Minimum Viable Podcast (MVP)

Join us as DEF's Executive Director sits with Dr. Marina Theodotou, Lolita Horne and Eric Farraro of DAU! Using industry and academic research, and insights from the workforce, the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) created the Innovation Competencies and Skills Model. The model includes a self-assessment and personalized learning recommendations based on assessment results. This video introduces viewers to several members of the Innovate to Win (Phase I ) team,  describes the Innovate to Win initiative, as well as provides an overview of the Innovation Competencies and Skills model,  self-assessment, and curated learning pathways. It concludes with an invitation for viewers to participate.

The Masked Innovator is a new take on Podcasts from the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum! Take a listen and see if you can figure out who the guests are before the end! No self promotions, no sales pitches, just honest opinions on the topic of innovation within the Department of Defense!

Come learn how to navigate the challenging world of SBIR's and STTR's!

DEF's executive director Trish Martinelli talks with Heath Murray, the Indiana Agora lead, about the recent DEF Drink and Think and the importance of local Agoras in the national DEF ecosystem. Trish and Heath also discussed the unique nature of the DEF community and how it connects and empowers innovative thinkers in the national security space.

DEF's executive director Trish Martinelli talks with Nicholas Marchand, the lead for the 757 Agora. Nick hosted one of many DEF events on November 10, 2022, now unofficially known as National DEF Day. Trish and Nick discussed the 757 Agora, its unique position in the national security ecosystem, and the value local Agoras add to DEF's mission to inspire, connect, and empower.

DEF's executive director Trish Martinelli talks with Alex Gorsuch, the Chicago Agora lead, about his recent DEFx event, the Chicago entrepreneurial ecosystem, and his company Ascent. Trish and Alex also discuss future plans for the Chicago Agora and for DEF overall, and why individuals interested in the national security innovation space should get involved.

DEF's executive director Trish Martinelli talks with Alexis Bonnell about her time as a facilitator at I Am Remarkable, a Google project seeking to inspire and empower working people to take pride in their achievements. This kind of empowerment is a critical component to true success and fulfillment in both the defense and innovation spheres.

The National Security Innovation Network (NSIN “Esign”) runs a program called “Foundry” that matches DOD technology with Entrepreneurs with the goal of creating private entities to sell the DOD technology to both the commercial and public/DoD sector. Featuring: Mark Anholt – Program Manager of Foundry, can speak to program, selection critea, historical successes, and goals to increase women's participation Trish Martinelli – Executive Director of DEF, Regional Director at NSIN Ellen Chang – BMNT “Hacking For” Executive Emily Harman – Senior Executive (retired) from Department of the Navy, expert in small business with the DoD VR Small – Founder and CEO of Veterans Women's Enterprise Center Heather Jo Richman – BMNT VP, DoD and IC Innovation lead Emily McMahan – Academy Investor Network, Supporting Dual Use entrepreneurs Tai Sunnan – NSIN University of Southern California (USC) University Program Manager and Harvard Instructor of leadership development and PhD in Social Entrepreneurship

On January 31st, 2022 we hosted our first Agora Launch party. An event where we 'unboxed' the Agora-In-A-Box tool and demonstrated the process it takes to start a new Agora. We had a great turnout and are excited to see how many Agora will emerge in the coming months. If you weren't able to attend you can now listen to the recording from the event. If you have any questions or are interested in starting an Agora in your city shoot us an email to hello@def.org.

