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How We Hatched: Michael Hauser, VP and Managing Partner of SAIC Ventures
17th September 2024 • The Pair Program • hatch I.T.
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How We Hatched: Michael Hauser, VP and Managing Partner of SAIC Ventures

Welcome to our most recent episode of How We Hatched! In this episode, you’ll hear from Michael Hauser, Vice President and Managing Partner of SAIC Ventures. SAIC leverages IT and digital engineering to solve the government’s most pressing challenges while strategically investing in national security and commercial dual-use startups.Tune in to discover:

  • How SAIC accelerates go-to-market for startups and aligns them with federal customers
  • The defense tech ecosystem and key verticals SAIC focuses on
  • What makes SAIC a strategic investor, not just a financial backer
  • Insights into their investment process, including the horizons and industries they target
  • Michael's take on the top defense tech trends, plus a fun discussion about his worst fashion choice!

If you’re a founder aiming to make an impact in the federal space, this episode is a must-listen!

Transcripts

Tim Winkler:

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Welcome to The Pair Program from hatchpad,

the podcast that gives you a front

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row seat to candid conversations with

tech leaders from the startup world.

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I'm your host, Tim Winkler, the

creator of hatchpad, and I'm

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your other host, Mike Gruen.

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Join us each episode as we bring

together two guests to dissect topics

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at the intersection of technology,

startups, and career growth.

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Let's jump in.

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So Mike, thanks for joining

us on The Pair Program.

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Um, this is a, another bonus episode of a

mini series that we call how we hatched.

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And, and, you know, today we've got

Michael Hauser spending time with us.

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Mike is the managing partner at SAIC

ventures, uh, where he's responsible

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for leading SAICs investment strategy,

collaborating with startups to create

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value for, for government customers.

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Um, I'm very excited to have you join

us, Mike, as we continue to Kind of

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use our platform as a medium to build

more awareness around the innovations

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that are happening across defense

tech and, and GovTech at large.

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So again, thanks, thanks for

joining with us on the pod.

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Michael Hauser: Yeah, Tim, it's great.

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Thanks for having us.

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I'm excited to kind of tell the story

and, uh, share whatever we can about

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the value we're creating at SAIC and

for our great government customers.

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Tim Winkler: Excellent.

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All right.

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Now, uh, we kick it off.

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I always like to start every one

of these episodes with a pretty

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thought provoking question.

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You know, what did Mike Hauser

have for breakfast this morning?

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Michael Hauser: I met a, uh, a

new friend, uh, alumnus of, uh,

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Michigan Business School, go blue.

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Uh, and that at Tate and I had a lovely,

uh, pastry with pistachio and tomato.

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It was amazing.

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Oh, wow.

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Um, and a, uh, I also highly,

highly, highly recommend, um,

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their Mediterranean latte.

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It's got a little caram in it.

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It's delicious.

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So what's

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Tim Winkler: the name of this place

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Michael Hauser: called Tate?

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It's a chain in the DC area.

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It's, I think they're up and

down the east coast at least.

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It's kinda like, uh.

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Mediterranean inspired Starbucks.

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Tim Winkler: Okay.

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Nice.

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Yeah, always a, always a fan of a new

plug on, on a restaurant cafe, something

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that there's going to be lots of food

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Michael Hauser: references today.

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So, you know, there's ample

opportunity for sponsors here.

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That's

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Tim Winkler: exactly right.

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We're, we're always tapping some,

some, uh, food and beverage sponsors.

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It fits right into our theme.

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Um, and then, you know, real quick,

where are you physically calling in from?

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Where are you based out of?

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Michael Hauser: Yeah, I,

I'm in Kensington, Maryland.

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Um, we're headquartered in Reston,

so I get to have fun in the American

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Legion bridge sometimes, um, and out and

about with our, our startup portfolio

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Tim Winkler: and other VCs as well.

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Since, since a little bit of sarcasm

there in terms of, uh, there's no traffic

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in the DMV area, no traffic in the DMV

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Michael Hauser: bridge and four 95 is

immaculately designed and it's just.

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Tim Winkler: We welcome, we welcome folks

to reload here and enjoy the open streets.

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Yeah.

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Um, I love it.

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So now to just kind of set the

stage for our guests and what we're

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going to dissect on this episode.

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So we're going to be covering SAIC

ventures, uh, role and mission,

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uh, kind of lead that into the

strategies that you all are crafting

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for accelerating, go to market for

the startups across your portfolio.

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I'd like to highlight the value prop of

partnering with a large defense prime

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contractor like SAIC, the impact on

the startups, on you all, the prime,

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and then the end customers, the U.

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S.

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government.

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And then lastly, we'll close

with the future outlook on the

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defense tech startup ecosystem.

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Uh, from your point of view

and what we can expect from

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SAIC ventures in the future.

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Uh, so Mike, why don't you lead us

off with the, kind of the mission

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at SAIC ventures and explain how

you all integrate startups with a

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large defense contractor like SAIC.

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Michael Hauser: Of course.

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And, and I think it, you know, may

make a little bit of sense to kind

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of talk about how we fit into the.

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Strategy at SAIC because we

are a strategic investor,

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not a financial investor.

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Yeah, good point.

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On that spectrum from, you know,

super financially motivated, you know,

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completely off the balance sheet.

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There are some out there like,

uh, next 47 at Siemens, right?

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Great firm, wonderful pedigree,

track record of wonderful investing.

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Um, and they might as well be Bessemer

or Sequoia or a 16 Z that happens

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to have a company as the the gpn lp.

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We're on the other end of

the spectrum, super tied to

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SAIC's core business strategy.

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We are all about IT, digital

transformation, and digital

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engineering, you know, about 60, 40

across those two segments of work.

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So on the IT digital

transformation side, right?

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It's cloud, it's cyber,

it's EIT, enterprise IT.

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Um, we've got software and all

sorts of capabilities around helping

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government customers operate on prem,

operate on cloud, and then get into

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secure network environments, operate

in JEDC2 environments, get out to the

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mission edge, um, be able to drive

financial or health care or other

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civilian agency transformations, right?

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So it's both NatSec and civilian as well.

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Tim Winkler: Okay.

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Michael Hauser: Um, on the digital

engineering side of the house.

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A lot of the same fundamentals in

digital transformation, a lot of software

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driven innovation off of commercially

available software tools and how we help

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government customers interoperate and

integrate across those tools to leverage

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digital twin, digital thread, model based

systems engineering, but not typically

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That's the prime on a system, right?

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We're not making tanks,

trucks, boats, airplanes.

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We do make some things.

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We are, you know, kind of an

OEM on on some smaller systems.

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And that experience really helps

us then bring this up to a systems

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of systems level as an integrator.

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Um, and to do those tasks for for our

customers, we've kind of learned over

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the last four or five years that it.

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There are great commercially available

technologies as well as bespoke for

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NatSec technologies that can really

help customers faster and get the

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mission outcomes that are bigger

and better, um, in less lead time

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when we can bring them technology.

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And so we've constructed this model,

um, in our chief innovation officer

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organization with a group of folks

like me that are basically business co

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founders to technology professionals.

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And then we have technology professionals

in digital engineering and in, in digital

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transformation, as well as a kind of

farther reaching CTO organization that

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bring capabilities to our customers

where they kind of look like a technology

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platform, right, where We can sense the

similar needs, let's say, in, in, in, in

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cloud at the Air Force, in the Navy, at

the Department of Treasury, or at the EPA,

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and kind of look at a meta level and say,

wow, these sorts of capabilities, they

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lift up to this enterprise class solution.

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Let's go build that once, and

then we can deliver the Air Force

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a cloud one, we can deliver the

Treasury a T cloud, recomposing

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these elements together differently

to meet the different mission needs.

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That are both secure, resilient,

multi cloud environments for both

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those different customers differently,

but off the same foundation.

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And so what we've figured out how to do is

bundle these technology, these technology

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capabilities from commercial providers.

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We can even provide them on

commercial business terms frequently.

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We have some business models for that,

and we've grown this internally inside

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the company to, you know, several hundred

million dollars of, of, of able ability

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to transact through our businesses

on those commercial business terms.

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And that's really what Lauren

Knausenberger's team together does.

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I sit running the ventures team

and a part of that team called

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partnerships, products, and ventures.

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It's an integrated operating system.

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To bring all of these commercial

technologies, it doesn't matter

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whether it's hyperscaler tech from

AWS or from Azure, or it's a software

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tool from a Zscaler, um, or whether

it's coming from a venture backed

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startup, a big one like a Dataiku.

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Or a little earlier stage startup where

they really need the help to get them

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into government, um, to learn government,

um, like a Zage, an Orca or a Morpheus

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where our three investments are today.

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And I can't emphasize enough how

different this model is from a venturing

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perspective because our strategy is

all around bringing innovation faster

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to as many customers as can adopt

it as quickly as they can adopt it.

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So the value to the customer is

getting rapid access to innovation.

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The value to the startup is about

accelerating their pace of growth, right?

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It's a go to market focus.

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And then because of that go to market

focus, there's business benefits to SAIC

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too, and it really just flows that way.

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Yeah,

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Tim Winkler: that's fantastic.

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I think it's a really smart model.

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Um, kind of providing those in kind

services based on, you know, the

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resources that you bring to the table

as a, a large organization and then the

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connection points, uh, and, and the.

