Mission Speed: How Commercial Innovation Is Reshaping Defense Acquisition | The Pair Program Ep92

Episode notes

Mission Speed: How Commercial Innovation Is Reshaping Defense Acquisition | The Pair Program Ep92 In this episode of The Pair Program, we sit down with Darian Harris, Founding GP of Connected Capital and co-founder of Fuse Accelerator, and Drew Trojanowski, President and CEO of the Southwest Mission Acceleration Center (MAC), to unpack what it really takes to move innovation at mission speed. From navigating defense acquisition to scaling dual-use startups, they share how founders and operators can bridge the gap between commercial traction and government adoption. What you’ll hear in this episode: Why “speed” in defense isn’t always about moving faster The real bottlenecks in DoD acquisition and innovation pipelines How dual-use startups can avoid the “valley of death” Building ecosystems that actually help technology reach the mission Why partnerships matter more than ever in scaling innovation About Drew Trojanowski: Drew is President & CEO of the Southwest Mission Acceleration Center (MAC), where he leads mission-driven innovation across national security ecosystems. His background spans the White House, Capitol Hill, Arizona State University, and a decade in the U.S.