The initial attempts to defend against small, inexpensive drones—using big, expensive missiles and lasers designed for a previous era of warfare—frankly didn’t work at all. This moment of stark realization for the Pentagon frames a conversation with three veterans who witnessed such gaps in defense technology firsthand and decided to build companies to solve them. John Doyle of Cape, David Tuttle of Rune, and Grant Jordan of SkySafe discuss how their military service exposed critical vulnerabilities in secure communications, logistics, and airspace security, directly inspiring their entrepreneurial missions. The dialogue explores the unique path from service to startup, examining whether veterans should transition directly or gain experience in the private sector first at places like Palantir or Anduril. A central theme is the evolving nature of modern conflict, where the battlefield is increasingly digital and asymmetric, demanding faster, more adaptable technology than traditional defense acquisition can provide.

The founders dissect the cultural translation from military to startup environments, highlighting both contrasts and valuable carryovers. While the military provides a clear hierarchy and doctrine, a startup begins with a blank slate, requiring founders to intentionally build a culture that encourages risk-taking and learns from failure. They emphasize the importance of fostering a mission-driven mindset to attract top tech talent, arguing that many engineers are eager to work on meaningful national security problems if the stakes are made clear. This leads to a discussion on building “dual-use” companies whose technologies serve both defense and civilian applications, from protecting critical infrastructure to aiding journalists, and the deliberate effort required to cultivate teams committed to this broad mission.

Finally, the conversation turns to the urgent need for reform within the defense procurement ecosystem. The founders advocate for a more competitive, ruthless approach to innovation: onboarding new technologies rapidly through mechanisms like OTAs (Other Transaction Authorities), but also being willing to just as quickly terminate programs that aren’t delivering results for the warfighter. They identify a persistent “valley of death” between small-scale prototypes and large-scale deployment, stressing that the real value of many solutions only emerges at scale. The discussion concludes with a reflection on service, with the founders expressing a willingness to return to government roles—if empowered to actually make an impact—underscoring that their entrepreneurial journey is ultimately an extension of their commitment to national security.

Surprising Insights

• The initial defense against drones was a total mismatch: Early efforts to counter small drones involved repurposing multi-million dollar missiles and laser systems, which were utterly ineffective against low-cost, agile threats, revealing a fundamental paradigm shift in warfare.
• “Offboarding” failing tech is as important as onboarding new tech: A key to speeding up defense innovation isn’t just funding new projects faster, but also having the courage to swiftly kill zombie programs that aren’t working, saving taxpayer money and freeing up resources.
• Recruiting top tech talent for defense work is “not that hard”: While there’s a perceived cultural gap, the founders find that many software engineers are strongly motivated by the chance to work on consequential, mission-driven problems when the real-world impact is convincingly demonstrated.
• Veteran founders must avoid building “what they needed then”: A common pitfall is creating a solution for the problem you faced during your service. The battlefield and technology evolve quickly, so successful founders must focus on forward-looking problems, not nostalgic ones.
• Culture is built through continuous, granular actions: It’s not about platitudes on a wall; it’s the founder being on every urgent Slack thread, the team gathering in person for Friday happy hours, and publicly celebrating small wins that builds the cohesive, trust-based culture vital for a startup.

Practical Takeaways

• For aspiring veteran-founders: Consider a “tour” at a high-paced, innovative tech company like Palantir or Anduril after service. This provides crucial training wheels in product development, corporate mechanics, and culture-building before you start from zero.
• Build a culture that celebrates intelligent failure: To encourage the risk-taking necessary for innovation, make it explicit that well-intentioned efforts that fail are not penalized, provided the lessons are learned and shared transparently.
• Hire for mission alignment and growth potential, not just skills: Especially in dual-use or defense-adjacent companies, seek people who are personally invested in the broader “why.” Often, someone with the right drive and values can be trained into the specific role.
• When selling to the government, push for scaling pilots: Advocate for intermediate steps that allow your technology to be tested at a meaningful scale, not just as a small prototype, to properly demonstrate its operational value and navigate the “valley of death.”
• Prioritize in-person collaboration in the early days: Proximity significantly accelerates the formation of trust, cohesion, and the responsive, all-hands-on-deck culture that defines successful early-stage teams, especially when tackling high-stakes problems.