Space leaders took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt on Monday to talk about the challenges and opportunities of creating dual-use technology, or technology that has both a defensive and commercial.
The dual-use strategy can be tricky for young startups to navigate, however, because they run the risk of diluting their focus by trying to sell to both the Department of Defense (DOD) and commercial companies, Even Rogers warned , CEO of True Anomaly. True Anomaly, which develops software and hardware to enable mobile satellite operations, “is not a space company,” he said. “We are a defense company.”
But staying focused can be difficult for startups if their investors aren’t fully aligned with their mission, he said. “When investors start pushing the dual-use thesis… it can dilute the focus, especially at an early stage, and it just requires very open and honest conversations with investors and very careful screening of people around the table,” he said.
However, with the rapid industrialization of space, more and more business opportunities are emerging for startups.
“There is no clear line between commercial and government in space,” said Tim Solms, CEO of Slingshot Aerospace. “Dual use is upon us. … There are currently no exclusively military or commercial operations. There’s a lot of mixing in there, so you have to be able to navigate both.
Both agree that the term “dual use” is “idiosyncratic,” as Rogers puts it, especially now that space is a hotly contested domain.
For startups looking to sell to the government, the Department of Defense has made a huge effort to work with small businesses and acquire technologies outside of the traditional defense and aerospace markets. As Debra Emmons, CTO of The Aerospace Corporation, said on stage, the government created the Defense Innovation Unit, the Office of Strategic Capital and other financing mechanisms to bring together private and public.
However, many of these programs aim to help businesses at an early stage, so a dual-use strategy could provide a hedge against the government’s relative slowness in enrolling new businesses into referral programs.
“I think we’re looking at a place where we really need to bring more in these later stages,” Emmons said.
But startups that want to work with government need to understand that there will be additional hurdles to jump through and more relationships and trust will need to be built. Relationship building is particularly important; To some extent, the winners in defense technology will be the companies that can navigate government most effectively, not necessarily those with the best technology.
“Technology is table stakes,” Rogers said. “Talent is table stakes. What you need to master is a go-to-market strategy that starts with operational advocacy and clarity on operational requirements.
Solms agreed: “First, focus on the mission, understand the mission. Don’t come up with a one-off solution. You’re not trying to solve anything; you’re trying to support a mission.