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really the outlet to, uh,

get that technology in the

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hands of end users quicker.

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It's a common theme, right?

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We hear it all the time.

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Is this this narrative of You

know, doing business with the

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government is slow as molasses.

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And, you know, I, I don't

even know where to begin.

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There's so many, so much red tape to cut

through, uh, over the last, you know,

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five, 10 years, um, I'd say more so

recently, uh, there is this overarching

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theme, uh, to modernize quicker.

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Uh, and I think, you know, a lot of that

is part, part in, in, in two of what's

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happening around the world and, and at

the speed of what, you know, if we're

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just going to use defense as an example,

the speed at which new technologies are

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being injected into warfighters or, you

know, drones and, and how different,

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you know, wars are being fought.

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On the battlefield today than they were,

you know, 10 years ago, the, the idea

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that, um, you know, the government,

uh, you know, uh, primes, uh, and,

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and, uh, product companies at large,

like working together harmoniously

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to achieve a common goal, which is,

we know we need to speed things up.

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We know we need to get this into

the hands of end users faster.

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And how do we do that?

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And I think this is a really creative.

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Model and concept, uh, to kind

of demonstrate that quickly.

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Uh, you kind of touched on it briefly,

but I want to hone in on it just

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a little bit, a little bit more.

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So, um, you know, with some of these

companies that are within your,

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would you call it your portfolio?

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Um, what, what is there some common

themes in terms of the size that they're

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at when they come, uh, to you all?

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Uh, you know, we, you know,

we oftentimes we'll hear.

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You know, seed or a, um, are you kind

of open on that or do you like to, to

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really kind of sink your teeth in when

it's super early stage and groom that

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where, where's that sweet spot fall

in terms of the size of the company?

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Michael Hauser: Yeah.

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So, so what I really like about

our, our kind of different approach

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to being a CBC that's, that's

very go to market focused is.

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We are typically very round agnostic.

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Um, there are very specific

boundaries that we think about

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to make venture investments.

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But our model is not to start

with a writing a check and then

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figure out the thing we can go do

and or leverage with the company.

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And, you know, if we get

to that thing, great.

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Our TCCs are built around having market

impact based on what we know about

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the company when we engage with them.

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And so we might come across, um, you

know, a mature seed stage company that's

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got tech that works, the use cases

it can function in, or maybe a little

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bit narrow, we may just partner with

them for a little while on, on some

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commercial engagements with government

customers to put it where it works.

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And then that could then lead to,

you know, when they get to their

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mature a stage series B and beyond

where we're really focused on, on co

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investing with bonafide, referenceable.

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Value creating co investors

around the cap table.

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We really ascribe to the, it takes a

village to just like my 14 year old son.

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Right.

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These are middle school maturity companies

that are going to, you know, hopefully

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be great things when they're fully

formed adults, but the here to there

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is a tenuous journey is going to take a

lot of help from, you know, the church,

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from the teachers, from the members

of the community and us as parents.

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Uh, with Jen and I, so, you know, it's

going to be kind of the same way with a

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portfolio company to get them there, to

get to that, that exit, that outcome.

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Right.

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Um, we kind of feel that way as well.

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And when we can get in at a

meaningful, valuable stage,

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relatively early, typically, right?

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Mature A.

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Into series B, maybe a little bit later,

that might be the first check we write.

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Okay.

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We may partner sooner,

we may partner later.

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Um, I mentioned Dataiku earlier, right?

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They were raising their, you

know, very mature series.

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I think it was E or G, I

don't even remember right now.

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Around the time that we were, you

know, thinking about leveraging

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them into our data science platform.

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And we have a wonderful

commercial relationship with them.

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The one to 5 million typical check

size that we write at that round,

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it did not make venture sense.

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We did not do it.

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And because we are products, partnerships

and ventures, not a ventures team,

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all on its own, motivated by writing

checks, have to deploy capital at the

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rate, you know, all of those pressures.

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That a lot of other CVCs face that

VCs face, we've kind of designed

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this a little bit differently

so that we're really focused on

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creating the go to market mission.

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Tim Winkler: Yeah, it's, it's something

that, uh, yeah, you seem to have found

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a real, a real, you know, unique outlier

with regards to how you collaborate.

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Um, you know, it sounds like

it's kind of size agnostic.

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Um, some might not need the capital,

but they just need more of the.

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You know, access to customers or the

ability to get the technology into the

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right hands of the user that makes sense.

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And, and you all kind of, you know,

evaluate the needs where they exist

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within those companies when they approach

you, um, or when you approach them and

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then, uh, you know, navigate accordingly.

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Um, you know, I, I love the,

uh, the, the different models

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that are kind of popping up.

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Across, uh, the, uh, across the landscape.

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And, you know, we've been having

a lot of really interesting guests

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on the episode on the podcast.

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Um, we talked to the, the CTO of the

Navy, uh, just this week actually.

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And, uh, they're, you know, explaining

the ways that they're streamlining their

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direct access to, uh, like structured

piloting approach to, to working

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within, uh, them as the end customer.

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And then you've got interesting

organizations like defense innovation

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unit, you know, part of defense.

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Um, who are just also, you know, kind

of like serving the opportunities, uh,

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creating the pipeline, but aren't really

taking a, uh, a capital stake, uh, if

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you will, um, and it sounds like you

all kind of like pull a little bit of,

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you know, a little bit of everything

to, to craft your own thesis and, and

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what makes the most value for, for

the startup and for the customers, we,

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we, uh, kind of talked a little bit

about this as well, but I want to just

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reemphasize, you Ideal verticals that you

look to kind of prospect for companies.

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Michael Hauser: So for us, it's really

across the broad range of those two

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families of differentiators, along with

where our business groups may need.

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Bespoke tech for their

own vertical, right?

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So across, let me kind of

walk through those stepwise.

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So if I think about our, our

digital innovation factory, they're

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really focused on the next two,

three years of bringing offerings

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around secure and resilient cloud.

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Um, around doing operational A.

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I.

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And mission A.

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I.

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Around secure and trustworthy

data and analytics on then the on

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demand delivery of outcomes that

which is typically software based.

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So it's software mod, software upgrade,

app development, app integration in

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the cloud, all those kinds of things.

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Um, these are really, you know, at

the core of our six differentiators At

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the company wide level that Tony Towns

Wheatley, our CEO, talks about all

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the time, and then you add to that the

digital engineering innovation factory,

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and you bring in digital engineering

for digital twin, digital thread,

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model based simulation engineering,

ModSim technologies, as well as the

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ability to design, develop, produce,

sustain, and maintain hardware solutions

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as a kind of systems integrator.

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Those are the six

differentiators of our company.

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And so those are dimensions

that we're focused down and in.

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We can deliver these things on

mission with customers on contracts.

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We have on contract growth, right?

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The 80 some odd percent of our contracts

have the ability to transact commercially.

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It's why I think about that, that

of the performing contracts we

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have today, a vast majority of them

can get access to technology on

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commercial business terms with us.

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Yeah.

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And in will are two different things

and program managers and the contracting

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officers on the government side of the

table on our side of the table need to

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figure out how to use those contract

clauses, but they're there wide open.

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And then there are all the new bids

that we think about going after as we

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look to grow as a company, because this

entire enterprise under Lauren, right,

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the chief innovation officer team, we

are the technology driven growth engine.

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And the business model.

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Um, creation growth engine of the company.

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We're really taking those differentiators,

finding technology ingredients in them.

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Um, and the ingredient analogy

I think really works here.

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Um, if you think about tech from

the startup as the peanut butter

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in a Reese's peanut butter cup.

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Um, sometimes that tech needs to

get wrapped with some chocolate, the

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peanut butter, chocolate around it.

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And so peanut butter plus SAIC

chocolate equal peanut butter cup.

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But you know, most government agencies

don't go to seven 11, like my son does to

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go, you know, get a treat and just buy a

tech and then figure out what to do with

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it, how to integrate it, make it work in

or operate with all these other systems.

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The government customers we've learned

really want like a Dairy Queen blizzard.

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So here's your next plug opportunity, um,

from, from very, um, and so, you know, we

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take that Reese's peanut butter cup, we

go get the milk that might be the AWS or

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the Azure store and compute in the cloud.

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We then go get the ice cream, right?

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That might be the force point guards

and the Cisco routers and all of these

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other it hardware, software integrations.

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Um, and then we got to go, you know,

put it in a blender instead of going

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to Walmart and buying a blender.

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Well, that's our labor hours, right?

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We'll make it all fit together

and the outcome is a blizzard.

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It's a Reese's Buttercup blizzard.

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It's a solution to a problem.

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Um, and so when Zage is the peanut

butter, we wrap it with some SAIC tech.

361

:

We combine it with AWS Store

and Compute and the Cisco

362

:

this and the Forcepoint that.

363

:

The Zscaler, the other thing.

364

:

Go on down the hardware

and software S bomb.

365

:

Throw it in the blender with our people.

366

:

We now get what we're doing in

airborne battle management, command

367

:

and control for the air force.

368

:

And we've got solutions that

are operating with that bundle.

369

:

Out there in the field today, right?

370

:

Within a year's time of from idea to field

it at a bunch of sites in North America.

371

:

And these are real success

stories of delivering Dairy Queen

372

:

blizzards to government customers.

