The Merge E52 – Top Secret Offices
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Oct 25, 2025 Sean Blackman, co-founder and CEO of Nooks, shares insights into the world of classified business with the Pentagon. He discusses the innovative concept of Classified-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS), which offers subscription access to secure workspaces. Sean delves into the challenges startups face in obtaining security clearances and how Nooks navigates these hurdles. He also explores the impact of COVID on real estate, the advantages of shared SCIFs, and his vision for a streamlined classified network by 2028.
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Subscription Model For Classified Work
- Nooks offers subscription access to a network of secure facilities at multiple classification levels.
- The model shifts classified work from one-company-one-SCIF to shared, flexible infrastructure.
From Government Frustration To Founding Nooks
- Sean and his co-founders hit the classification access wall while running government innovation efforts.
- They left government roles and founded Nooks in 2021 to solve the chicken-and-egg SCIF/FCL problem.
The Structural Chicken‑Egg Of SCIFs
- The classification model is a systemic scale problem, not purely technical or people-related.
- Building a SCIF takes millions and years, creating a barrier that blocks many new entrants.