The Pentagon Playbook: Steve Blank and Pete Newell on How Start-Ups can Crack Defense Innovation and Acquisition

The Pentagon is one of the hardest customers in the world to win over. For startups, the barriers are steep: complex rules, unfamiliar offices, and a culture that doesn’t work like Silicon Valley. But the stakes couldn’t be higher—cracking the Department of Defense can mean scaling breakthrough technologies that shape national security.

In this episode of The Burn Bag, A’ndre Gonawela speaks with two of the most influential voices in defense innovation: Steve Blank, the father of the Lean Startup movement and co-founder of Hacking for Defense, and Pete Newell, CEO of BMNT and former leader of the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force. Together, they’ve helped release the 2025 PEO Directory—a first-of-its-kind playbook that maps who buys what inside the Pentagon and how startups can navigate the system.

We break down why so many companies fail when they try to sell to the military, what’s changing in the Pentagon’s acquisition culture, and how new reforms could give startups and investors a real shot at competing with defense giants. Steve and Pete also walk through the different paths a startup can take—whether building patiently through government programs or charging directly to the field—and share how founders can take advantage of the PEO Directory.

If you’ve ever wondered how innovation actually gets into the hands of warfighters—or why it so often doesn’t—this conversation is your guide to understanding and changing the system.

Download the 2025 PEO Directory here.

Read Steve Blank's blog post on the Directory here.