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Can the Military Move at Startup Speed? How the Army and Navy Are Rebuilding
12 segments available
When people think about startups working with the government, the phrase “black box” often comes up. But what if that box is finally being pried open? In this episode—recorded live at the American Dynamism Summit in DC—we talk with two Chief Technology Officers at the heart of American defense: Alex Miller, CTO for the Chief of Staff of the Army, and Justin Fanelli, CTO at the Department of the Navy. Along with a16z partner Leila Hay, they break down how the Department of Defense is shifting from decades-old processes to software-speed execution, why the real bottlenecks are cultural, not technical, and how startups can actually navigate and scale within this massive system. From replacing outdated procurement with faster pathways, to getting tech into the hands of warfighters faster, this is a rare look inside the government’s most ambitious efforts to modernize—and what it means for builders on the outside. Is it time to rip up the system and start fresh? Or are the seeds of change already in the ground? Timecodes: 00:00: Introduction 00:46: Meet the CTOs: Alex Miller and Justin Fanelli 03:44: Pathways for Startups in the DoD 04:44: Addressing the Black Box of DoD Processes 08:08: Navigating DoD Program Offices 19:32: Scaling Effective Solutions 20:23: Leveraging Technology for Military Overmatch 27:03: Enterprise Solutions: Concerns, Unique Needs, and Data 32:47: Budget Constraints and Strategic Spending 37:24: Risk Management: Balancing Innovation and Security 43:26: Future Prospects 47:48: Quickfire Questions Resources: DoD Contracts for Startups 101: https://a16z.com/dod-contracting-for-startups-101/ Find Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinfanelli/ Find Leila on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leilahay/ Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Segments Timeline
Introduction
"Only superior military technology can credibly deter war. The DoD is a black box. We are trying to fix it. We have more companies than we've ever seen before who want to work on national security. Thi..."
Meet the CTOs: Alex Miller and Justin Fanelli
"You both are CTOs of two very important public institutions. Can we start off with telling us who you are and what you do? I'm Alex Miller. I'm the CTO for the chief of staff of the Army. Um, and that..."
Pathways for Startups in the DoD
"goal. So you both mentioned industry, you both mentioned startups. My colleague Ryan and I actually just wrote a blog post about selling into the DoD because there are these paths that startups can pu..."
Addressing the Black Box of DoD Processes
"like all of these different organiz I I say that meaningfully because we are trying to fix it that black box was set up on purpose Because in the 60s and 70s coming out of the cold war and all the way..."
Navigating DoD Program Offices
"quickly talk about what a DoD program office is because I think that's another blackbox challenge for startups. I I think a lot of companies know that you generally want to be on that journey. you kno..."
Scaling Effective Solutions
"This is a period about scaling what actually works. Yeah. And so I'm excited about what Alex is doing. The transforming in contact uh in execution is a big deal because it's tech informed. If you read..."
Leveraging Technology for Military Overmatch
"You've mentioned overmatch a couple times. Can you double click into that and share what exactly that means? Um, it's very hard to make a change for a 15% improvement unless it's something that you're..."
Enterprise Solutions: Concerns, Unique Needs, and Data
"well. It sounds like you guys are really trying to break down a lot of these silos with the program offices. There are 75 of them. There are all these different programs and you all are thinking about..."
Budget Constraints and Strategic Spending
"silos and and they just sort of put something in my brain. I want everyone who listens or see this to understand we haven't missed the signal. Like the department hasn't missed a signal. In 1968, some..."
Risk Management: Balancing Innovation and Security
"double click into the culture piece. Is that is that door locked to protect us? It is um the the world I'm in, venture capital, we're in the business of risk. Like we're all in on risk and that's how ..."
Future Prospects
"Very optimistic and this is really exciting. It feels like we're in a lightning in the bottle moment where there's a lot about to happen. I'd love to just get your quick take on the future, the year a..."
Quickfire Questions
"guys a couple lightning questions. I could talk to you guys all day. Um okay, very quickly. Red flag, green flag. What do you love startups doing? What do they need to stop doing when they come talk t..."