core functions of engineering, finance, legal, and marketing.”

That includes recognizing when to lean into tailwinds that can fuel an ambitious new project on rapid timelines, as Ursa Major did with the development of Draper. Building off the successful architecture and manufacturing of flight-proven, oxygen-rich staged combustion engine Hadley, the company was awarded a $28.6 million contract to fast-track the development of flexible liquid engine Draper. Within 12 months, Draper was successfully hot-fired.

Authenticity Is Your Best Asset

Developing new technology for a certain branch of the government doesn’t mean only interacting with that division. 

“The program office that manages the particular activity you are focused on is obviously extremely important because they make the decisions, but they get guidance and support from a much broader set of stakeholders,” says Kitay. “From the Pentagon and White House to Congress, you want to be engaging authentically across all stakeholders and sharing perspectives honestly about all aspects of your company.”

This includes everything from the technical capabilities and challenges, internal operations, and even roadblocks working with the government, Kitay says. 

“Authenticity means sharing all the details and having honest conversations across the board,” says Kitay. “You must recognize that these various stakeholders will be your partner if your end objective is to support the needs of the government, the warfighters, and the taxpayers.”

For example, the True Anomaly team has worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Space Force on the VICTUS HAZE contract to demonstrate cutting edge tactically responsive space (TacRS) capabilities.

Balancing Business Objectives With Reality 

There’s no denying that working with the government presents challenges. This is why the best defense tech companies are mission-driven and devoted to solving a complex security challenge, rather than focused on building tech that they can retrofit to government needs. 

Still, at the end of the day, startups must build a viable business in order to achieve that mission. When the DoD is your customer, a viable business is one that supports the needs of our nation, and does so in a way that is fiscally responsible to the taxpayers.

“If you understand what the government is trying to achieve, and your innovation allows you to bring those capabilities at the best price and costs to support the mission they are executing on, they will be a great partner,” says Kitay. “If you are just trying to drive engagement, they will be a very hard partner. Their primary focus is not to make you money – their focus is to facilitate the development of novel technologies and products, and startups are now uniquely positioned to deliver these products at cost and scale previously unseen in the defense industry.”

Yet, Kitay says a lucrative defense business and a responsible steward of taxpayer money are not mutually exclusive. Deeply mission-driven companies like True Anomaly, which was born out of the founders’ first-hand awareness and understanding of the U.S.’ growing vulnerabilities in the space domain, are uniquely suited to solve a national security problem with innovative technologies.

“It all comes down to purpose,” says Kitay. “Leveraging technology from the private sector to provide public safety is completely congruent with both a business and security mission."

However, the quest to figure out what lands with your government customers can be distracting, cautions Nicholson. 

“You can hire all kinds of firms and experts and rent space to put on presentations to a lot of people, but the trick is to not spend too much time and money as you are figuring out what resonates,” says Nicholson. 

For example, Ursa Major’s Hadley combustion engine was a huge hit at an event where it was showcased. But Nicholson didn’t consider the glowing reception a success until he could track it directly to new contracts. 

“It was great to see the impact of seeing Hadley in real life had on potential customers, but we had to actually win business to gauge if that was the right tactic,” says Nicholson. “At the end of the day, never confuse effort with results.”

Know When (And Who) To Bring In From Government

While all defense tech startups should be engaged with the government from the outset, actually bringing someone into the company — and for what purpose — depends on the company stage. 

For instance, companies who are just beginning to think about their product don’t need someone interfacing with the various department heads that will be awarding contracts in the imminent future. 

At the other end of the spectrum, if you are beginning to ramp up production, you may need to consider an entire team of government insiders working in D.C. If this is you, it’s important to take a bipartisan — or almost non-partisan — track, says Nicholson.  

“You want to have a balanced team that has a diversity of perspectives, but really think of yourself as a non-partisan organization as a vendor,” says Nicholson. “The most important thing is to bring in people who can handle any range of engagement, from generals to politicians.”

While people like Nicholson and Kitay have a rarified skill set and experience, there is growing interest among this unique group to act as a bridge between the private and public sectors. 

“I am very fortunate to get to work with the best in the industry, including working alongside Morgan Martell, our extremely talented Head of Government Affairs,” Kitay noted “It’s amazing to see the skills and passion in this critical area of business.”

Nicholson likewise sees an expanding pool of highly skilled talent eager to apply their unique experience towards defense tech innovation. 

“A lot of people are actually looking for this opportunity to learn new things and be part of something where they can apply their skills and accelerate progress,” says Nicholson. “And there is a growing need for this integrated model between companies, business development, and the government to serve the common goal of keeping our warfighters as lethal, ready, and safe as possible.”

Conclusion

Someone who deeply understands the complexities of the DoD as well as the competitive business landscape isn’t just an advantage. Similar to having a lead investor with extensive experience (and success) in your sector, having a “champion” within the DoD can be the difference between building an enduring defense business, or building a cool piece of technology that ultimately goes nowhere.

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