TurbineOne’s Court Vanzant on Education, Discomfort, & Veteran Paths To Defense Entrepreneurship

Court Vanzant, Chief Growth Officer at TurbineOne, offers a veteran entrepreneur framework that rejects the comfort trap: get a formal education to build hard skills, then deliberately seek discomfort as the growth indicator. His metric for knowing you're in the right space is sustained imposter syndrome: if you feel comfortable and competent, you've stopped learning. For hardware startups, he challenges the VC orthodoxy on domestic manufacturing, arguing 40 years of offshoring created strategic vulnerabilities that demand US-based production despite higher costs. His counter-UAS market thesis targets $5 billion in military portables from the $35 billion global C-UAS budget.Topics Discussed:Why RF detection fails against fiber optic command wire and autonomous flight while radar cannot overcome terrain maskingAddressing weaponized racing drones functioning as precision munitions against unprotected individual soldiersCapturing $5 billion military portables segment within $35 billion global counter-UAS market using US-first manufacturing approachTransitioning from consulting careers to defense startups through formal MBA educationApplying Lean Six Sigma manufacturing principles from early career to current domestic hardware production strategyChallenging VC orthodoxy on hardware costs by arguing 40 years of offshoring created strategic vulnerabilities requiring US-based capacityResources: Lean Six SigmaMilitary Decision Making Process (MDMP)MilVetVeterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC)Office of Small Business Programs: Veterans ResourcesThe South Carolina Veterans Business Outreach Center (SC VBOC)The Honor FoundationDoW SkillBridgeBest Online MBA ProgramsMilitary MBA: Best Value MBA Programs for Vets Using Post-9/11 GI BillUpstate Warrior SolutionNorth Carolina Veterans Business Association