“To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.” – Thomas Watson, Sr., former CEO, IBM
The third week of the Digital Engineering for Space Applications: Modeling and Simulation (#CADES) cohort was a wonderful success! The week kicked off with a briefing about DoD Business Development by Rob Patterson, President of Business Development at ONE Dev LLC. Rob has 40 years in the space industry and 8 years within executive leadership. He explained that “Effective Business Development is difficult, costly, and time-consuming, so you must find the model that works for you. Unless you have a widget that everyone needs or wants, you cannot bypass the process to ensure your customer knows you; you develop an offering that wins; and you allow yourself the runway to formulate a successful bid.” He went on to explain his “Business Development Equation” which is R(Requirement)=E(Expertise)+C(Capability)+X(Anything the Government wants). This equation is what every BD individual should do. Balancing the equation is key! The cohort was lucky enough to hear from Steve Friedman from LinQuest. Additionally, Charles Ming gave an overview of Delta Solutions and Strategies. The Catalyst Accelerator is thrilled to have both LinQuest and Delta Solutions and Strategies as Commercial Sherpas for the modeling and simulation cohort.
On Wednesday, Mike Dickey offered his personal views on the New Digital Force. Mike is a 33-year aerospace veteran having served in uniform, the private sector, and as a civilian executive in the Air Force and Space Force. He is now consulting in the aerospace and defense sector as President of Inflection Space Strategies. He explained to the cohort that, “If we are to stay ahead of the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities ahead of us in national security space, it will begin by harnessing modeling and simulation technologies to accelerate American innovation.” Afterwards, Maj Greg Sundbeck gave an incredibly informative overview on the STRATFI/TACFI Program. He answered several questions that the cohort companies had about this program. Additionally, he provided a powerful resource for anyone who would like to learn more about the Supplemental Funding Pilot Program. You can find the resource listed here: www.Afsbirsttr.af.mil/about/supplemental-funding-pilot-program/.
Richard Chong flew to the Catalyst Campus all the way from Maui, Hawaii to attend a lunch and learn with the cohort where he discussed AFRL/RD. Mr. Chong is a liaison for the Satellite Assessment Center at Air Force Research Laboratory. He then donated his time to meet individually with each of the cohort companies to discuss where they are now and any of their needs.
The week wrapped up with a Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) overview given by Maj David Ryan, Space Portfolio Program Manager for the United States Space Force. He explained, “DIU supports simplifying and supporting the relationship between innovative commercial companies and the US government. It is exciting to share one potential path forward as these businesses grow to help accelerate the development and adoption of technologies for the Space Ecosystem.”
Thank you to each of the subject matter experts who donated their time to speak with the Modeling and Simulation cohort and answer their questions. The Catalyst Accelerator team is looking forward to what week five has to offer!
Author: Kate Menendez, Marketing Specialist