373

:

Um, so we know the model's working and,

and that, that area you talked about

374

:

earlier around war fighting, right?

375

:

All domain war fighting is one

of the national imperatives

376

:

we think about at SAIC.

377

:

There's undersea dominance, Border of

the future citizen experience, all domain

378

:

warfighting, and the next gen space, we

really see great capability out there all

379

:

over the world, quite frankly, especially

as we think about national security

380

:

becoming a five eyes and acres integration

reality, where systems integrators

381

:

can be the folks in the ecosystem

who can be on the lookout for novel

382

:

emerging tech in the startup community.

383

:

And it can be the right piece

of candy in the Dairy Queen

384

:

blizzard, different milk now.

385

:

It

386

:

Tim Winkler: sounds like

a delicious solution.

387

:

Uh, and we, we did promise the listeners

we're going to have some food references.

388

:

So that is the perfect

little segment right there.

389

:

Yeah.

390

:

Um, so.

391

:

You, you mentioned, um, uh, how

many companies right now you said

392

:

that are kind of going through the,

the, the venture program with you,

393

:

Michael Hauser: you've got three

in the portfolio, um, we're

394

:

diligencing a gaggle right now.

395

:

It could be our next investments.

396

:

You know, we've been at

this for about three years.

397

:

We lovingly called several of us.

398

:

Within the company, the Venture Capital

Club, we came this close to printing

399

:

t shirts on the member of the club's

cricket, um, kind of sort of in joke and

400

:

kind of seriously, but it was really a

pilot to figure out how venture investing

401

:

could fit into this larger partnership, go

to market focused value creation approach.

402

:

Proving that it works.

403

:

And then as we honed in on these

six differentiators that are a

404

:

near term focus, we can talk about

some of the longer term ones.

405

:

Those will be fun a little bit later, Tim.

406

:

Yeah.

407

:

As we honed in on these, you know, we made

the decision earlier this year to make

408

:

corporate venturing kind of a real boy

relative to the wooden boy it was before.

409

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

410

:

Michael Hauser: So now we're animated

with a team and a focus and a thesis

411

:

and an investment committee, right?

412

:

All of the infrastructure we need to have.

413

:

Yep.

414

:

As a CVC to move out.

415

:

And that's what we're doing.

416

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

417

:

So I'm, I'm curious in terms of, um,

forgive me if you already kind of pointed

418

:

this out, but Uh, identifying the, the

problem and then sourcing the solution.

419

:

Is that kind of how you all operate?

420

:

Or is it, I guess what I'm trying to get

to is how are you identifying the, the

421

:

companies that have the, the solution that

you foresee is going to be the solution?

422

:

Fix this pain point.

423

:

Michael Hauser: So, so there's

kind of three dimensions.

424

:

I'll put on this.

425

:

The first dimension is horizons.

426

:

So is it something that we are collecting

the demand signal on today from across our

427

:

business groups as part of the enterprise

strategy process, surfacing these

428

:

needs from the 30 plus account teams?

429

:

The five different business groups, right?

430

:

So we've got Air Force, Navy,

Army, civilian, space and Intel.

431

:

And between those five different

business groups, we've got a bunch

432

:

of account teams underneath them.

433

:

They're at the coalface every day.

434

:

And we've created this almost real

time approach to get those surface to

435

:

back up to us at the enterprise level.

436

:

Yes, we're from corporate.

437

:

We are here to help.

438

:

Um, but be able to then go spot and scout.

439

:

Inside out for capabilities that fill

those need states and and so that's

440

:

kind of in the horizon one zone

and then in the horizon two zone a

441

:

little bit further out in the future.

442

:

These are technologies where the

demand signal may be low nascent today.

443

:

It either the tech is too early or

the market's just emerging or some

444

:

combination of the two and we know that

as integrators, government customers

445

:

are kind of looking at us to figure

it out, help them figure it out.

446

:

Um, those other domains include

things like, um, adding autonomy

447

:

into a network battle space, right?

448

:

Unmanned things have been around

for a while and now as those

449

:

things begin to proliferate.

450

:

The network integration above and around

and across them becomes really important,

451

:

and that's something we think we're pretty

good at the customers like to buy from us.

452

:

And so we're trying to add that into

the autonomy layers, uh, quantum

453

:

sensing and encryption, right?

454

:

Get this sometime this summer.

455

:

They haven't done it yet, but

they're supposed to burp out some

456

:

algorithms and set some standards.

457

:

They'll probably be a bit of a freak

out because there'll be unfunded

458

:

mandates for government agencies and

we'll be standing by to help them

459

:

figure out how to become quantum ready.

460

:

What they need to integrate and

operate to become quantum secure when

461

:

that requirement eventually emerges.

462

:

And so that will change the cyber

software bill of materials, maybe some

463

:

of the hardware integration as well.

464

:

So we'll be ready for that quantum

sensing a little bit later than

465

:

that quantum computing at scale for

government, you know, a little bit

466

:

later than that much further horizon.

467

:

Um, secure and resilient networks, and

that's, you know, some, some of that is

468

:

like 5G network integration kind of stuff.

469

:

Some of that is a different

definition of networks as you

470

:

move across cloud echelons.

471

:

Low to high, high to low, um, and

also maybe across coalition partners,

472

:

especially in the world we live

in now, the risks you are starting

473

:

to surface that, you know, the U.

474

:

S.

475

:

and a Five Eyes or an ACUS or an

Indo Paycom, uh, interoperability

476

:

kind of customer scenario, you've

now got to move different types

477

:

of data across different security

levels with different permissions.

478

:

To maybe even different partners, and

that's something we've started to do,

479

:

and that means different technology.

480

:

So those are some of the further

horizon areas that we'll look at.

481

:

And again, that's a lot of inside out

thinking based on customer feedback.

482

:

The second way we think is outside in.

483

:

So we're getting feedback from

leading VCs, NatSec bespoke VCs

484

:

from dual use tech investors.

485

:

And we're getting feedback

on what's emerging.

486

:

We can bring those tech trends

to our experts in the enterprise

487

:

and create that knowledge loop to

inform the future that we haven't

488

:

been able to previously imagine.

489

:

And that's actually a really important

input that we bring to the table.

490

:

It's almost like an input

to the strategy function.

491

:

Um, and then the third vector.

492

:

Um, this is where our business groups

say, Hey, um, you know, I'm the space

493

:

business group and I want to, you

know, be able to make this thing happen

494

:

with new space space tech companies.

495

:

Can you help me make that thing happen?

496

:

Can you help me in my business?

497

:

One business group make things happen

for my customer may not be relevant

498

:

in those other business groups.

499

:

And that's where we think differently

than this enterprise perspective.

500

:

And we go deep rather than broad and

then scout or be informed by outside

501

:

in and inside out what we should

go do without one business group.

502

:

So those are kind of the three vectors.

503

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah, I love the kind

of diversity to, um, you know,

504

:

how you all are collaborating and

working with with different partners.

505

:

Um, the, uh, kind of like that first

horizon that you were, uh, discussing,

506

:

you know, in terms of some of some

sample timelines here on, you know,

507

:

from introduction with the company to,

you know, getting, getting the, uh, the

508

:

solution kind of packaged and rolled

out, do you have some sample timelines

509

:

on, on what, you know, a founder might

expect when, you know, partnering?

510

:

Michael Hauser: Let me, let me give a few

real examples because it really does vary.

511

:

Um, You know, we met Orca security

probably about three years ago, invested.

512

:

About two and a half years ago, it

took some time to help them, right?

513

:

This was in the thesis to

collaborate for Orca security to

514

:

be able to transact with the U.

515

:

S.

516

:

government.

517

:

There were some things they needed to

accomplish in their technical baseline.

518

:

There was some collaborative business

development we needed to achieve together.

519

:

And, you know, it, the first

customer contract wasn't signed

520

:

until, you know, about a year and

a half in to that relationship.

521

:

Um, and that was knowing full well that.

522

:

You know, Orca, they are a cloud native

application protection platform, CNAP.

523

:

Um, that's been in the news

recently because of the

524

:

dalliance between Wiz and Google.

525

:

Um, you know, this is, this

is a capability that clearly

526

:

is, is, is needed by a lot.

527

:

Um, being able to integrate that

capability into a government environment

528

:

is a little hard because of the nature

of government clouds, um, and multi cloud

529

:

echelons and multiple incident levels.

530

:

And there are a lot of

complexities in that.

531

:

So it took a little bit of time.

532

:

And that was a known set of

knowns and unknowns when we

533

:

started with that right there.

534

:

On the precipice of FedRAMP, that'll

open up civilian agencies for them.

535

:

That was a known thing for us that we're

going to be not set focused to begin

536

:

with on prem, not SAS, and then we'll

go to this other sales motion a little

537

:

bit later when all of these other things

we're working on with them happen.

538

:

Um, so that's one example.

539

:

You know, I compare that to,

you know, Morpheus, uh, the,

540

:

the second investment we made.

541

:

That investment happened because

we were in real time working on

542

:

partnership opportunities and the

investment opportunity emerged as the

543

:

partnership opportunity was emerging.

544

:

And so those two things kind of

happened together and the first sales

545

:

happened like almost the same day.

546

:

Um, Zage was a little bit different

and it's, you know, Zage, I think

547

:

is like maybe the classic example

of what we'd ideally want to do.

