It was another fantastic week for the Catalyst Accelerator’s Defensive Cyber Operations for Space (#CADCO) cohort, thanks to the support from the Accelerator’s Session 1 Sponsor, Two Six Technologies. The Catalyst Accelerator team is so grateful for their community of support and is delighted to have spent the last two weeks with such an incredible group of companies! We look forward to reuniting with them in April!
Seventeen subject matter experts spoke with the cohort during week two. On Monday morning, March 13th, the session kicked off with Rob Patterson, President of Business Development at ONE Dev LLC, who spoke to the cohort about his experience in DoD business development. That same day, the cohort also had the pleasure of hearing from Lt Col Jason Utulo and his team from the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) who provided an overview of NSDC and the importance of Defensive Cyber Operations to the space domain.
Additionally, the Accelerator team was pleased to welcome Kristi Bradford, Founder and Managing Director at Pragmatic Frontiers, who spoke with the cohort about the current investor landscape. Kristi was a part of the Accelerator’s tenth cohort focused on International Space Domain Awareness, so we were thrilled to have her back to share her wisdom with the current group of companies.
On Tuesday, the cohort heard from Jonathan Veteto about SBIR contracts, specifically where to find them and best practices for applying. Then, Chad Clark and his team from Martensen IP, talked to the cohort about Value Generation, Strategy, and the Dual Use of IP generated under government contracting. At the end of the day, the cohort had the opportunity to participate in a Joint Defense Industry Night, organized and facilitated by the Catalyst Campus events team. During the event, the cohort heard from Bryan Wilson, the COCOM Engagement Lead at Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), who discussed the ways in which DIU works to solve national security problems by leveraging commercial technology.
Throughout the week, Mo Kanwischer spent time with each cohort member to discuss their value proposition. She explained, “In typical Catalyst Accelerator fashion, these cohort members have been plowing through the program with enthusiasm and zeal! Each day, they are taking on, and taking in, a variety of topics that will help them commercialize their cyber security offerings to the Space Force, Air Force, other government agencies and a host of commercial companies. It’s amazing to see the evolution of their thinking as they are exposed to new customers and zero-in on customers’ needs.”
Michael Kleppe, the Senior Program Manager and Colorado Business Lead for Galapagos, kicked off the Wednesday morning sessions by speaking to the cohort about Galapagos and the company’s efforts to bolster the DoD. Michael is also one of the Accelerator’s Navigators for this cohort, so his wisdom and vast knowledgebase of the many pain-points of the DoD is invaluable to the cohort companies. When asked about his thoughts regarding the current #CADCO cohort and problem statement, he asserted, “This by far is the most important topic they have hosted to date. Defensive cyber capabilities and operations is a widely unknown line of effort in the greater space architecture. Former CSO Gen Jay Raymond, said ‘If you look at the space domain, the way you experience that domain is through data.’ If that data is not truth data, or is compromised by cyber-attacks, then one must assume our ability to protect and defend the use of space for national security or economic reasoning becomes diminished.”
The week wrapped up with a warfighter panel that allowed the cohort to pepper the panelists with questions about the obstacles that the Space Force and Air Force is facing in regard to cyber capabilities and security. Afterwards, the cohort companies had the chance to network with the panelists and began mapping out the group deliverable that they will collaborate on throughout the cohort.
Thank you to each of the subject matter experts who spoke with the #CADCO cohort and answered their questions during week two. The Catalyst Accelerator team is looking forward to what the next on-week has in store!
