Rob Painter

HawkEye 360 is equipping defense, intelligence and national security leaders with mission-critical signals intelligence to enable faster, better decision making. By detecting, geolocating, and characterizing radio frequency emissions worldwide, HawkEye 360 delivers trusted domain awareness and early warning indicators to the US Government and allied partners. Our space-based collection, proprietary signal processing, and AI-powered analytics transform knowledge of RF spectrum into a strategic advantage. Proven by operational mission success, HawkEye 360 is redefining how signals intelligence strengthens national and global security. HawkEye 360 was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.

Nexenta is the market creator and leader in Open Software-Defined Storage (OpenSDS) software solutions for Hybrid and Multi Cloud enterprise environments via Nexenta AnyCloud vision; with nearly 6,000 customers, 300 partners, 50 patents, and more than 2,000 petabytes of storage capacity under management; disrupting and democratizing one of the largest and most oligopolistic IT market segments nearing $100B in size by 2020. Nexenta uniquely integrates its hardware-agnostic software-only enterprise OpenSDS innovation with deep “open source” collaboration via some of the most active communities with 45,000+ members. Nexenta enables a wide variety of workloads from legacy enterprise to next-gen cloud-native apps, on any cloud platform, any protocol and any hardware infrastructure to power the largest and most cost/performant data centers globally. Nexenta OpenSDS solution portfolio is 100% software-based for both on and off premise settings. Nexenta provides organizations with Total Freedom protecting them against punitive legacy storage hardware vendor practices including, long term “vendor-lock-in”, “vendor-bait-n-switch”, and “vendor-rip-n-replace.” Beyond its industry-leading software innovation and multi-channel distribution, Nexenta also provides comprehensive enterprise-class support and services 24x7, globally. For more information visit nexenta.com.

Aspire Growth Consulting Strategic foresight for emerging technologies: Accelerating ventures from concept to market across defense, spatial, and enterprise sectors. Founded in April 2024, Aspire Growth Consulting, a veteran-owned small business, delivers bespoke advisory services at the intersection of emerging technology, venture capital, and specialized markets. We guide organizations through the full spectrum of growth—from concept development to market penetration. Our Expertise We accelerate growth across key domains: - Geospatial & Spatial Computing: Location intelligence and immersive technologies - Defense & Intelligence: Navigating national security markets - Venture Capital: Identifying opportunities and preparing for funding - Enterprise Technology: Go-to-market strategies for B2B solutions - Public Sector: Connecting commercial innovation with government applications Our Approach We combine domain knowledge with business acumen to deliver actionable intelligence and strategic guidance. We help executives identify opportunities, develop positioning, and establish partnerships that drive growth. Client Success Our portfolio includes startups, technology leaders, research institutions, and government contractors. From Ohio University and TechGrowth Ohio to Niantic Labs and Niantic Spatial, we transform ideas into market-ready solutions. We believe significant opportunities emerge where cutting-edge technology meets specialized expertise. Our mission is to help innovative organizations navigate new market landscapes to achieve meaningful growth.

Techstars helps founders scale their startups into world-changing businesses. Founded in 2006, Techstars is on a mission to invest in startups to enable more capital to flow to more entrepreneurs around the world in order to deliver exceptional returns to our investors. We do this by operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, as well as by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Our results show why Techstars is Better for Founders than any other global accelerator: On average, 74.5% of Techstars companies will raise money within 3 years of their program; 18.5% of Techstars portfolio companies have exited 5 years after their program and 31.1% after eight years. (PitchBook June 2023)

I2PURE is a biotechnology company based in Northern Virginia. I2PURE creates novel, uncomplexed iodine formulations for the prevention, treatment and cures for diseases and conditions of the skin. Our molecular iodine formulations can be used as disinfectants for surfaces, surgical grafts, and implants and surgical lavages. I2PURE has isolated the only antiseptic iodine species, molecular iodine (I2), to which pathogens have no defense. The biocidal power of molecular iodine enables a fresh approach to stemming the problems and devastation caused by viruses, bacteria and fungus. Our molecular iodine chemistry is in numerous testing trials around the globe. Studies include wound irrigation to the coating of medical devices. I2PURE is the first company in the world to offer a patent pending, non-staining iodine product that kills viruses, bacteria, and fungi with persistence to kill pathogens for 6-24 hours. In our product pipeline, we have applications that span Over the Counter Nutraceutical, Agricultural, Surface and Water Purification products. Our elite chemistry is non-staining, non-irritating, efficacious against all known pathogens at 1,500 ppm of active I2 and certified nontoxic by a 3rd party 24-hour in vitro cytotoxicity study. I2PURE molecular iodine chemistry can be formulated at a variety of parts per million from 30 to 66,000 to meet specific need. Our formulations can be included as an ingredient in a wide range of products. I2PURE's molecular iodine formulations are made in the U.S. We are a Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB). All of our founders have a strong military background and focus on mission.

HawkEye 360 is equipping defense, intelligence and national security leaders with mission-critical signals intelligence to enable faster, better decision making. By detecting, geolocating, and characterizing radio frequency emissions worldwide, HawkEye 360 delivers trusted domain awareness and early warning indicators to the US Government and allied partners. Our space-based collection, proprietary signal processing, and AI-powered analytics transform knowledge of RF spectrum into a strategic advantage. Proven by operational mission success, HawkEye 360 is redefining how signals intelligence strengthens national and global security. HawkEye 360 was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.