548

:

Um, cause we met Zage, um, when they were

pretty early, um, and we were talking

549

:

to them about business collaboration

and they were doing a fundraise and

550

:

they said, Hey, do you want to invest?

551

:

And we were like, it's a little early.

552

:

But let's keep the partnership

conversation going.

553

:

Um, and we were able to have the

first business opportunity emerge

554

:

during those partnering days.

555

:

Um, and that led the CEO and chairman

of the board to kind of say, Hey,

556

:

we're going to do another fundraise

soon, you know, some time later,

557

:

um, would you like to participate?

558

:

And then it was an obvious yes for us.

559

:

And so right partner first

investment happens right partner

560

:

first commercial opportunity sales

revenue generating venture invest.

561

:

Um, we made the next sale the day

after, um, the wire transaction closed.

562

:

And so it's been kind of Janie

bar the door with them for

563

:

this capability from Zage.

564

:

They're an IOT security company.

565

:

We're actually using them in

secure networks environments.

566

:

Thanks.

567

:

Um, kind of edge where the computer

and mission network kind of

568

:

operates as if it were edge compute.

569

:

A lot of the zero trust software

stack we have today doesn't work.

570

:

Zage allows us to offer a zero trust

environment for a secure network

571

:

that's, you know, got nodes coming

in and off on and off, you know, um,

572

:

periodically doing different things.

573

:

Um, And they had that on their

go to market roadmap, like

574

:

three years into the future.

575

:

Okay.

576

:

We were backing that up to today

when we did it, um, some months ago.

577

:

And it's really opened up a whole

new sales channel for them because

578

:

we've been able to find customer

needs where the tech's going to work.

579

:

And our technical experts

can fit that to the mission.

580

:

So going from IT protection, think

colonial pipeline hack to now, you know,

581

:

uh, or OT protection, I should say.

582

:

Um, that's something they didn't think

they were going to get to do yet.

583

:

And that became a now business

opportunity, a growth opportunity

584

:

for them that fit real mission

needs for our customers and our

585

:

smart people are the ones who

integrated that Dairy Queen Blizzard.

586

:

You know, this is that Reese's

Peanut Butter Cup story from earlier.

587

:

It's out operating in the field today.

588

:

So we've gone from like, you know,

thinking across a year or two's

589

:

timeframe to, you know, being in

real time to actually having business

590

:

being done before we venture invest.

591

:

Right.

592

:

It really just depends

on the circumstance.

593

:

Tim Winkler: And is is the most common

use case that these companies are Really

594

:

a hundred percent commercial or is there

a little bit of a mix or or when they

595

:

when you all first kind of connect?

596

:

Um, or is it uh, maybe they have

some work that they're doing in this

597

:

civilian agency But they would love

to tap into defense or something

598

:

Michael Hauser: So there's a, there's

a few different archetypes here, right?

599

:

There's the, um, bespoke

for NatSec tech archetype.

600

:

Um, where, you know, we, and we're having

conversations with folks all the time

601

:

that kind of fit that MO where what

they're building is NatSec, you know,

602

:

could they be dual use in the future?

603

:

Maybe, maybe not.

604

:

Um, you know, in those kinds of cases,

You know, if I, if I see a company and

605

:

they're all SBIR revenue, um, that revenue

might as well be zero, even if the tens

606

:

are a hundred millions of dollars, it's

really, you know, it's not, it doesn't

607

:

look like ARR doesn't look well yet.

608

:

Um, so that's probably too early.

609

:

Um, if they've got going concern,

government revenue in that bespoke

610

:

for NatSec tech kind of space.

611

:

Um, that matters as an investor, uh,

if you're a B2B company, your dual

612

:

use tech, you look at a company's

TAM and it's 10 or 20 or 30 percent

613

:

government and it's 90 or 80 or 70

percent B2B, then we're really looking

614

:

for it beginning to light off with real

market penetration in that B2B context.

615

:

They may have never done

a dollar a business.

616

:

With the United States government, they

may not be able to spell far, they may

617

:

have no experience as long as they've

got the leadership team and board

618

:

commitment to want to address government.

619

:

We are more than happy to be

their partner in that world and

620

:

take them from zero to something.

621

:

Um, if they've got this base of B2B dual

use success, that's, that's going on.

622

:

So two different contexts, two

wildly different scenarios.

623

:

Um, I would say that last extreme

example of like zero experience in

624

:

government yet is probably the exception.

625

:

It's more likely in our experience to

see a company where, you know, they've

626

:

experienced some of the, um, Beltway

traffic, like enthusiasm that we described

627

:

earlier in their own attempts to sell

to government and they're realizing.

628

:

That there is a path to revenue

that does not include direct prime

629

:

contracts with the government,

um, which is not well understood.

630

:

Mind you, I want to talk about

that in a second because I think

631

:

it's a great discussion point for

us to get into if we could, Tim.

632

:

But they then see that

through a company like S.

633

:

A.

634

:

I.

635

:

C.

636

:

That has access to hundreds of

contracts and thousands of task

637

:

orders and many different new,

uh, competitions every year.

638

:

So they can grow with us on contract.

639

:

They can grow with us through bids

and proposals, and they think they

640

:

can grow with us with a little

bit of government experience.

641

:

So they kind of know what

they're getting into.

642

:

That's the, that's the

perfect environment to be in.

643

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah, I think that's a good

point to, to kind of outline because

644

:

a lot of these companies aren't always

going to be so savvy and understanding

645

:

the whole, the, the, the way that the

government works with, you know, with

646

:

private businesses here, it's, you know,

the government contracting ecosystem,

647

:

the primes, the subs, where are these

vehicles, how do I get access to them?

648

:

So, you know, kind of serving as this,

uh, you know, mentor and coaching

649

:

them along of like, yeah, you don't,

you don't have to just come in here

650

:

and try to prime something, right?

651

:

Like we, we can help with a lot

of these, all the heavy lifting.

652

:

Let's, let's, let's expand on that.

653

:

So if you wanted to kind of, You know,

pull on that thread a little bit and

654

:

just kind of paint that picture, you

know, for the next wave of companies

655

:

that might be eyeballing SAIC after

listening to this and say, you know

656

:

what, you know, what else can I expect?

657

:

Michael Hauser: Yeah.

658

:

So, so I guess the first point I'd like to

make is, is not all primes are the same.

659

:

I think in a lot of conversations,

there's this big lumpy bunch of

660

:

government contractors called primes.

661

:

And there are different

kinds of primes, right?

662

:

There are the platform primes.

663

:

The Boeing's, the Northrop's, the

Raytheon's, the Lockheed's and

664

:

like, um, where they're building

very expensive government systems.

665

:

There are startups that exist, right?

666

:

Think about Adderall that are aiming

to compete at that prime level.

667

:

There's a whole other

definition of prime contractors.

668

:

Where sis like SAIC fit in where we are,

the prime contractor, we are the ones who

669

:

win a 50 or a hundred million dollars or

$500 million or billion dollar, whatever

670

:

the, the value is of the contract.

671

:

Contract with the government.

672

:

And then underneath that.

673

:

Just like those platform primes where

they've got to build an airplane, you

674

:

got the engine, you got the avionics,

you got the ailerons, you got the

675

:

different composite metal parts, right?

676

:

There's all of these suppliers

contributing those things to the platform.

677

:

Well, on an I.

678

:

T.

679

:

Transformation or a digital

engineering transformation.

680

:

We oftentimes have a

very similar approach.

681

:

It's not just people doing things.

682

:

Don't get me wrong.

683

:

That is a big part of SAIC's

business and people enabled

684

:

by technology is our strategy.

685

:

And so those technologies can be

NATSEC bespoke, they can be dual use.

686

:

And so being a subcontractor

to SAIC provides access to all

687

:

of that addressable market.

688

:

That goes to subcontract and

this is something that the D.

689

:

O.

690

:

D.

691

:

can't publicize like it does

in its budget line items.

692

:

Um, when we, when we look at, you

know, even Silicon Valley defense

693

:

groups, uh, NatSec 100, right?

694

:

The best data they have access

to is prime contracting data.

695

:

Um, they don't get to see

Lockheed and Boeing's engine.

696

:

Supplier sales or composite consumption

sales, or they don't get to see

697

:

the equivalent from us either.

698

:

It's, it's unseeable in the budget

docs because it's all being transacted

699

:

through these other prime contracts.

700

:

I would argue that selling for digital

engineering and IT transformation

701

:

to the federal government is B2B

by different contracting rules.

702

:

There are dozens, if not hundreds.

703

:

Of contracts bid every year at

these are the big ones, right?

704

:

Um, and then at the smaller

contracting level, there are thousands.

705

:

These are all opportunities for

startups, but it's kind of hard to see.

706

:

So the one benefit that as

a startup, you can get by

707

:

collaborating with a prime like S.

708

:

A.

709

:

I.

710

:

C.

711

:

Where, you know, we're

not in it for the I.

712

:

P.

713

:

We're not a product company.

714

:

We're not a platform prime.

715

:

We're selling things sometimes, but

the things we're making are outcomes.

716

:

Typically, they're not things

we're not writing billions

717

:

of lines of software code.

718

:

We're integrating lots of

people's software code to

719

:

create a cloud environment.

720

:

And so It's a different way of

thinking about accessing government

721

:

contracts to be a subcontract.

