The Accelerator team was excited to welcome back the Defensive Cyber Operations for Space (#CADCO) cohort to Colorado Springs for week five of the program! ISSAC, LLC generously agreed to be the Session 2 Sponsor of the #CADCO cohort, and the team couldn’t be more thrilled. ISSAC, LLC was a part of the Accelerator’s eighth cohort focused on Digital Engineering for Space Applications: Modeling and Simulation, and the first Accelerator alum to become a sponsor!
Programming began on Tuesday, April 4th, with an incredible unclassified security briefing from the Honorable Sue Payton. Later that day, the cohort had the pleasure of hearing from Lorna Gunning, from the Colorado PTAC, who spoke to the cohort about where technology fits within other government entities. Mo Kanwischer of Momentum Business Consulting also met with each cohort participant on Tuesday to discuss business development, marketing, and QIP-B. Mo shared, “The cohort has been working on various aspects of their messaging articulation to align with their learning from their customer discovery work. Now, it’s being pulled together by developing their go to market strategy combining their messaging and their channel distribution plan with their product positioning. It’s very exciting to see the light bulbs over their heads light up when a new connection or insight has been made!”
On Wednesday, the morning started with a Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) overview from Patrick Gould, DIU’s Cyber Portfolio lead. Patrick spoke with the companies about the services DIU offers as well as upcoming opportunities. Throughout the remainder of the day, the cohort had the opportunity to hear from Katie Gray from In-Q-Tel, Doug Kisby from AF OSI, and Matt Dodge and his team from Booz Allen Hamilton. The day ended with a cohort dinner at Phantom Canyon, a wonderful local downtown Colorado Springs staple.
Fifteen subject matter experts donated their time to speak with the cohort during week five. One of these experts included Col (ret) Ross Morrell. Ross spoke with the companies about best practices when doing business with the US government. Ross has been a part of the Catalyst Accelerator family for quite some time and has donated his time to speak with numerous past cohorts. After meeting with each company, he stated, “The DCOS cohort companies offer an impressive array of cyber defense capabilities that can immediately provide value and reduce risk to mission for our Guardians.”
The eight cohort companies participated in the Innovation Day Event on Thursday sponsored by ISSAC, LLC. The morning began with a rapid-fire resource panel, which provided the cohort with pertinent connections with the following companies: PTAC, Mongo Benefits, National Cybersecurity Center (NCC), AFCEA, Pantheon Solutions, The Smalls, Space ISAC, AngelSolves, TRiAD, and PSP Compass Solutions. In addition to the #CADCO cohort, the Accelerator team also hosted several companies from the UCCS Garage and Exponential Impact for this morning event. In the afternoon, the companies had the opportunity to participate in a DoD Innovation panel as well as a Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) panel that were both open to the public. A happy hour ended the night, which was the perfect conclusion to the event and allowed for continued networking. Numerous leaders from the aerospace and defense industries, cyber subject matter experts, and those interested in where the US is heading with cyber technology attended this event. Thank you to each of the companies who participated in the rapid-fire resource panel, the DoD and DCO panelists, and each attendee who made this event so engaging and successful!
The week ended on a high note with a briefing on security clearances delivered by Doug Cameron, President of FSO Source. Additionally, the #CADCO cohort had a chance to get to know the Ogden cohort and create connections in a “co-cohort” gathering session. The week ended with a Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC briefing and speakeasy tour in the downtown Colorado Springs area. Overall, it was a wonderful end to another great week!
Thank you to each of the subject matter experts who donated their time to speak with the # CADCO cohort and answer their questions. The Catalyst Accelerator team is looking forward to what week six has to offer!