On the 29th of January as another big storm bore down on the Northeast, the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF) held it's quarterly volunteer summit, and the first Summit under the new Executive Director Trish Martinelli. More than 15 volunteers, leaders, staff, past and present Executive Directors, and DEF Board members kicked off the Summit and invested 4 hours in charting the way ahead for DEF in 2022. The meeting was led by Lee Gimpel by Better Meetings. If you are interested in enhancing the quality of your meetings, visit their website https://bettermeetings.expert/ About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

This episode features another monthly gathering of the JSOFT Community, the Federal DevSecOps Community of Practice. During this episode, JSOFT highlights the “Sec” in DevSecOps with a powerhouse crew of cloud-native security experts talking about their experiences working in the security space with the Federal Government. Our panel features Chris Hughes, Principal Cybersecurity Engineer, Rise8; Steve White, Cloud Security Advisor, Oracle; Alex Barbato, Modern Compliance Architect, vmware; and Lonye Ford, CEO, Arlo Solutions. About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

This episode features another monthly gathering of the JSOFT Community, the Federal DevSecOps Community of Practice. This episode features Lt Col Max Reele, Chief of Operations and Deputy Commander of Kessel Run. Lt Col Reele shares his journey being at the forefront of DoD digital transformation and how Kessel Run is growing. About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

DEF founding member and long-time champion Mark Jacobsen just published a new book: “Eating Glass: the Inner Journey Through Failure and Renewal.” Join us to hear a fireside chat with Mark about his work and these tough, meaningful themes for all entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and humans. Mark D. Jacobsen is an Air Force officer and professor of strategy and innovation. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University and has spent his career building and leading teams to tackle wicked problems at the intersection of technology and politics. He also writes fiction and non-fiction about grappling with complex, uncertain futures. He lives in Montgomery, Alabama with his wife and three children. Learn more at markdjacobsen.com. About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

For the last several years, DEF has hosted an evening event in conjunction with NVIDIA's flagship annual conference, GTC 21. Join NVIDIA's Anthony Robbins (a long-time friend and champion of DEF) for a roundtable with our Board of Directors. DEF's BOD includes Morgan Plummer, Jen Sovada, Josh Marcuse, Meagan Metzger, Chris Lynch, Evanna Hu, Ian Eishen, and Joy Shanaberger. About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

This podcast is a recording from the Bay Area Agora kickoff where Steve Blank joined us for a fireside chat and Q&A session covering: - how to better align national security and commercial incentive structures - a framework for creating an innovation overlay to the acquisition process - and how DEF can drive these changes at the operational level About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

It's been a year since we last interviewed Justin Lynch as part of the DEF Boston - AI Strategy & Defense event. The NSCAI has completed their final report, and will now join a roundtable discussion with DEF Boston Lead Adam Beal and DEF Executive Director Michael Madrid. During the roundtable, Justin and Courtney will share key findings from their research, as well as information on how the DEF community can help promote action on critical initiatives to ensure the U.S. is prepared to defend and compete in the AI-era About the Speakers Justin Lynch served as an active-duty army officer before transitioning to the Army National Guard. As a civilian, he has served in multiple roles in the national security enterprise, and is currently a Director of Research and Analysis at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Courtney Barno is a Director for Research and Analysis for NSCAI focused on the application of AI for national security missions. Prior to joining NSCAI, Courtney was on the staff of the Defense Innovation Board and worked on software acquisition and development issues. She has also supported the U.S. Department of State in a number of positions focused on overseas security policy and operations. About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

During this session of the DEF Digital Leadership Series, Mark Pushinsky shares how Value Steam Mapping helps leaders solve complex problems by deconstructing their operating environment to find opportunities for disruptive impact. Value stream maps help leaders identify and eliminate waste, thereby enhancing operational speed, mission impact, and resource utilization. About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

In case you missed it... hear from leaders within the DOD. Listen to we are doing with Additive Manufacturing and where we are headed in the future! this is the first part of a monthly series dedicated to increasing communications between organizations within the Department of Defense! **This is a recording from a live event** Register for next months event to hear from AM operators in field: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/def-additive-manufacturing-in-the-dod-tickets-138636564697 About DEF The mission of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is to inspire, connect and empower people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. We do this in order to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community. We are united in this purpose through service to our nation and the desire to bring new ideas and innovations to the national security ecosystem. We recognize that large, multi-tiered organization can stymie new ideas and ways of solving problems. Within any such group, there are people driven to find new, better, faster, cheaper, easier and more effective solutions. DEF unites those people, enabling them with avenues to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain the insights, mentorship and support necessary to bring their ideas to execution. If you have an interest in national security, regardless of whether you work in government, academia, a startup, policy or industry, you may also be a virtuous insurgent. Find out more and join us at DEF.org.