722

:

And basically what we're trying to do is

make that easier for customers to pull in.

723

:

That's our commercial operating business

and make it easier for startups to access.

724

:

And that's our partnerships

and ventures infrastructure.

725

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah, it's, it's a

fascinating way to, to kind of view it,

726

:

uh, because I think a lot of folks look

at an Andrew and, you know, they, they

727

:

think like, that's the, that's kind of

like the, the, the golden egg, right?

728

:

If we can.

729

:

It doesn't need to be, it doesn't

need to be like that level, right?

730

:

There's so much opportunity to come in

and just sub and just get that access and

731

:

just kind of get that past performance.

732

:

I think that's a big one that we always

hear about is like, you know, you need

733

:

to, you need to have a little bit of

credibility before you go after that next

734

:

contract and, you know, You don't always

get that opportunity unless you have a

735

:

partner, like a, an SAIC to prime with.

736

:

So, um, I think it's, I think it's

really creative and, uh, um, you know,

737

:

if I'm, if I'm out here building some

sort of a technology and trying to do

738

:

business with the government, I mean,

I think that this is truly a, um, you

739

:

know, kind of big brother, a little

brother, you know, mentor, protege kind

740

:

of example where, you know, you can walk

that line with them, show them the ropes

741

:

and create that opportunity with them.

742

:

Um, well, also, you know, just providing

really interesting outcomes for customers.

743

:

Uh, so I, I, I love,

I love this, uh, idea.

744

:

I love this concept.

745

:

Um, it's something I'm starting to see

a little bit more, um, kind of, kind

746

:

of be, um, uh, a model, uh, taken on by

some, some of the other primes as well.

747

:

Um, what does the future look like,

uh, for, for you and your team?

748

:

You know, if we're, you know, if we're

at a point right now where we've, you've

749

:

got three companies that are just kind

of fully, you know, working with you,

750

:

operating, delivering solutions, you

know, what does that look like in a

751

:

year, three years, five years from now?

752

:

Michael Hauser: Yeah.

753

:

So for us, it's really not a

capital allocation argument.

754

:

It's really about how many of these kinds

of relationships can we develop, manage

755

:

and maintain through our partnerships

based go to market model at a time?

756

:

How many new relationships with novel

venture backed startups can we kind of

757

:

drive through the go to market system?

758

:

We think that's Three or four or

five more in the fiscal year, and

759

:

then, you know, that'll teach us some

more lessons and we'll figure out

760

:

whether that's three or four or five

more next fiscal year, or it's more

761

:

than that, or it's less than that.

762

:

Um, but we think it's kind of

in those magnitudes because.

763

:

You know, we've built this with an

enterprise approach where we can kind

764

:

of do inside sales from the innovation

factory teams and their offerings

765

:

into our different business groups

and then get onto contracts that way.

766

:

So our business groups own the

customer relationships and the

767

:

demand for this integration now that

we've kind of publicized this, the

768

:

strategy for SAIC around our national

imperatives, these differentiators.

769

:

Focused on growth vectors that are

kind of different market opportunities

770

:

across our business groups.

771

:

We we've seen like a 10 X increase

in the demand on our innovation pack.

772

:

Wow.

773

:

That's not all tech, right?

774

:

But it really goes to show the

power that this has within SAIC.

775

:

That demand signal has other technology

ingredients in it that are people

776

:

that our customers are looking for.

777

:

That's what's going to drive.

778

:

The rate of our investments.

779

:

Clearly, we're going to have to find

great tech from amazing companies that

780

:

are positioned to grow at phenomenal

rates because that's the art and

781

:

science of venture capital investing.

782

:

And then we add the strategic lens on it.

783

:

You know, we kind of got

a thread and needle here.

784

:

The investment thesis, the

rationale, write a check here.

785

:

It's a little different.

786

:

I would argue it's a higher bar.

787

:

Um, and so that kind of keeps

the rate of writing checks.

788

:

You know, managed, uh, to be

something that's feasible, which

789

:

therefore makes it executable for us.

790

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

791

:

And, and it also kind of allows you to

just go a little bit deeper with those

792

:

companies versus just trying to take

on is, you know, they say in venture,

793

:

like, you know, plant as many seeds as

you can and see what grows like versus

794

:

really being a diligent and, uh, the,

uh, the technologies and the companies

795

:

that you're, you're working with.

796

:

Selecting, uh, and then

going deep with them, right.

797

:

And really spending that time to, to

mature them, uh, and, and looking at

798

:

that quality versus, you know, just

how many companies can we work with.

799

:

Right.

800

:

So, um, I love that part of the thesis.

801

:

There are market places

802

:

Michael Hauser: out there, Tim,

where we know because of the feedback

803

:

we get from government that, you

know, we're going to need to be an

804

:

integrator and be best of breed across.

805

:

A fleet of different potential, um,

providers of that technology because

806

:

it isn't universal enough that we can

just go bet on one for a capability.

807

:

We got to be ready and you know,

this government agency over here

808

:

to use this tech from this company

and this other government agency.

809

:

Same need, same kind of integration.

810

:

But I need to use the same

tech from a different company.

811

:

Yeah.

812

:

And that's not a great opportunity

for us to venture invest.

813

:

It might not even be a great

opportunity to strategic partner.

814

:

Yeah.

815

:

We need to be honest with those

providers that you fit here.

816

:

You fit there.

817

:

The relationship therefore needs

to not be this venture one.

818

:

It's different one.

819

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

820

:

Michael Hauser: Um, and again, we've built

an operating system to account for that.

821

:

Right.

822

:

Um, it rate limits the deal flow.

823

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

824

:

So as a, uh, yeah, somebody that runs

a recruiting business and, you know,

825

:

a lot of our listeners are always

kind of tuned into opportunities,

826

:

career growth opportunities.

827

:

Um, coming from, you know, commercial

government, a little bit of everything.

828

:

Uh, you did kind of reference the

participation on, uh, you know, supporting

829

:

on like the inside sales side of things.

830

:

Do you all ever get your hands

involved when it comes to helping

831

:

with staffing or recruiting, uh,

for some of those, those companies?

832

:

So

833

:

Michael Hauser: we're super careful with

what we say we're going to do and do with

834

:

our startups to do what we're good at.

835

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

836

:

Michael Hauser: Um, yeah, we've got

in house recruiting teams that recruit

837

:

for technical talent for our people.

838

:

Um, that, that's not really

something we've considered offering

839

:

to startups because our value

proposition to them is go to market.

840

:

And so, yeah, there are corporate

venture capital teams out there, um,

841

:

and we know some of them pretty well

that have like, we'll help you with

842

:

your back office accounting and finance.

843

:

You can have access to our recruiters.

844

:

Um, we're trying to stay focused on our

value proposition and do the things that

845

:

we say we're going to do with them well.

846

:

Of course, if we're sitting at the

leadership table with that startup,

847

:

because we're taking a board observer

seat, not a board seat, because

848

:

that's part of our MO, and they've

got a talent challenge, and they're

849

:

seeking counsel from advice on access

to things related to human capital.

850

:

Will contribute when asked, but it's

not going to be the kind of thing we're

851

:

going to make part of the, um, the full

meal deal, the packaged offering that

852

:

goes out to every startup, like our

go to market collaboration, because

853

:

that's core to what we're doing.

854

:

Um, You know, it's really gonna,

you know, it's an opportunity for

855

:

folks like you to really lean in and

support these startups where your

856

:

expertise can be valuable to them.

857

:

Um, from our perspective, what's

good for the startup is great

858

:

for SAIC kind of in that order.

859

:

And they need support in talent

management, recruiting, the, the

860

:

downsides of those things, um, on,

you know, maybe moving from one

861

:

kind of talent base to another, um,

that involves maybe retrenchments

862

:

or maybe it's growing a sales team.

863

:

There's other people that are going

to be better positioned than us.

864

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

865

:

And I think that's smart.

866

:

You know, you kind of stay in your lane,

uh, on where you're most impactful,

867

:

where you're going to add the most value.

868

:

If there's something that pops up where

you can lend a hand, you know, it's

869

:

almost like an, an as needed basis, but

it's not something that you set as the

870

:

expectations going into a partnership.

871

:

I think that's really smart.

872

:

Yeah,

873

:

Michael Hauser: there's, there's one

investment we're looking at right

874

:

now, um, and you know, our enterprise

capabilities in corporate real

875

:

estate and, um, enterprise security,

like chief risk officer, chief

876

:

security officer type of things are

absolutely essential to that startup.

877

:

Right.

878

:

So that's part of the relationship

that we're developing there, but

879

:

it's unique to that circumstance.

880

:

Tim Winkler: That's great.

881

:

Um, yeah.

882

:

So I do want to, uh, make sure we

save some time for our final segment

883

:

as we're coming up on the hour.

884

:

But, uh, prior to that, my, my last

question for you, um, well, actually

885

:

I had two questions real quick.

886

:

What's the size of, of your kind

of like team, uh, in this kind

887

:

of, yeah, the, the venture space?

888

:

Interesting.

889

:

Michael Hauser: The, the chief innovation

officer team, big round numbers,

890

:

about 650 people, um, you know, we

leverage the entire enterprise as the

891

:

arms and legs of our ventures team.

892

:

So we don't have the full time

people on staff who are responsible

893

:

for tech diligence or business

diligence elements, right?

