Standing up a space force within the world’s largest bureaucracy is not for the faint of heart.
Preston Dunlap – former (and first) Chief Architect / Chief Technology Officer of the United States Air Force and Space Force and present CEO of Arkenstone Ventures – has developed a privileged view into the government machinations necessary to design, develop, and buy the right mix of tough tech capabilities. Mission-focused and multidisciplinary, Dunlap and the organizations in which he engaged at the most senior levels have commanded hundreds of billions of dollars in defense acquisitions.
A curious combination of computer scientist, operations researcher, and international relations practitioner, Dunlap walks us through his approach to investing vast amounts of capital into companies and organizations big and small. We also discuss what it is like working within the government, aligning and mobilizing tremendous human resources to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the United States… which may or may not include actual space invaders.
P.S. Tough Tech Today is now open to patron support, so we have launched a pay-if-you-can membership so you can help us bring Tough Tech Today to more folks!Â
🎧Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1169378/13570194-architecting-the-space-force-with-preston-dunlap-of-arkenstone-venturesÂ
🧠Relevant Links:
- Episode homepage: www.toughtechtoday.com/architecting-the-space-force/
- Preston Dunlap on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preston-dunlap/
- Preston's Documents list: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preston-dunlap/recent-activity/documents/
đź‘ŹCredit Roll:Â
Producers: Jonathan 'JMill' Miller and Forrest Meyen
Guest: Preston Dunlap
Hosts: JMill and Forrest Meyen
Editing: JMill
Transcript: Alan Yan and JMill
Blog Author: JMill
Art Design: JMill (Space Force emblem credit to United States Space Force.)
đź”–Topic Timecodes:
[2:08] What is Arkenstone Ventures?
[4:58] Most exciting technology areas
[7:47] Thoughts on government and VC investments in space
[14:02] New emerging phenomena, e.g. unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs)
[19:21] Bringing companies on board and helping them grow
[25:25] How starting Arkenstone was different than joining another company
[31:34] Biggest challenges as CTO of Air Force and Space Force
[37:39] Staying up to date and knowledgeable about many systems and sciences
[42:31] Does Preston spend time trying to predict the future of tech?
[46:08] Dealing with setbacks
[50:46] The name and ethos of Arkenstone VenturesÂ
[53:04] Preston’s closing thoughts
đź“–Transcript:
Transcript is viewable here: https://otter.ai/u/orLilBYuMDszJkz8bsif89OoNMA
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.