This episode of DEF's Tech Leader series helps national security innovators apply data science and AI to achieve mission outcomes. COL Benigni, a chief data scientist at US Special Operations Command, guides DEF listeners towards that goal by sharing insights from applying these capabilities at the tactical edge. COL Benigni offers a models for applying data science to tactical challenges, explains areas of opportunity for emerging leaders, and imparts best practices for operational commanders.

This Cornerstones Workshop looked at the two parties of a startup transaction: the investor and entrepreneurs. Raising capital for most startup founders is a tricky, potentially stressful undertaking. Knowing some common practices – and insider's tips – can make the journey much less painful. We will give a brief overview of how angel investing works. On the entrepreneurs side, we will discuss key strategies for obtaining angel investments and developing positive relationships with angel investors. On the investor side, we'll go inside the angel investors' mind to highlight what they commonly look for when investing in startups and how angels can improve their odds of having successful outcomes. About the Speakers Jeremy Bauman is Managing Partner of New Dominion Angels, a Washington DC based investors group that has invested ~$12M into 25+ early stage tech startups. He is also a Lead Consultant in the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Practice at the World Bank Group, where his work focuses on developing early stage capital markets. In addition to his local investing, he has worked with entrepreneurs and investors in the Caribbean, Central/Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Peter Dolch is a member of the New York Angels and MIT Alumni Angels. He is the President and co-Founder of Thaumaturgix, Inc. (Tgix), a pioneering web development and infrastructure company, which was twice ranked in the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies list. He is also the Founder and Managing Partner at AEON Foundry — an early-stage venture fund and advisory services company — and more recently the Founder and ex-CTO of Biospectal, a Swiss-basedMedtech company. He has more than 25 years of experience in both enterprise technology and in launching and guiding technology-based startups across the worlds of Media & Entertainment, Fintech, Medtech, eCommerce, Social Media, and more. An M.I.T. graduate with a degree in Management Information Systems and additional academic experience at Harvard, Peter is no stranger to the hard work, innovation, and outside-of-the-box-thinking that it takes to turn ‘ideas on a napkin' into industry-leading, globally recognized companies, both public and private. He put the 1st US Stock Exchange on the web (AMEX) and has been integral in the development of eCommerce solutions for some of the most globally recognized brands like B&H Photo. He has worked closely with AWS from the very start and has managed global application development for various Fortune-level companies, including building a Global Information Warehouse for Hewlett Packard, a Global Pricing & Reimbursement System for Pfizer, and a Content Management and Publishing System for AT&T Research Labs. His strategy, advisory and operational work with numerous startups (over 30) has led to successful exits including sales and IPOs.

Jordan Levine, a Partner at Dynamic Ideas, discusses analytics for national security at a DEF Washington DC event. In addition to his depth of knowledge, Jordan developed an analytics training product that is being piloted under an AFWERX SBIR contract for the entire DoD. Here's a description of that course: ----------------- You can't look an algorithm in the eye. Because you can't look an algorithm in the eye, leaders must know how to inspect and audit algorithms. We have developed our course with three areas of focus: Learn from real case studies - We demonstrate the state of the art of analytics capabilities to your organization by investigating actual implemented use cases. Rely on a proven framework for analytics success - We equip you to translate these proven implementations to your own day jobs by reinforcing a common accessible framework. Present strategies for avoiding common pitfalls We enable you to identify and mitigate the common failure modes encountered by organizations in the implementation of these techniques. Ultimately, we equip you with the skills to successfully run and manage an analytics endeavor. No coding required. Anyone in the National Security sector who wants to understand algorithms and how to inspect and audit them to understand at a deeper level what they can provide especially as it relates to analytics. ----------------- Jordan Levine is a partner at Dynamic Ideas, an organization committed to spreading powerful ideas in the areas of analytics, operations research, and their applications. He focuses his energy on creating digitally accessible training and education products that make analytics accessible to leaders. After serving as a communications officer in the United States Marine Corps, Jordan spent seven years at McKinsey & Company. The latter half of his time, he served as the global learning and development lead for analytics. There, he architected a strategy and oversaw a learning team that engaged ~4,000 McKinsey colleagues per year at the executive, manager, and technical talent levels. Key milestones included the creation of a cohort of 1,000+ ‘Analytics Translators' and the development of novel approaches to on-board and integrate analytics technical talent as well as assess their technical competence in a business environment. Prior to leading analytics learning, he was an engagement manager in the operations practice with a focus in supply chain management. Jordan holds a master's in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and mathematics degree from the United States Naval Academy.

In this conversation, Gregory Galle and Daniel covered just about everything, beginning with Greg's origins in communication design, how he co-founded the company Solve Next (previously Future), his experience and approaches developing and applying the facilitated discovery and design framework Think Wrong, and loads of insights about facilitation, innovation, being human-centered, before getting into Greg's origins as a design-minded innovator. Agitare is a community built of facilitators from across the national security and defense sectors who employ facilitated discovery, problem-solving, team-building and design frameworks to enhance the mission, innovation, and transformation efforts of their units, offices, and organizations. We seek to normalize facilitated discovery and design frameworks in policy and workforce decisions in National Security by providing a venue for these once isolated innovators and enablers to build a community of practice, find and share support and motivation, and improve their craft. ~Website: http://agitare.org/

This epsisode is exciting for startups and emerging companies focused on defense and national security to learn from an expert in pricing. Finding dual-use viability or an appropriate market approach when working with government is challenging, and government employees working with emerging companies will also benefit from learning about their experiences and pain points. Ed Lee is a pricing expert and CEO of HelloAdvisr, a growth consultancy working with startup leadership teams to design high-impact pricing strategies. HelloAdvisrworks with startups on pricing across growth stages and draws on experience from industries including eCommerce/retail, software, and consumer goods. Previously, Ed held leadership roles with LG Electronics and Simon-Kucher& Partners, a global management consulting firm, where he advised leading global companies and brands on pricing strategy. Ed is regularly invited to teach and speak at leading academic institutions including UCLA and Oxford University. He serves as a mentor and advisor to startup accelerators including Techstars and Backstage Capital, and is a resident expert at the Oxford Foundry (the venture accelerator of Oxford University). Ed received his MBA from Oxford University, two Masters (MSc) from the London School of Economics, and BA from UCSD. The Cornerstones Series brings in speakers to address issues for emerging companies and investors as part of DEF's mission to promote a culture of innovation in the national security community. Although the series is designed for entrepreneurs and investors interested in national security, intrapreneurs in government will also benefit from the opportunity to learn from those developing capabilities and working on projects that impact and support government employees.

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome volunteer Mike Pecota, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, and hear from special guest Chris Lynch. Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Mike Pecota Check out our upcoming events and register Take the Public Spend Forum's “Barriers to Entry” survey Read about Chris Lynch and DEF's BOD Get your ticket to DEF2020 Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

Daniel sat down for another talk with John Hawley this week to discuss getting people on board with your workshop, gaining early buy-in from participants, how John views his role as a facilitator, innovation strategy maturity levels within organizations, and... a whole lot more. Agitare is a community built of facilitators from across the national security and defense sectors who employ facilitated discovery, problem-solving, team-building and design frameworks to enhance the mission, innovation, and transformation efforts of their units, offices, and organizations. We seek to normalize facilitated discovery and design frameworks in policy and workforce decisions in National Security by providing a venue for these once isolated innovators and enablers to build a community of practice, find and share support and motivation, and improve their craft. Website: http://agitare.org/