894

:

We don't have the full time folks

who run our ventures platform because

895

:

our venture platform is that entire

go to market ecosystem we've built.

896

:

Um, so the full time folks on our

Ventures team are three folks right now.

897

:

Myself, we've got a principal on the East

Coast, a principal on the West Coast,

898

:

Chris George, uh, and Katie Swanson.

899

:

And, and, you know, really, it's the

dozens of other people in partnerships,

900

:

products, and Ventures, and hundreds

of other people in the innovation

901

:

factories and the CTO teams that

have the arms and legs down into our

902

:

business groups that make us successful.

903

:

Without that operating system.

904

:

We're just a three person team, right?

905

:

Checks, right?

906

:

Right.

907

:

And so it really is about that.

908

:

And then, you know, the 20 some

odd thousand smart hands we've got

909

:

at the company on programs every

day, bringing back these needs,

910

:

implementing these technologies,

um, that really help it work.

911

:

So, you know, that

operating system analogy.

912

:

It's, it's becoming more and more

as we do more of this, a little

913

:

bit more of a machine, you know,

we kind of just, we're getting to

914

:

where we can just turn the crank.

915

:

We've got infrastructure that

supports us, our MIT infrastructure.

916

:

We've got processes and

procedures and tools, um, our

917

:

own version of TTPs to go to war.

918

:

Um, and it's, it's

really starting to move.

919

:

So we're excited.

920

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah, it's a great

little like flywheel visual, uh,

921

:

what, what a company can expect when

they fall into your all is kind of.

922

:

Yeah.

923

:

All right, great.

924

:

And then, so, yeah, this last question,

you know, where, where do you kind of

925

:

stand with the future outlook on, let's

say defense, the defense tech ecosystem

926

:

at large, or do you feel optimistic on,

you know, a positive change and like

927

:

we're talking about moving quicker and

kind of breaking that narrative that,

928

:

you know, working with, The government

is hard, slow and impossible at times.

929

:

Michael Hauser: I really do.

930

:

Right.

931

:

We, we deal with a lot of investors.

932

:

We work with a lot of startups.

933

:

Um, we talk to a lot of

startups that are dual use.

934

:

I hear the same things about

banks, healthcare, energy, right.

935

:

Other highly regulated industries.

936

:

These are not easy markets to compete in.

937

:

Um, government is just a different set

of guidelines and rules and processes

938

:

and procedures hard to compete in

a lot more acronyms that I think

939

:

they're just different acronyms.

940

:

Um, you know, we're doing some talking

to some companies that have some business

941

:

and banking and man, I'm in Google

every minute of every conversation.

942

:

They're just new.

943

:

Yeah.

944

:

Um, and so I'm super optimistic.

945

:

Um, You know, there are a lot

of froth things maybe going on

946

:

in that sec investing right now.

947

:

It's one of the quote hotter segments

from a dollar value perspective in this

948

:

high interest rate, um, compressed.

949

:

Uh, and more intense

period of investing in VCs.

950

:

So, you know, you've got these big

macroeconomic changes in VC markets

951

:

combined with a heightened awareness

of national security priorities.

952

:

I'm not surprised that there's

more investment activity going on.

953

:

Um, but again, some of it little frothy,

we try to avoid that as best we can.

954

:

Because we know a thing or three about

being in that SEC, but we're not just

955

:

in that SEC, we're also in a host

of different civilian agencies, some

956

:

of which like DHS, FBI, um, right,

they are national security related.

957

:

There are national security related

parts, Department of Treasury.

958

:

There are not that are much more like

banking, fintech, et cetera, right?

959

:

There's all of the health focused

agencies, the VA, HHS, et cetera.

960

:

Um, and then you've got all of

the other civilian agencies, um,

961

:

department of interior is doing right.

962

:

And so these are all customers of SAIC.

963

:

We've got experts in every single

one of those businesses and markets

964

:

in it and digital engineering.

965

:

So there's a lot of opportunity

for startups across all of that.

966

:

80 20 inch dual use versus bespoke for

NatSec tech from our perspective, right?

967

:

Like we talked about, there are great

opportunities for future platform primes.

968

:

There are great opportunities

for subcontract.

969

:

And the one thing we're recognizing

from the government customer

970

:

perspective is that the FAR says

full and open commercial first.

971

:

So do that.

972

:

And customers are getting more

comfortable with that and trading in these

973

:

commercial technologies as part of that.

974

:

And not all of it comes from.

975

:

You know, the big tech companies you

read about the wall street journal every

976

:

day, sometimes you got to get on pitch

book or crunch base or go to a pitch

977

:

festival or whatever to go find them.

978

:

And that's what we're doing to try to

help our customers along with looking at

979

:

what DIU and AFWRX and the team at DHS

and the IRS that are trading in these

980

:

earlier stage technologies and putting

those pilots to work like you talked

981

:

about earlier, Tim, and trying to find

the best of that have gotten a couple

982

:

of reps at the government contracting

gym and then bring them to scale.

983

:

Yeah, we're super excited

about the potential.

984

:

And we could talk about the

technology domains for hours

985

:

because there's so many of them.

986

:

We'll save that for a part two.

987

:

Yeah, um, I'd have to micro machines the

conversation because when you get down

988

:

into the specific, there are thousands.

989

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

990

:

Michael Hauser: Um, but if you're

digital engineering, or digital

991

:

transformation, cloud, cyber,

AI, data, Love to talk to you.

992

:

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

993

:

Yeah.

994

:

That's a great closing point.

995

:

And, you know, I, I can tell you, you

know, I'm, I'm much more optimistic,

996

:

you know, after this conversation,

I think it's just great to see the

997

:

different outlets available to founders

that are looking for resources,

998

:

looking for, you know, a, a channel,

some sort of an, an area to, uh, to

999

:

integrate, to, to add value, to impact,

uh, such a large organization like.

:

00:55:14,875 --> 00:55:15,055

The U.

:

00:55:15,055 --> 00:55:15,195

S.

:

00:55:15,195 --> 00:55:15,635

government.

:

00:55:15,915 --> 00:55:20,815

So, um, I hope that this is one of those

episodes that, you know, it just brings

:

00:55:20,815 --> 00:55:25,735

one more idea to light or, you know, one

more opportunity through your all's gate.

:

00:55:25,775 --> 00:55:26,045

So.

:

00:55:26,505 --> 00:55:29,865

Um, thanks for the, uh, you know,

spending the time and spreading the

:

00:55:29,875 --> 00:55:32,075

conversation and building that awareness.

:

00:55:32,475 --> 00:55:35,695

Uh, I do want to close with

the, the five second scramble.

:

00:55:35,715 --> 00:55:39,945

So this is going to be a quick little

rapid fire Q and a, uh, some business,

:

00:55:39,965 --> 00:55:41,655

some personal, you ready to roll?

:

00:55:42,085 --> 00:55:42,835

Let's go do it.

:

00:55:43,095 --> 00:55:43,615

All right.

:

00:55:43,715 --> 00:55:48,725

So what is your favorite part

about the culture at SAIC?

:

00:55:49,380 --> 00:55:53,180

Michael Hauser: My favorite part

is that we are super collaborative.

:

00:55:53,610 --> 00:55:56,390

Um, I'm, I'm a starter

kind of personality.

:

00:55:56,420 --> 00:55:59,370

I like being on the front end of

things and building things and

:

00:55:59,430 --> 00:56:02,760

seeing other people lean into

an idea, bring up a new idea.

:

00:56:03,050 --> 00:56:04,740

People jump on that and make it happen.

:

00:56:04,900 --> 00:56:05,720

It's my favorite part.

:

00:56:06,790 --> 00:56:09,570

Tim Winkler: What would you say,

you know, what kind of founders

:

00:56:09,600 --> 00:56:14,630

kind of thrive when coming, coming

through the SAIC ventures portfolio?

:

00:56:15,300 --> 00:56:16,120

Michael Hauser: Passion for mission.

:

00:56:16,645 --> 00:56:20,055

Um, if you've got a passion for creating

mission outcomes with your tech and

:

00:56:20,055 --> 00:56:21,085

your product, we're the place for you.

:

00:56:22,285 --> 00:56:27,145

Tim Winkler: What would you say are

the top areas of, we'll keep it defense

:

00:56:27,265 --> 00:56:31,575

tech, uh, that you're most excited

for in the, in the next five years?

:

00:56:32,445 --> 00:56:33,855

So I'm actually most

:

00:56:33,855 --> 00:56:36,435

Michael Hauser: excited for some

boring stuff that isn't NETSEC.

:

00:56:37,075 --> 00:56:39,185

I'll get to the NETSEC stuff in a second.

:

00:56:39,625 --> 00:56:44,095

Um, the civilian agencies have not

been known as the paragon of digital

:

00:56:44,105 --> 00:56:50,225

transformation, and it's because I think

they just haven't been able to be exposed

:

00:56:50,235 --> 00:56:54,375

to the great things that are going on in

analogous industries and dual use like

:

00:56:54,435 --> 00:56:56,915

NatSec started doing 15, 20 years ago.

:

00:56:57,275 --> 00:56:57,385

Tim Winkler: And

:

00:56:57,665 --> 00:57:03,105

Michael Hauser: so I'm really excited

about the automation, AI enablement,

:

00:57:03,135 --> 00:57:05,075

business process optimization.

