Empowering Defense and Government Tech Founders to secure capital, revenue and traction
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 Defense and Government Companies.
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 help you bridge the gap between grants and recurring revenue contracts by building relationships with relevant stakeholders for your company and 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
Don’t give away equity to the wrong investors with an inadequate process: Founders spend 50% or more of their time in preparation for a capital raise and during active outreach to secure leads. But how do you know you’re getting the best terms sheet when you’re counting on a handful of offers?
Wasting time on investor pitch calls: Our team of 40 dedicated analysts screen and qualify investors before they screen you on Call 1.
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 Traction. The government acquisition process is complex, but your company’s run rate, timeline and funding is not infinite. Unsuccessful startups often underestimate the difficulty of execution.
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 on the product, rather than expending your time on conducting exploratory capital outreach.
Our Results-Driven Mechanism
At Enliven Pathfinder, we focus on delivering measurable results, not just services. Our proprietary process drives your success through:
A fully-licensed investment banking team
A team of dedicated capital market analysts
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.
Why Choose Enliven Pathfinder?
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We work with a select group of clients to ensure focused attention and exceptional outcomes.
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Our team comprises seasoned business operators and military leaders who understand the nuances of government and defense tech.
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We commit to delivering tangible results within a defined timeframe
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Fractional services allow you to access expert support without full-time employee commitments.
Unique Story: We’ve Been There
Our unique perspective fuels our passion to help founders like you succeed. We’ve sat on both sides of the table—as startup leaders and as government and defense industry stakeholders. We’ve created acquisition requirements and substantial contracts while in government and we’ve experienced the struggles of navigating government acquisitions and scaling early-stage companies.
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
We’ve learned from the mistakes we’ve witnessed and can help you avoid them.
The Team
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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.
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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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Jim Gill 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.
Jim has served as a strategic advisor in both the public and private sectors to political leaders, Senior Government leaders, investors, executives and boards of directors. He recently was senior advisor and industry commissioner at the Atlantic Council’s Commission on Defense Innovation
Adoption and is currently a Strategic Advisory at Enliven Advisory and serves on advisory bords of several technology companies focused on National Security and Government Sectors. He is co-author of the book “Don’t Sell Yourself Short” and is an Ambassador at The Special Operations Warrior Foundation.