Finding dual-use viability or an appropriate market approach when working with government is challenging, and government employees working with emerging companies will also benefit from learning about their experiences and pain points. Sameer Jagetia founder of Robuzz (current company) and Redbooks (sold), was ranked #10 globally in financial modeling (Modeloff) in 2019 is an entrepreneur and investor. Robuzz, a machine learning / natural language processing (ML/NLP) application pushes real-time news alerts on People and Companies. He was also the Chairman and President of Redbooks, a leading information services and technology company focused on sales intelligence for the media industry (acquired by The List Partners in 2018). Prior to Robuzz and Redbooks, Sameer was a hedge fund investor at TCS Capital Management, the largest hedge fund dedicated to TMT at the time. He began his career at Salomon Smith Barney (now Citigroup) as an investment banker in the telecommunications group. Sameer is currently ranked #10 globally in financial modeling (Modeloff). You can reach him at sammer@jagsco.com Topics Discussed What is financial modeling? Why build financial models? Best practices Tips and Tricks Dangers of a bad model and common errors The Cornerstones Series brings in speakers to address issues for emerging companies and investors as part of DEF's mission to promote a culture of innovation in the national security community. Although the series is designed for entrepreneurs and investors interested in national security, intrapreneurs in government will also benefit from the opportunity to learn from those developing capabilities and working on projects that impact and support government employees.

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome volunteer Amal Torres, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, announce two brand new partnerships, and hear from a surprise guest… Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Amal Torres Check out our upcoming events and register Take the Public Spend Forum's “Barriers to Entry” survey Check out DEF's blog on Medium Get your ticket to DEF2020 Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

This episode features another monthly gathering of the the Federal DevSecOps Community of Practice, featuring Adam Furtado, founder and key leader of Kessel Run. There are few people on planet earth who have founded a DoD software factory, led it through multiple metamorphoses, shepherded countless products into operational adoption, and cultivated a culture of learning at scale. Adam is handing off his famed Air Operations Center portfolio in order to steward the All Domain Common Platform team at Kessel Run. Adam share shis journey over the past three years at Kessel Run, focusing on failures and learnings, and taking extended time for an AMA.

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome volunteer Avi Jacobson, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, announce two brand new partnerships, and hear from special guest Josh Marcuse! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Avi Jacobson Check out our upcoming events and register Take the Public Spend Forum's “Barriers to Entry” survey Read about the DEF Board of Directors and Josh Marcuse Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

There is a need to educate technology leaders across the Department of Defense and national security community with the frameworks and strategies to run digital transformation efforts. This episode explores Wardley mapping: empowering leaders to understand the structure and ecosystem around a technology or service by mapping its components on dimensions like technology maturity and user value. In a defense and national security context, this allows leaders to better align their solution development trajectory and strategy with emerging market trends and user needs to optimize product-mission fit. The insights from this event are designed to help defense leaders to deconstruct their technology and innovation development efforts like business cases, ensuring our energy and talent gets invested on the right problems. James Urquhart is a proven technology executive, and a key influencer in the use of distributed systems technologies in the enterprise setting. Focusing on distributed systems development and operations, James has a background that includes both field and product leadership, with both start-ups and large corporations. James is perhaps best known for his influence on the emerging cloud computing market over the last decade. Named one of the ten most influential people in cloud computing by the MIT Technology Review, The Next Web and the Huffington Post, and a former contributing author to GigaOm and CNET, James frequent writes and speaks to these disruptive technologies and the business opportunities they afford. James played a key role in building the product, online service and related messaging for Enstratius, a start-up focused on multi-cloud management for the enterprise. Purchased by Dell in 2013 at a significant multiple, Enstratius was considered one of two leading first-generation multi-cloud VM management tools. James's latest role as SVP of Product Management at leading Digital Performance Management platform vendor, SOASTA, immersed him in the world of data science, which has led to one of his current interests, distributed real-time data analytics and anomaly detection. James has even started a Medium publication to explore this subject at https://medium.com/digital-anatomy. James has also played key strategic roles at Cisco and Dell, advising senior management on everything from product strategy to messaging.

