Empowering Defense and Government Tech Founders and Leaders to secure Revenue, Capital and Scale
Enliven Pathfinder connects early and mid-stage Defense and Government-facing companies with value-added investors and key decision-makers. Our actionable strategies enable you to secure capital, convert grants into recurring revenue and achieve sustainable growth and scale.
Our Expertise:
We’re not a consulting service—we’re your dedicated partner - in the trenches, achieving measurable, quantitative outcomes.
A Trusted Partner for Early and Mid-Stage Companies focused on Defense, National Security and Government
At Enliven Pathfinder, we know the challenges early-stage startups face when navigating the complex defense and government ecosystem, because we’ve lived it. Our mission is to enable your company’s growth at speed. We bridge the gap between grants and recurring revenue contracts by building relationships with relevant stakeholders for your products.
Your Pain Points, Addressed; We understand the problems you’re facing:
Transitioning from grants to recurring revenue: Moving beyond SBIR grants, OTA prototype contracts and R&D funding can be daunting without a clear, diversified strategy
Limited networks: Building relationships within the sprawling government and defense ecosystem is overwhelming unless you know the right people
Product-Market fit uncertainty: Fighting for access to and feedback from a narrow pool of government stakeholders
Fundraising fatigue: Endless cold pitches and LinkedIn deep dives distract you from securing revenue
Choosing the right investors as strategic partners to enable growth and scale while minimizing dilution
Our team of dedicated capital market analysts secure capital for early stage companies by engaging with investors, scheduling calls, and getting you to the most qualified investors efficiently and effectively
Challenges with compliance and securing partnerships: Not securing the right prime partners or non-compliance with cybersecurity regulatory hurdles will unnecessarily delay securing prime contracts
What We Believe
Founders need Revenue, Capital and Scale. Unsuccessful startups often underestimate the difficulty and complexity of government go to market.
Hiring more employees does not generate near-term revenue or traction. Getting connected by experts with the right opportunities and stakeholders delivers results more quickly at a fraction of the cost.
We believe that founders should focus more time on the product rather than activities not informed by a well developed strategic go to market plan. Unsuccessful startups often underestimated the difficulty of execution.
Our Results-Driven Mechanism: Revenue, Capital and Scale
At Enliven Pathfinder, we focus on delivering measurable results, not services. Our proprietary process drives your success through:
A dedicated team focused on delivering capital from the most qualified, relevant investors
Actionable Market Insights: over the horizon pathfinding
Strategic Stakeholder Mapping
Informed Product-Market Fit
Actionable Market Insights: Gain a competitive edge with in-depth analysis and strategic recommendations.
End-to-End Support: From capital raising to contract negotiation, our team integrates seamlessly with your business to provide ongoing guidance and execution.
The Team
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Jim has more than forty years of experience in highly competitive and complex operating environments in both the private on public sector. Hehas varied and extensive experience as an author, executive, entrepreneur, investor, and strategic advisor. Jim is a technology industry veteran who has served in operational and executive leadership roles from Director to CEO and has helped build, scale and lead teams at all stages of growth from startups to a billion dollars in annual revenue.
He is a retired United States Army Senior NCO and Combat Veteran, having served for over two decades as a soldier, trainer, and leader with tours in Central America, the United States, Cold War Europe, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq.
He is a recognized thought leader in technology solutions, leadership, innovation, and edge thinking in both the Public and Private Sectors. He has been a contributing author to Chief Learning Officer Magazine, The Atlantic, GovLoop and has been interviewed by the National Journal, Military Training Technology, the Denver Post, Federal News Radio, Nextgov , ASTD Magazine, Federal Computer Weekly and other outlets.
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Jason brings over 25 years of experience in both special operations and defense tech. As COO, he has led the revenue and operations teams in AI/ML defense and commercial industries as well as serving in the US Air Force as a Colonel, where he commanded all Air Force Special Ops in the Indo-Pacific, as well as managing a $1Bn portfolio consisting of 19,000 personnel and a fleet of 270 combat aircraft. He was given the honorific callsign, 'Diesel' after completing Air Force Weapons School, the equivalent of Top Gun. Diesel has secured numerous multi-million dollar recurring revenue contracts with the US Army, US Air Force, and US Special Operations.
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Marc Vezina is a seasoned entrepreneur and forward-thinking business executive with over 25 years of experience in private and institutional wealth management. In addition to his leadership role with Enliven, Marc has been an active investor, mentor, and board member with global “first mover” companies.
With his exceptional financial acumen and depth and breadth of leadership experience, Marc has helped multiple companies achieve their operational and transactional goals. He cut his teeth as a senior executive in the wealth management industry for over two decades prior to Enliven.
Marc is a firm believer that social impact is a C-Suite issue. Together with his brother, he co-founded ZSchool in 2017 (now the Z-17 Collective), a global education nonprofit connecting young people, social entrepreneurs and social impact events around technology for good and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Marc received his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics and holds his Series 7 securities license.
Why Choose Pathfinder: We’ve Been There
Our unique perspective fuels our passion to help founders like you succeed. We have a deep understanding of the government acquisition ecosystem. We align the requirement, the funding vehicle, and the stakeholders at every level. We have decades of operational experience and deep relationships at the end user and senior leadership level.
We’ve seen great startups not get the attention they deserve
We’ve endured inexperienced consultants overpromising and underdelivering
We’ve seen startups waste tons of money on non value-added skill sets
We’ve seen the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly