Emily McMahan

Key Quotes

On US government investment in startups:

• “There’s a heightened awareness and movement that will continue for the government to identify and use better technology, and much of that technology is driven by commercial companies. Often, military veterans have the skills the tech industry seeks out — discipline, work ethic, problem-solving, leadership and exposure to cutting-edge technology — yet they lack the funding, network and mentorship to get their ideas off the ground. The Department of Defense is willing to invest in early funding to keep pace with rivals like China and Russia.”

Some advice for entrepreneurs:

• “Really emphasize the problem you’re trying to solve … it might be a problem you’re solving but it might not be scalable. Second is that you’re always working for somebody, so as an entrepreneur, it’s not about you, it’s about the person you’re trying to solve the problem for. It’s a life of being externally focused on solving problems for people

On having specific asks when approaching:

• “I love it when somebody has pretty well thought-out asks from us, because sometimes it’s hard. The more specific people can be with their asks, it just helps the conversation go that much quicker in terms of connections [in the network]. We’re just as happy to work with people who don’t know what they want, but I think that knowing what your ask might be, of Sherman, me, and the community is always really helpful and very well received.”

Career