In this week’s episode of Building the Base, Hondo and Lauren join Ted Schlein, Chairman & General Partner, Ballistic Ventures and General Partner, Kleiner Perkins to discuss the future of the defense industrial network.

Throughout the podcast, Ted touches on inefficiencies within the defense industrial base regarding its acquisition of cybersecurity technology. One of Ted’s most important views highlighted is that the government should not be playing the role of investor, but it should be finding out how to be a better partner and customer to contractors. To that end, faster and more efficient acquisition processes should be at the forefront of the DoD’s concerns.

Hondo, Lauren, and Ted go on to discuss a variety of topics, including:

• Measuring risk in investment
• The relationship between and roles of venture capital and the government
• Having a true public-private ‘partnership’
• Disinformation
• Talent acquisition in cybersecurity