Meet Decisive Point’s Newest Defense Venture Fellow
Q&A with Captain Tim Newton and Debi Jantzen of Decisive Point
Background: Tim leads the government team managing the design and construction of a fleet of new heavy icebreakers for the nation. As Decisive Point’s Defense Ventures Fellow, Tim is embedded with the Decisive Point team over the next two months to learn about how we invest in great founders addressing challenges facing the country and our communities.
- What motivated you to join the Shift Defense Ventures Fellowship Program?
A mentor called my attention to the Fellowship and recommended I apply. Shift has an amazing mission and I was fortunate to be selected to the program’s fifth cohort. We’re still working through COVID protocols and working closely online just like the rest of the world, but I’m looking forward to visiting Decisive Point in person.
2. What have been some of your initial thoughts about the venture space compared to your career in the public sector?
As stewards of the taxpayer’s investments, decisions happen much more slowly within the government acquisition process. Founders and venture investors assume risks and innovate at a very impressive pace, and I love the passion behind each idea. It is exciting to see the effort poured into founders’ visions especially when they lead to successful leaps in technology.
3. You’ve had a successful career in the Coast Guard, how has the environment/willingness for working with emerging technologies changed over the course of your career?
I hate to admit it, but I reported to my first assignment before email was a thing. We’ve made tremendous progress in the last 26 years, and I think the willingness to embrace new technologies has increased as well. We’re definitely not early adopters, but the government has moved into the early majority when we identify a capability we know we need. This is the only way we can remain competitive with our adversaries.
4. Looking towards the future, how do you anticipate using the skills and lessons learned during the fellowship program in your career in the Coast Guard?
I hope to combine my expertise in government acquisitions and the knowledge gained in this Fellowship to help close the resource gap between development and procurement to enable the adoption of new innovation more rapidly.
5. THE GUTS TO TRY: Entrepreneurs and founders take on calculated risks when starting their business. In 2019, the failure rate of startups was a staggering 90%. What has been the biggest risk you have taken in your professional career, and what have you learned from it?
Soldiers and sailors get basically the same benefits whether they deploy or not — and in an office job, the greatest risk is probably the commute. Choosing to return to sea was a passion for me despite the increased risk. In my last assignment, it was my privilege to command the crew of RELIANCE on patrols throughout the North Atlantic, Eastern Pacific and Carribean Basin — I have been fortunate to serve with some very fine sailors and I am better for it.
I’ll leave you with a quote from a favorite teller of sea stories, Lincoln Colcord, “Life brings its own education, and the life of the sea permits no truancy. It says to a man, learn to be a seaman or die. It takes no slurring answer, it gives no immunity… the ocean cannot be cheated… it may not be crossed except by those who know the stars.”