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome volunteer Eric Heller, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, announce two brand new partnerships, and hear from special guest Prescott Paulin! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Eric Heller Check out our upcoming events and register Read more about the NSIN - JSOC Hirethon Read about Ian Eishen, the newest member of the DEF Board of Directors Find out more about DEF's partnership with DIN Connect with Prescott Paulin Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

BE SURE TO LISTEN TO PART 1 OF THIS INTERVIEW BEFORE YOU LISTEN TO PART 2 Karen Petty Hold is a real superhero in the Design Thinking world. She is the Director of Design Thinking DC, Visiting Executive Lecturer at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and other academic institutions, a trainer at The Design Gym, Founder of Experience Labs, and an all-around wonderful person to talk to. In this episode, Karen and Daniel continue their conversation about "The Innovator's Journey", diving into concepts covered in a recent paper that Karen wrote and a book she helped author which will be published in Spring of 2021. You can read the original paper "The Innovator's Journey: How Design Shapes Us As We Shape Designs" at https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3071166/The%20Innovator%E2%80%99s%20Journey_How%20Design%20Shapes%20Us%20as%20We%20Shape%20Designs.pdf At Agitare, we seek to normalize facilitated discovery and design frameworks in policy and workforce decisions in National Security by providing a venue for these once isolated innovators and enablers to build a community of practice, find and share support and motivation, and improve their craft. ~Website: http://agitare.org/ ~LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agitare/

Karen Petty Hold is a real superhero in the Design Thinking world. She is the Director of Design Thinking DC, Visiting Executive Lecturer at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and other academic institutions, a trainer at The Design Gym, Founder of Experience Labs, and an all-around wonderful person to talk to. In this episode, Karen shares with Daniel her journey into the world of Design Thinking, covering lots of powerful insights about why Design Thinking is important and useful as a social technology along the way. Check out part 2 of this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/5pmpbVqDdZ8 At Agitare, we seek to normalize facilitated discovery and design frameworks in policy and workforce decisions in National Security by providing a venue for these once isolated innovators and enablers to build a community of practice, find and share support and motivation, and improve their craft. Website: http://agitare.org/

Hosted by Adam Beal and DEF Boston, this discussion with Michael Kanaan dives into the details of his new book, “T-Minus AI: Humanity's Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power”. Modern security is making the shift from reacting to breaking events to managing deteriorating situations and preventing disruptions. The key to success in security is to move from an industrial age human-heavy driven process to a post industrial age process driven by machines, leveraged by human expertise, and change the value proposition from reactive incident management to proactive advice and incident avoidance.

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome volunteer Christian Kaman, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, announce two brand new partnerships, and hear from special guest Jesse Levin! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Christian Kaman Check out our upcoming events and register Connect with Jesse Levin Read about The Readiness Collective Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

Cory Bowman is the first ever career Product Manager in the Air Force. Cory's journey started as an E-4 Urdu linguist, a career trajectory that allowed his engagement with Pivotal Labs and the 480th ISR Wing on team Narwhal. His experience returning to Langley AFB, where he missed the support needed to continue building Narwhal and his software team, to then joining Kessel Run and leading two software teams to adoption in KR's Air C2 KRADOS portfolio, is inspiring. This episode is for anyone in government, junior to senior, and will help listeners understand the culture of great software organizations, the heart that so many like Cory bring to the equation, and how real leadership transcends rank.

