The next two episodes of the podcast will focus on the Startup Innovation Fellowship program that podcast host, Amber Pecoraro, completed in June. The Startup Innovation Fellowship program is run by National Security Innovation Network and provides military and civilian employees with 4-15 years of experience an opportunity to embed with a startup company to explore a command issue for six weeks. Amber was matched with the startup company, Decisive Point, in Washington D.C. which works with other startup companies to help them get emerging technologies into the government space. Her focus area was to better understand the challenges startups face in doing business with the government. This first conversation is with Decisive Point Co-founder Eric Horan, a former Navy Contracting Officer. He provides an interesting viewpoint on how we can better collaborate with startup companies to solve national security problems. Keep an eye out for Part 2 on Amber’s Startup Innovation Fellowship experience in the next episode where Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, will be turning the tables and interviewing Amber on her fellowship experience. Acronyms: AI – Artificial Intelligence ML – Machine Learning CEO – Chief Executive Officer PR – Purchase Request DEF – Defense Entrepreneurs Forum National Security Innovation Network: https://www.nsin.us/ Decisive Point: http://decisivepoint.co/ Future Air Force Pitch Days: https://www.afsbirsttr.af.mil/AF-Pitch-Day/How-to-submit/ Defense Entrepreneurs Forum: https://defenseentrepreneurs.org/ FedTech: https://www.fedtech.io/ If you would like to share feedback on the podcast, please submit via [email protected].