INTELAB Ventures’ Post

Tomorrow’s Office is… customized to every industry and practice. Join our founder Jessica Martinez next week at the #I3Summit where she will lead an interactive brainstorming session to reimagine the future of the intelligence workplace - from org structure and new skills to clients and products. Don’t miss out! Register below 👇 #intelligence #security #CorporateSecurity #CultureTransformation #culture #OrganizationalDevelopment #performance #FutureOfWork #AI #TomorrowsOffice

Garrett Smith would have you believe he's "a head in the clouds, visionary CEO who's not grounded in reality." But Reveal Technology's story proves otherwise. While some defense tech startups chase headlines and trade show sponsorships, Garrett and his team have quietly become the first commercial software solution certified on the Army's mobile network. Today on #CrossingtheValley, I sat down with Garrett and Dave Caudle, the company's VP of Defense, to unpack how a small team is revolutionizing tactical edge operations. This episode just might change how you think about defense tech. We cover: 🎯 The Power of Tactical Truth While others pitched PowerPoints to generals, Reveal spent time on ranges with sergeants and lieutenants, building capabilities they wished they had in combat. Result? When they finally met program leadership, the grassroots demand was undeniable. 💡 The Integration Revelation Most founders obsess over technology readiness (TRL). Reveal discovered early that integration readiness (IRL) is the real kingmaker. It's not enough to build great software – it has to seamlessly integrate into the warfighter's complex ecosystem. 🤝 The Platform Play What started as an edge mapping solution is morphing into something much bigger. With a recent acquisition and a $33.6M STRATFI award, Reveal is positioning to become the standard platform for AI-enabled operations at the tactical edge. Full episode available now at ValleyCrossers (dot) Com. Whether you're a founder, investor, or acquisition professional, you don't want to miss this. #DefenseTech #Military #Innovation #Leadership

🚀 Celebrating Innovation: A Look Back at the Joint Force and Installation Modernization 🦈 Shark Tank 🚀 We are thrilled to recognize the incredible talent and visionary leaders who took the stage during the Joint Force and Installation Modernization 🦈 Shark Tank at the Federal Technology Symposium. This session was a powerful showcase of cutting-edge technology solutions. Four pioneering companies delivered compelling pitches and received invaluable feedback from our esteemed government representatives. A Special Congratulations to Our Innovators:  🎤 Rick Vosburgh, Founder and CEO of Archaius, Inc.  🎤 Ron Berry, CEO of Artificially Digital  🎤 Nichole Scott, VP of Research & Development at Smart Material Solutions, Inc.  🎤 Dustin Latour, Program Manager at WISER Systems Each of these leaders demonstrated exceptional creativity and strategic thinking, presenting solutions that could transform the landscape of defense technology. Their participation in this Shark Tank session highlighted their commitment to innovation and underscored the importance of collaboration between the private sector and the government. 🔍 Key Takeaways: 🦈 Direct Engagement: The session provided a unique platform for these companies to engage directly with key decision-makers, offering insights to guide future innovations. 🦈 Valuable Feedback: The interactive format allowed for a dynamic exchange of ideas, with government representatives providing actionable feedback that will help refine these solutions for real-world application. 🦈 Pathway to Success: This Shark Tank experience is a significant step toward successful collaboration and business growth within the federal marketplace. Thank you to all the participants and attendees for making this session a resounding success. Together, we are driving the future of defense innovation and ensuring our warfighters have the tools they need to succeed. #InnovationLeaders #DefenseTech #SharkTank #FederalTech #WarfighterReady #NationalSecurity #BusinessGrowth North Carolina Military Business Center

Sunday Book Review #17 Team of Teams - New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World || General Stanley McChrystal As commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), General Stanley McChrystal played a crucial role in the War on Terror. When he took charge in 2004, America was losing that war badly: despite vastly inferior resources and technology, Al Qaeda was outmanoeuvring them on the back of an agile and decentralized strike network. McChrystal revamped the US special forces, pivoting to a team that believed in centralized communication with decentralized decision-making authority. Lots of interesting examples from the military, NASA, Flight 1549 (Sullenberg) to illustrate his philosophy that successful teams are those composed of smaller teams that combine the freedom to experiment with a drive to share what they’ve learned. Some excerpts from the book || The temptation to lead as a chess master, controlling each move of the organization, must give way to an approach as a gardener, enabling rather than directing. A gardening approach to leadership is anything but passive. The leader acts as an “Eyes-On, Hands-Off” enabler who creates and maintains an ecosystem in which the organization operates. Purpose affirms trust, trust affirms purpose, and together they forge individuals into a working team. I would tell my staff about the “dinosaur’s tail.” As a leader grows more senior, his bulk and tail become huge, but like the brontosaurus, his brain remains modestly small. When plans are changed and the huge beast turns, its tail often thoughtlessly knocks over people and things. That the destruction was unintentional doesn’t make it any better. Education is resilient, training is robust. Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing. The two major determinants of idea flow, are “engagement” within a small group like a team, a department, or a neighbourhood, and “exploration”—frequent contact with other units. In other words: “a team of teams.”