:

00:57:05,580 --> 00:57:10,720

Um, cloud enabled solutions for mission

opportunities that we can bring into

:

00:57:10,720 --> 00:57:15,230

civilian agencies that maybe just

haven't had the exposure to those

:

00:57:15,260 --> 00:57:17,290

technologies relative to NETSEC tech.

:

00:57:17,730 --> 00:57:21,010

And on the NETSEC side, the

thing I'm most excited by are the

:

00:57:21,010 --> 00:57:22,970

hardest mission problems, right?

:

00:57:23,010 --> 00:57:28,370

What can we do to be ready for the worst

possible scenarios in, in IndoPACOM?

:

00:57:28,410 --> 00:57:29,170

How do we.

:

00:57:29,630 --> 00:57:35,660

Protect and defend the nation

from emergent cyber and other

:

00:57:35,670 --> 00:57:37,020

digital risks and uncertainties.

:

00:57:37,060 --> 00:57:41,290

How do we leverage AI in the

right, mindful and ethical

:

00:57:41,290 --> 00:57:43,330

ways in that set context?

:

00:57:43,370 --> 00:57:46,775

Those are the You know, these are

at the edge of thinking, they're

:

00:57:46,805 --> 00:57:48,605

the hardest of hard problems.

:

00:57:49,185 --> 00:57:52,845

Um, and DARPA doesn't get to play

with all of them and they get to

:

00:57:52,845 --> 00:57:55,185

play with some of them and we're

working with them on those sometimes.

:

00:57:55,725 --> 00:58:01,375

Um, it's just really, really interesting

to be able to focus on some of these

:

00:58:01,405 --> 00:58:06,025

really hard problems and then see

how that technical solution can get

:

00:58:06,055 --> 00:58:10,225

reapplied again and again and again,

maybe even in very different contexts.

:

00:58:10,825 --> 00:58:14,245

And when we can make something work out at

the mission edge and in that set context.

:

00:58:14,875 --> 00:58:18,265

And bring it to a civilian agency

to, I just, those things blow

:

00:58:18,265 --> 00:58:19,455

my mind and they're super cool.

:

00:58:19,725 --> 00:58:20,865

Tim Winkler: Yeah, I love it.

:

00:58:21,605 --> 00:58:25,975

What resources or sources do you

kind of tap into to stay current

:

00:58:25,985 --> 00:58:31,275

on trends that are happening in the

overarching, you know, deep tech defense

:

00:58:31,315 --> 00:58:32,925

techs of tech kind of environments?

:

00:58:33,635 --> 00:58:34,055

People,

:

00:58:34,145 --> 00:58:36,545

Michael Hauser: um, you know,

the venture is a people business.

:

00:58:37,265 --> 00:58:42,485

Yeah, of course, I've got subscription

services that we buy, and there are

:

00:58:42,485 --> 00:58:47,335

a host of blogs and podcasts, and

you can get overwhelmed with data,

:

00:58:47,365 --> 00:58:50,645

AI tools to integrate and synthesize

it for you to do market studies.

:

00:58:50,645 --> 00:58:51,765

I mean, the list goes on and on.

:

00:58:52,190 --> 00:58:53,870

At the end of the day,

this is a people business.

:

00:58:53,930 --> 00:58:56,945

It's about relationships

with other investors and

:

00:58:56,945 --> 00:58:57,539

Tim Winkler: founders

:

00:58:57,540 --> 00:58:58,230

Michael Hauser: to learn those things.

:

00:58:59,880 --> 00:59:00,080

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

:

00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:04,230

I think I just got about 20 emails in

the, in the last 10 seconds about some

:

00:59:04,230 --> 00:59:06,350

sort of a newsfeed of what's happening.

:

00:59:06,400 --> 00:59:07,860

It's almost information overload.

:

00:59:07,900 --> 00:59:12,090

Sometimes you really have to, you

have to mute a lot of these channels

:

00:59:12,090 --> 00:59:14,960

and have a couple of trusted

sources that you connect with.

:

00:59:16,890 --> 00:59:17,150

All right.

:

00:59:17,150 --> 00:59:20,700

What's a charity or corporate

philanthropy that's near and dear to you?

:

00:59:21,445 --> 00:59:21,985

Yeah, so

:

00:59:21,985 --> 00:59:25,535

Michael Hauser: for me, um,

I am a huge baseball fan.

:

00:59:26,195 --> 00:59:29,675

Um, and so, you know, given,

given time to youth baseball

:

00:59:29,995 --> 00:59:31,675

has been a huge part of my life.

:

00:59:32,115 --> 00:59:35,545

Um, you know, even before my son

started playing, um, I've been a

:

00:59:35,555 --> 00:59:37,045

coach, I've been a contributor.

:

00:59:37,470 --> 00:59:41,430

Um, you know, that that's kind of probably

the thing that's closest to me right now.

:

00:59:41,840 --> 00:59:45,680

Um, youth sports is something that,

you know, a lot of people can't afford.

:

00:59:46,220 --> 00:59:50,520

Um, it's not inexpensive even, you know,

for bat and ball sports like baseball.

:

00:59:51,090 --> 00:59:57,180

Um, and so, you know, that being able to

help folks be able to access those, um,

:

00:59:57,680 --> 01:00:03,370

Enablers to kind of learning life skills

and, and people skills, and maybe you can

:

01:00:03,370 --> 01:00:06,490

excel as an athlete too, but you know,

most people don't make it to the pros.

:

01:00:06,490 --> 01:00:09,200

You get a whole lot more out of it

in other dimensions of your life.

:

01:00:09,230 --> 01:00:09,920

That that's kind of

:

01:00:09,920 --> 01:00:11,820

Tim Winkler: I love that.

:

01:00:11,820 --> 01:00:12,190

Yeah.

:

01:00:12,290 --> 01:00:12,520

Yeah.

:

01:00:12,520 --> 01:00:15,570

The access to, to getting

involved with sports and yeah.

:

01:00:15,995 --> 01:00:20,275

Having that kind of team camaraderie

is so, so vital, uh, to, to the youth.

:

01:00:20,275 --> 01:00:23,165

So, uh, really, really

support that as well.

:

01:00:23,645 --> 01:00:26,345

Uh, what's your favorite

app on your phone?

:

01:00:27,275 --> 01:00:29,845

Michael Hauser: My favorite app right now.

:

01:00:29,915 --> 01:00:34,675

Um, and it has been for a long time is

a newsfeed aggregator called Paliber.

:

01:00:35,255 --> 01:00:38,915

Um, and it just takes, you know, you

can kind of set up your own channels,

:

01:00:39,275 --> 01:00:43,275

um, you know, and, and bring in this

kind of multi feed multi source,

:

01:00:43,285 --> 01:00:47,515

uh, Um, data aggregation and, and

click on what you want, read it.

:

01:00:47,855 --> 01:00:50,925

So I use that for news and blogs

and, and those kinds of things.

:

01:00:51,465 --> 01:00:52,485

What's it called again?

:

01:00:52,485 --> 01:00:52,995

How do you spell it?

:

01:00:53,745 --> 01:01:00,605

It's a, it's an old school RSS

feeds, it's P L A B R E and it's,

:

01:01:00,735 --> 01:01:02,805

it's an old school RSS feed tool.

:

01:01:02,805 --> 01:01:04,465

That's kind of just grown a bunch of legs.

:

01:01:05,085 --> 01:01:10,715

Um, and it's just, I use it as my, my,

my, uh, news and blog and RSS integrator.

:

01:01:10,865 --> 01:01:11,305

Tim Winkler: Cool.

:

01:01:11,405 --> 01:01:11,555

Yeah.

:

01:01:11,555 --> 01:01:12,465

I'll have to check that out.

:

01:01:13,465 --> 01:01:17,575

Um, if you could have dinner with

any tech icon, current or past,

:

01:01:17,975 --> 01:01:19,515

who would it be with and why?

:

01:01:20,415 --> 01:01:24,195

Michael Hauser: So for me, um, I

would love to spend some time with

:

01:01:24,195 --> 01:01:27,545

Alexander Graham Bell and I'm going

way in the way, way back machine.

:

01:01:28,005 --> 01:01:33,545

Um, Because he was an integrator that

had to overcome technology roadblocks,

:

01:01:33,545 --> 01:01:40,115

but not so arguably he had to overcome,

um, business model issues that were

:

01:01:40,115 --> 01:01:43,495

even more intractable than figuring

out how to move voice over copper.

:

01:01:44,015 --> 01:01:48,105

Um, and I don't think he gets enough

credit for the business he built in

:

01:01:48,105 --> 01:01:50,045

addition to the technology he created.

:

01:01:50,580 --> 01:01:55,770

Um, now it turned into a regulated

monopoly and all that other stuff

:

01:01:55,770 --> 01:02:00,150

that, you know, has happened in other

industries since those times to, um,

:

01:02:00,230 --> 01:02:02,910

I'd love to learn about the business

side of Alexander Graham Bell.

:

01:02:02,920 --> 01:02:05,520

I'm a, I'm a business model kind of guy.

:

01:02:05,550 --> 01:02:06,750

I'm a growth junkie.

:

01:02:07,170 --> 01:02:11,580

Uh, and I think he'd be a great

historical figure to kind of learn from,

:

01:02:11,640 --> 01:02:15,950

um, in this day and age of different

networks and modes of communication.