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome volunteer Brandon Poje, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, announce two brand new partnerships, and hear from special guest Meagan Metzger! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Brandon Poje Check out our upcoming events and register Read about Board of Directors member Meagan Metzger Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

Finding dual-use viability or an appropriate market approach when working with government is challenging, and government employees working with emerging companies will also benefit from learning about their experiences and pain points. Michael Gawley is an Audit Partner at EisnerAmper LLP with more than 20 years of experience in providing accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting services for clients in a range of industries. Michael is a leader in the firm's Employee Benefits and Technology Groups. He also provides technical support to the Private Business Services Group. The Cornerstones Series brings in speakers to address issues for emerging companies and investors as part of DEF's mission to promote a culture of innovation in the national security community. Although the series is designed for entrepreneurs and investors interested in national security, intrapreneurs in government will also benefit from the opportunity to learn from those developing capabilities and working on projects that impact and support government employees.

This episode, hosted by DEF Washington DC, features Nick Setterberg discussing objectives and key results (OKRs) from his experience at Kessel Run. The objective of the discussion helping people in the national security community understand ways those tools can help enable execution (even in one of the world's largest bureaucracies). You will definitely enjoy it! Feel free to engage with Nick in Slack, or join him on Twitter or LinkedIn!

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome volunteer Jesse Levin, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, and hear from special guest Rich Walsh! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Jesse Levin Check out our upcoming events and register Connect with Rich Walsh Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

DEF member Frank Reyes discusses the TechCongress experience with Katherine Pratt and Nate Wilkins, digging into their work on The Hill, the upcoming cohort, and how it all overlaps with DEF's mission to promote a culture of innovation in the national security community. TechCongress is a startup non-profit, incubated at the Open Technology Institute at New America. They are nonpartisan and work with a diverse set of political voices, and do not take positions on issues. TechCongress focuses on building a new generation of technology leaders, and supporting fellows with professional development, networking, and freedom to tinker and test new ideas. TechCongress places computer scientists, engineers, and other technologists to serve as technology policy advisors to Members of Congress through one-year Congressional Innovation Fellowship. They bridge the divide of knowledge and experience between DC and Silicon Valley for better outcomes for both.

This episode features a discussion hosted by DEF Washington DC, where Zachery Tyson shares on the topic of Reframing National Security. You can read more about his thoughts in previously published articles, such as: "The US Intelligence Community Is Being Disrupted" and "The US Intelligence Community Is Caught in a Collector's Trap". Feel free to engage with Zach in Slack or join him on Twitter or LinkedIn!

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome volunteer Rob Zuppert, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, and hear from special guest Dan Manning! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Rob Check out our upcoming events and register Check out DEF partner organization #HumanIntelligence Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

In this episode, Daniel Hulter has a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Ben Zweibelson and Nathan Schwagler about theory and practices to foster creativity and help people think more expansively about problem-solving, designing strategy, and adapting to complexity. Agitare is a community built of facilitators from across the national security and defense sectors who employ facilitated discovery, problem-solving, team-building and design frameworks to enhance the mission, innovation, and transformation efforts of their units, offices, and organizations. We seek to normalize facilitated discovery and design frameworks in policy and workforce decisions in National Security by providing a venue for these once isolated innovators and enablers to build a community of practice, find and share support and motivation, and improve their craft. ~Website: http://agitare.org/

In this episode, John Deschner shares insights about brands, digital marketing, and content marketing to drive growth from his experiences at places such as Conde Nast, Ogilvy, and AKQA. Not just for startups in the DEF community, this is a worthwhile listen for members of the military and other parts of the national security community who want their voices to be heard and their projects to be recognized. Reach out to John with questions via email: deschner@hey.com. The Cornerstones Series brings in speakers to address issues for emerging companies and investors as part of DEF's mission to promote a culture of innovation in the national security community. Although the series is designed for entrepreneurs and investors interested in national security, intrapreneurs in government will also benefit from the opportunity to learn from those developing capabilities and working on projects that impact and support government employees.