BMNT expands leadership team Read more on the link below. #defense #sbir #military #jointwerx @jointwerx @blackhaysgroup #governmentcontracts #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #consulting #strategy #leanstartups #startup #growthhacking

Are you fostering a culture of innovation or sticking to ‘the way we’ve always done it’? The Marine Corps' development of amphibious warfare tactics in the 1920s and 1930s is a powerful example of forward-thinking innovation. In the face of budget cuts and skepticism, visionary Marines like Earl Ellis pushed for the development of amphibious capabilities, foreseeing their importance long before they became essential in World War II’s Pacific theater. Their ability to project power across vast oceanic distances transformed warfare—and it all started with a culture of innovation. Here’s how to foster a similar culture of innovation in your business: Encourage Visionary Thinking ↳ Like the Marines, give your team space for "blue sky" brainstorming without practical constraints. ↳ Create a system where employees can submit innovative ideas, no matter how ambitious. ↳ Reward forward-thinking proposals—even if they aren't immediately applicable, they fuel future success. Invest in Research and Development ↳ Even in tough times, allocate resources for exploring new technologies or strategies. ↳ Partner with universities or research institutions to stay at the forefront of your industry. ↳ Form cross-functional innovation teams to tackle problems from diverse perspectives, just as Marines used varied units to solve amphibious challenges. Embrace Calculated Risk-Taking ↳ Develop a system for assessing and managing risks associated with new ideas. ↳ Create a "safe to fail" environment where learning from unsuccessful attempts is celebrated as part of the innovation process. ↳ Implement rapid prototyping and testing to quickly validate new concepts without overcommitting resources. What’s one innovative idea you’re currently exploring in your business? Share your vision in the comments, and let’s inspire each other to push the boundaries of what’s possible! #creativedirector #ArtofBrandWarfare #DigitalMarketing #contentmarketing #veterans #leadership All the best, Your #1 Multi-Talented Creator 😎

When Military thinking makes Better CEO's As a former Armed Forces Troop Commander, I used the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) as part of my Combat Estimate / planning process. It hadn't dawned on me that it might be used by CEOs & Founders scaling their companies. Here's the framework to make better decisions, using science and structure, instead of feel and instinct. 🔎 Observe: Gather all relevant data. Understand market conditions, competitor actions, and internal factors. 🗺️ Orient: Analyze the data. Put it in context, identify opportunities and threats. ⚖️ Decide: Generate options, weigh pros and cons, and choose a decisive course of action. 🏃 Act: Execute rapidly. Communicate clearly and monitor results. ♻️ Repeat the loop. Speed of iteration being faster than your competitor will keep you ahead. Thanks to 🙏 Chris Tottman for the cool infographic and blast from the past 👉 Give this a like if you find it useful 👉 Leave a comment if you don't 👉 Share it around regardless (Repost) Follow me: Gary Taylor 🚶♂️➡️ #founder #entrepreneur #strategy #vc #scaling

The next instalment of the Gaia series, and the leadership stakes couldn't be any higher: surviving on the Moon, eco-terrorism on Earth, an energy crisis, and team struggles...all in a day's work for Commander Xanthe Waters. But can she and the team overcome the Moon's challenges and survive what the rest of humantiy throws at them? The perfect read for your workplace book club. Free author talk included :) #leadershipbooks #sci-fi #futureofleadership

Hello everyone, Welcome back to the “Writings on the Wall” series, your weekly exploration of #innovation and #management. This week, I’ve been reflecting on a subtle yet powerful force that can undermine even the most successful organizations. So, what is this force, and what does it have to do with frogs? Read this week’s post, “Save the Frog,” to find out. Curious to know more? Click the link below to continue reading! Stay tuned for more insights, and I’d love to hear your thoughts! https://lnkd.in/ddaZfsTS

4 things that successful founders of multimillion-dollar companies have in common: (A distilled observation from meeting hundreds of them.) Here are four things the best founders had in common: - Data is the main driver for decisions, even when making risky bets. - They know that people don't buy ideas, they buy the execution of them. - Clear vision and understanding of their why. - They were excellent communicators. Number 4 was the one that surprised me the most and made me change my perspective on how I could become even better. What is your favorite one out of the 4? - MK PS: the picture is from the book The almanack of Naval Ravikant. Pretty awesome book that I can recommend.