About Scott
Scott Sanders' understanding of defense technology was forged in the field. As a MARSOC team leader, he experienced firsthand the frustrations of legacy military systems - like hauling around massive racks of servers just to get basic blue force tracking signals. After leaving active duty, he dove into the emerging defense tech ecosystem, helping build Anduril's early mission operations team, leading business development at Vannevar Labs, and now serving as Chief Growth Officer at Forterra. His superpower? A rare ability to translate between warfighter needs and technical capabilities, while building the trust necessary to get new technology into the field.
About Forterra
Formerly known as RRAI, Forterra is revolutionizing ground autonomy for both defense and commercial applications. Their mission is simple but ambitious: get humans out of harm's way. While many startups chase flashy features, Forterra focuses on building autonomous systems that work "nearly every time" in the most demanding environments. Their approach is working: they've secured major programs like Rogue Fires with Oshkosh, where they're helping the Marine Corps project force with minimal human footprint. With 265 employees and growing, they're proving that deep tech startups can successfully navigate the complex journey from R&D to production-scale deployment.
Key Takeaways
Trust is the Only Currency that Matters: In defense tech, you might only get half a dozen shots at product-market fit. Scott's team spends significant time researching and building relationships before engaging customers, ensuring they understand not just what customers want, but what they need.
The Best Defense Tech Starts Simple: Rather than trying to build an end-to-end solution immediately, Forterra delivers capabilities in "Lego blocks" that can be inserted into existing processes. This allows customers to adopt new technology incrementally while maintaining operational effectiveness.
R&D is Not a Business Model: While many startups get caught in endless research contracts, Forterra focuses on programs with scale potential from day one. They use private capital to invest ahead of customer requirements, shaping the market rather than just responding to it.
Multi-Product Strategy is Essential: Single-product companies rarely achieve venture scale in defense. Forterra's approach combines defense and commercial applications, providing multiple paths to growth while maintaining mission focus.
The Human Element Matters More than Tech: Despite building cutting-edge autonomy systems, Forterra's success comes from understanding human factors - from warfighter needs to customer trust to organizational incentives. As Scott puts it, "You can't do any of this without your customer."
For more about Forterra: forterra.com
For more about Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottbsanders/
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