Welcome to the new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight our awesome interns from William & Mary, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, and hear from special guest Heath Murray about DEF2020! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Kat Connect with Ansh Connect with Laura Register for the first Cornerstone workshop on digital marketing on July 30th Register for the X-Work project workshop on August 4th Stay updated on DEF2020 Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

Daniel Hulter talks with John Hawley about how to approach planning for a 1-hour facilitated workshop to help a unit's enlisted leadership come up with ideas for important initiatives to get after. Agitare is a community built of facilitators from across the national security and defense sectors who employ facilitated discovery, problem-solving, team-building and design frameworks to enhance the mission, innovation, and transformation efforts of their units, offices, and organizations. We seek to normalize facilitated discovery and design frameworks in policy and workforce decisions in National Security by providing a venue for these once isolated innovators and enablers to build a community of practice, find and share support and motivation, and improve their craft. Website: http://agitare.org/

Welcome to the fourth ever edition of our new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the multitude of Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight awesome volunteer Pat Schlecker, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, and hear from a special guest! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Pat Register for the FACTUALITY workshop on July 28th Read more about FACTUALITY Register for the Seattle Agora's virtual happy hour with Dan Manning of #HumanIntelligence on July 29th Register for the first Cornerstones workshop on digital marketing on July 30th Check out the initial Call to Action for the X-Work project Check out the recap of the first X-Work session Join DEF as a member: www.def.org/join

In this episode Daniel Hoogendoorn hosts a discussion with Trent Hone, author of Learning War, engaging with ideas and stories about innovation and learning from his book. Trent Hone is a Fellow with Excella in Arlington, VA, and an award-winning naval historian. His work is fueled by an interest in organizational learning and operational effectiveness. He consults with organizations to improve their art of practice, accelerate learning, and innovate more effectively. Mr. Hone regularly writes and speaks about organizational learning, strategy, and innovation. He co-authored Battle Line: The United States Navy, 1919-1939. His article, “U.S. Navy Surface Battle Doctrine and Victory in the Pacific” was awarded the U.S. Naval War College's Edward S. Miller Prize and the Naval History and Heritage Command's Ernest M. Eller Prize. His essay, “Guadalcanal Proved Experimentation Works” earned second place in the 2017 Chief of Naval Operations Naval History Essay Contest. Mr. Hone's latest book, Learning War: The Evolution of Fighting Doctrine in the U.S. Navy, 1898–1945, brings a new and valuable perspective that explains how the Navy became a learning organization before World War II and harnessed learning mechanisms to accelerate victory during that conflict. It was the U.S. Naval Institute's Book of the Year for 2018 and is part of the Chief of Naval Operations Professional Reading Program.

Welcome to the third edition of our new digital weekly roundup at DEF! This group has become so large over the years that many of us have a hard time staying on top of the many Slack channels, telecons, live events, and blogs that make up the diverse community. This week we welcome new members, spotlight awesome volunteer Jeremy Thomas, review recent and upcoming events, cover various discussions over the past week, and hear from a special guest! Let us know what you think at hello@def.org. Links discussed in the show: Connect with Jeremy Thomas Register for the Omaha virtual Drink & Think with guest speaker Trent Hone Register for the FACTUALITY workshop Read more about FACTUALITY Contribute to the Hopper project via this digital data call survey, before July 17th Check out our Firestarter Fellows Check out Agitare Join the DEF community: www.def.org/join

This episode features Bilal Zuberi, a venture capitalist from Lux Capital with interests in technology/U.S. government. Conrad Hollomon, Entrepreneur in Residence at Techstars and an active DEF Member, also shares his perspective. The discussion was started to help our Firestarter Fellows gain some knowledge about how outside investors assess early-stage companies. The discussion was moderated by Avi Jacobson, who runs DEF's Firestarter Fellowship. Learn more about our Firestarter Fellows here. Get involved with the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum and our mission to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community by going to def.org/join.