Failed and Forged

7 — Alex Gorsuch | Mission Over Business

Alex Gorsuch shares hard-won lessons on successfully navigating the defense contracting space as a veteran entrepreneur and innovator. With over a decade of experience taking emerging technologies from the lab to the field, Alex provides invaluable insights on human-centered design, accelerating DOD innovation, commercialization, and deployment. He explains the importance of deeply understanding user needs, mission outcomes, and the barriers to adoption. Alex also outlines strategies for creating compelling SBIR/STTR proposals, transitioning science projects to fielded systems, and securing that all-important memorandum of understanding. Throughout the conversation, Alex emphasizes the criticality of maintaining alignment to mission over business interests and collaborating to drive collective impact. Listen in for an honest, thoughtful perspective on both the strengths and dysfunctions of the defense innovation ecosystem.

6 — Travis Rosbach | From Empty Shelves to Overflowing Success

Travis Rosbach shares his remarkable journey from dive instructor and airline pilot to founding the wildly successful Hydro Flask brand. Learn how Travis manifested his vision, pivoted across industries, and built a billion-dollar company from only $11,000. He explains the importance of authentic branding, contrarian thinking, and maintaining core values through exponential growth. Travis also provides invaluable advice on finding motivation, avoiding common entrepreneurial pitfalls, and achieving work-life balance.

5 – Daniel Gomez | Adapt or Fail

Go behind enemy lines and into the unconventional mind of Lt. Col. Daniel Gomez, an innovator who brewed creativity while deployed in uniform. Discover how he spearheaded civil affairs projects in Iraq only to return home and get reprimanded for daring to color outside the lines. Learn his renegade rules for fostering innovation in rigid bureaucracies. Hear how he channeled his battlefield improvisation into immersive training techniques to equip special operators with adaptability. From throwing artillery at a milk factory in Iraq to directing off-broadway shows, his winding career path reveals lessons on overcoming obstacles and leading with agility. This subversive soldier turned CEO dares you to break ranks and unleash your inner maverick. His playbook of battlefield-tested principles will inspire you to deploy creativity despite the bureaucratic barricades. When faced with challenges, will you adapt or fail?

4 – Megan Militello | Entrepreneurship: An Active Lifestyle

Megan Militello shares her inspiring journey from Army air traffic controller to entrepreneur in Alaska. Learn how Megan translated the camaraderie and community of military service into building a loyal customer base for her lifestyle brand Elevated Oats. Hear Megan's insights on mindset, finding your strengths, and believing in your own power to accomplish big goals as a veteran entrepreneur. Megan talks candidly about the challenges of starting and winding down a business, emphasizing that failure is just an opportunity to overcome new challenges. Tune in for an empowering conversation about values, mental health, and creating community around shared passions like fitness and the outdoors. Whether you're a veteran entrepreneur or just starting your journey, Megan's wisdom will motivate you to stay resilient and manifest your dreams.

3 – Richard Rogers | Fighting the Freeze

Join host Graham DeNoyer as he speaks with inventor Richard Rogers about his mission to save warfighters from losing critical electronics in freezing climates. They discuss the life-threatening challenges of vital gear like radios, phones, and transmitters failing in extreme cold. Richard explains how his passion for protecting service members drove him to found Tundra Electronics and invent rugged heated cases. He walks through Tundra's process of researching, testing, and engineering solutions purpose-built for subzero military uses. They cover applications from heating headsets in helicopters to solving problems with parachute drops in Arctic conditions. This episode offers a fascinating insight into one inventor’s drive to conquer the cold and keep warfighters connected and equipped in the harshest weather. Learn about the viability issues electronics can face in freezing climates and how Tundra aims to save lives by keeping tech heated and functioning. If you serve in extreme environments or rely on gear in the cold, you won’t want to miss Richard’s story of creating innovative solutions motivated by helping servicemembers. Tune in for a compelling look at military-inspired invention and entrepreneurship.