:

01:02:16,290 --> 01:02:16,690

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

:

01:02:16,920 --> 01:02:17,310

Yeah.

:

01:02:17,380 --> 01:02:18,540

Not, not just a.

:

01:02:19,785 --> 01:02:25,935

But a great teacher, you know, so, uh, two

more and we're, we're going to wrap it.

:

01:02:25,955 --> 01:02:29,235

So what is the worst fashion

trend that you've ever followed?

:

01:02:30,395 --> 01:02:31,435

Michael Hauser: Oh, gosh.

:

01:02:31,835 --> 01:02:38,025

Uh, so I would have to say in middle

school, um, everybody probably remembers

:

01:02:38,045 --> 01:02:39,855

Andre Agassi, the tennis player.

:

01:02:39,995 --> 01:02:40,425

Oh yeah.

:

01:02:40,725 --> 01:02:46,985

Um, and so I went after the

frosted tips, mullet ish haircut.

:

01:02:48,260 --> 01:02:50,460

And you know, you can talk about

the time frame here, right?

:

01:02:50,460 --> 01:02:52,000

This is late eighties, early nineties.

:

01:02:52,690 --> 01:02:56,930

Um, there are some pretty amazing, I'm

shaking my head from side to side, not

:

01:02:56,930 --> 01:02:58,660

up and down photos of me from back then.

:

01:02:58,960 --> 01:02:59,460

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

:

01:02:59,520 --> 01:03:02,450

We'll get those as a, as the

headshot for the, uh, podcast.

:

01:03:02,450 --> 01:03:04,100

Yeah.

:

01:03:04,100 --> 01:03:04,310

And

:

01:03:04,310 --> 01:03:04,740

Michael Hauser: I'm going to need

:

01:03:04,750 --> 01:03:04,990

Tim Winkler: like

:

01:03:04,990 --> 01:03:10,230

Michael Hauser: my, my day glow

wristbands with the Adidas, uh,

:

01:03:10,230 --> 01:03:12,070

with the puffy print t shirt on.

:

01:03:12,070 --> 01:03:12,820

Right, right.

:

01:03:12,890 --> 01:03:13,200

Tim Winkler: Yeah.

:

01:03:13,895 --> 01:03:14,245

Really?

:

01:03:14,775 --> 01:03:15,985

I starter jacket.

:

01:03:16,135 --> 01:03:16,435

Yeah.

:

01:03:16,435 --> 01:03:21,025

Anybody that doesn't, isn't familiar

with frosted tips on this podcast

:

01:03:21,115 --> 01:03:25,505

and yeah, you're clearly, uh, you're

clearly not in the same era as

:

01:03:25,935 --> 01:03:27,385

many of the guests that we have on.

:

01:03:27,385 --> 01:03:29,765

It's, it's, it's a, a classic era.

:

01:03:29,815 --> 01:03:30,095

So.

:

01:03:30,475 --> 01:03:33,335

I don't ever want us to have

regrets about the frosted tip era.

:

01:03:35,605 --> 01:03:36,835

Classic, but wow.

:

01:03:36,835 --> 01:03:38,475

I'm going to have to figure

out a way to work that in.

:

01:03:38,475 --> 01:03:40,345

Michael Hauser: All

:

01:03:40,905 --> 01:03:41,035

Tim Winkler: right.

:

01:03:41,055 --> 01:03:41,835

Last one, last one.

:

01:03:41,835 --> 01:03:44,255

What was your dream job as a kid?

:

01:03:44,850 --> 01:03:46,380

Michael Hauser: Uh, yeah, that's easy.

:

01:03:46,440 --> 01:03:48,870

Uh, being a catcher for

the New York Yankees.

:

01:03:49,050 --> 01:03:53,950

Oh, and then as I got older, uh, I

had this dream of being a bullpen

:

01:03:53,990 --> 01:03:55,360

catcher for the New York Yankees.

:

01:03:55,360 --> 01:03:57,810

I was like, don't have to

be out there every day.

:

01:03:57,820 --> 01:04:01,450

Get to catch all these amazing pitchers

for like a few minutes at a time.

:

01:04:01,860 --> 01:04:03,350

Um, then I found out what it paid.

:

01:04:04,190 --> 01:04:10,790

Um, but, uh, yeah, being a catcher in the

starting nine for the New York Yankees

:

01:04:10,820 --> 01:04:12,380

was a dream for a very, very long time.

:

01:04:12,560 --> 01:04:13,280

Did you play,

:

01:04:13,490 --> 01:04:13,640

Tim Winkler: did

:

01:04:13,640 --> 01:04:14,200

Michael Hauser: you play a bit as a

:

01:04:14,200 --> 01:04:14,430

Tim Winkler: kid?

:

01:04:14,480 --> 01:04:14,600

Yeah.

:

01:04:14,870 --> 01:04:16,350

Wait all the way up into

college a little bit.

:

01:04:16,420 --> 01:04:17,900

Um, so yeah.

:

01:04:18,470 --> 01:04:19,020

Very cool.

:

01:04:19,070 --> 01:04:19,240

Yeah.

:

01:04:19,240 --> 01:04:19,860

That's an epic trip.

:

01:04:19,920 --> 01:04:21,600

That's an epic dream job as a kid.

:

01:04:22,180 --> 01:04:25,060

Um, all right, well,

that's, that is a wrap Mike.

:

01:04:25,060 --> 01:04:27,620

Thank you so much for

spending time with us and.

:

01:04:27,875 --> 01:04:32,185

You know, we're, we're always

excited for the future founders and

:

01:04:32,185 --> 01:04:36,095

startups that are tuning in or, you

know, partnering with you all to,

:

01:04:36,125 --> 01:04:39,825

to drive this kind of innovation to,

to really modernize our government.

:

01:04:39,845 --> 01:04:43,555

So we're rooting for you all, uh,

excited to see how, you know, your,

:

01:04:43,565 --> 01:04:48,995

your, your program, the, the venture

side of SCIC evolves over the years.

:

01:04:49,154 --> 01:04:49,705

And, uh.

:

01:04:50,060 --> 01:04:52,610

Thank you for hanging us with the,

uh, hanging with us on the pod.

:

01:04:53,310 --> 01:04:54,010

Michael Hauser: Yeah, definitely.

:

01:04:54,020 --> 01:04:55,490

Thank you for the opportunity, Tim.

:

01:04:55,580 --> 01:04:59,500

Uh, and anybody out there, uh,

in your community got questions,

:

01:04:59,500 --> 01:05:02,640

want to connect, uh, reach out

LinkedIn's great way to do it.

:

01:05:02,690 --> 01:05:04,730

So I guess I'll plug

that app on my phone too.

:

01:05:05,730 --> 01:05:09,200

And, uh, we'll grow this thing

together with all of your support.

:

01:05:09,200 --> 01:05:10,300

So thanks for being a

part of the ecosystem.

:

01:05:11,029 --> 01:05:11,630

Tim Winkler: Absolutely.

:

01:05:11,630 --> 01:05:15,510

And we will be sharing this on

LinkedIn and sounds like you and

:

01:05:15,510 --> 01:05:17,620

I have to go grab a blizzard.

:

01:05:17,640 --> 01:05:19,100

I'm I'm going Reese's peanut butter cup.

:

01:05:19,100 --> 01:05:20,140

What are you, what are you going with?

:

01:05:20,820 --> 01:05:21,230

Michael Hauser: Yeah.

:

01:05:21,230 --> 01:05:24,590

So, I'm gonna have to ask my wife for

for which flavor I should go with.

:

01:05:25,160 --> 01:05:25,250

Okay.

:

01:05:25,350 --> 01:05:29,460

I'm growing up in western Nebraska

with grandma Nancy, her mom.

:

01:05:29,815 --> 01:05:34,005

Um, our son's grandmother,

you know, he had a great day.

:

01:05:34,015 --> 01:05:34,925

He had a terrible day.

:

01:05:35,275 --> 01:05:38,085

It was go celebrate or let me

help you think through it at

:

01:05:38,085 --> 01:05:39,154

Dairy Queen with a blizzard.

:

01:05:39,285 --> 01:05:39,535

Yeah.

:

01:05:39,595 --> 01:05:42,885

So I'll leave the choosing of

the Dairy Queen treat to Jen

:

01:05:43,475 --> 01:05:44,495

because she is a connoisseur.

:

01:05:45,685 --> 01:05:47,775

As long as it's served upside down, right?

:

01:05:48,105 --> 01:05:49,725

You got to show it upside down.

:

01:05:49,725 --> 01:05:50,904

That proves how thick it is.

:

01:05:50,904 --> 01:05:53,356

That's part of the showmanship of

:

01:05:53,356 --> 01:05:53,760

Tim Winkler: the blizzard.

:

01:05:53,910 --> 01:05:54,700

It's iconic.

:

01:05:54,700 --> 01:05:57,460

We'll, we'll, we'll have much

more to wrap on, on, on a part

:

01:05:57,470 --> 01:05:59,050

two on, on desserts and such.

:

01:05:59,050 --> 01:06:00,770

But again, thanks for joining us, Mike.

:

01:06:00,770 --> 01:06:01,480

This was a blast.

:

01:06:03,100 --> 01:06:03,330

Thanks

:

01:06:03,480 --> 01:06:03,510

Michael Hauser: Tim.

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