Crossing the Valley

Case Study: From Zero to A Billion - the Making of an Identity Verification UnicornI met Blake Hall in 2020, during COVID, as my nonprofit organization was looking to help surge healthcare professionals into the fight against the pandemic. One of the key challenges was identifying and verifying user credentials. Enter ID.me; Blake and team offered to do it for the healthcare facilities who were vetting our volunteers - and incredibly, to do it for free. His heart for service runs deep. I’m excited to share his story - the ID.me story - with you.For more info:* On Blake Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hallblake/* On ID.me: https://www.id.me/⏲️ Timestamps ⏲️2:23 - The ID.me founding story6:40 - Finding their first users11:55 - Early funding, the power of serendipity, and the burden of expectations14:55 - The power of niche: focusing where others had flared18:25 - ID.me's approach to product26:20 - Approaching the federal government30:55 - Commercial as a launchpad for federal33:15 - The first government grant38:10 - The cautionary tale of Connect.gov43:00 - Blake's take on adversity47:20 - The fatal sin of entrepreneurship48:25 - The value of certifications and testing54:15 - The first $1 trillion identity company?58:50 - Blake's friendship with Elon Musk1:02:20 - Blake's advice to people entering the federal market This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.valleycrossers.com

“Skipping the Valley” - the ZeroEyes StoryZeroEyes was founded in 2018 by a team of Navy SEALs and technologists: Mike Lahiff, Sam Alaimo, Tim Sulzer, Rob Huberty and Dustin Brooks. The company launched following the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas elementary school to prevent future school shootings.In this episode, we speak with James “JT” Wilkins, a Marine who served fifteen years until he was medically retired. As he prepared to retire, JT had a management consulting offer in hand, and was preparing to move into the analytical lifestyle when COVID hit. What seemed like a disaster at the time turned into a blessing: when the firm pushed his offer back six months, JT knew he had to go back to work. So he discovered defense technology, and a firm called Immersive Wisdom, which gave him his foray into the industry, and an opportunity to continue the national security mission by other means. Over time, as his work brought him into contact with the ZeroEyes team at Tyndall Air Force Base, he decided to join forces with their remarkable team (more on that later).For more on: JT Wilkins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameswilkins610/ZeroEyes: https://zeroeyes.com/about-us/Crossing the Valley: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsYH_WbObFJwM3IkLx1UyUQ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.valleycrossers.com

David Gerson, VP of Apogee Research, discusses engineering for defense, building transition plans, DARPA initiatives, challenges of interoperability, and the future of defense technology in a captivating podcast episode.

Welcome to the first episode of Crossing the Valley!I’m excited to bring you Accrete AI’s story of tech transition. It’s a story about a commercial-first bootstrapped company finding its way in the defense market. The interview was super interesting, as our two guests have such different backgrounds: Prashant was a financial trader, while Brian had a 20+ year career inside the government. But they play off each other incredibly well, and have some absolute truth bombs for our listeners. This case study includes key takeaways, timestamps, company contracts (thanks to our friends at Procure FYI), and much more.If you like the audio version, check us out on YouTube, and read on for the Case Study highlights!And please let me know what you like and what you want more of! noah@frontdoordefense.com.⏲️TIMESTAMPS⏲️00:00 - Intro01:43 - Prashant's Background and Accrete's Founding08:47 - Brian's Background and Transition from Government13:37 - Accrete's Commercial-first Strategy17:47 - The DIU Application Process24:24 - DIU's Acquisition and Transition Process29:53 - How Accrete Built with the Customer to Pass Technical Milestones32:44 - The First Transition35:42 - Expectations vs. Reality of Transition43:02 - Advice to Small Companies50:17 - What Does the Future Hold? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.valleycrossers.com

Each year, thousands of companies show up to sell their products and services to the Department of Defense.But so few make it across the “Valley of Death” from pilot to production.The ones who do?Their stories are rarely told.Until now.In this show, we go deep into the stories of the companies that have blazed a path in the federal market, to understand the tools, tips, and playbooks to getting to scale inside the Department of Defense.Each episode will be accompanied by an in-depth case study - subscribe to never miss an episode! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.valleycrossers.com