Joining me in the deep end is US Navy veteran Mike Slagh — founder of Shift — an organization that has built the most significant bridge between the Department of Defense and the startup ecosystem.

Defense Tech is a big deal. We’re just now starting to see it be thought of as a more feasible sector to build startups. Mike might be one of the best people in the world to learn about opportunities to build tech and services that support America and our allies.

Before co-founding Shift, Mike felt a calling to serve and joined the United States Naval Academy and was a bomb disposal officer for half a decade.

Mike’s first experiences with business go all the way back to when he was a kid helping his grandma Betty run her toy store. As a teenager he became an eBay power seller to generate an additional income stream for their business.

In just under 10 days Mike is hosting the Defense Venture Summit, convening founders, operators, over 100 VC funds, and members of the US Military. It’s likely sold out as of publication. But if you are interested feel free to DM Mike on Twitter to see if you can be included.

In this episode, Mike and I discuss opportunities in defense tech, a history of the sector, what he’s learned building a premier talent org, hiring veterans, and much more.

Are you exploring starting a company we’ve got a program for that.

ODF has helped 1k companies get started and go on to raise over $2B.

I’m actually recording this podcast intro at our partner Carta’s office as they are hosting us during the 19th cohort of ODF happening right now. The energy is incredible — I’m excited to see what this cohort builds.

We’ve just started reviewing applications for our 20th cohort taking place in San Francisco in late January. Learn more and apply at beondeck.com

Without further ado, here’s my conversation with Mike Slagh