From Startup to Defense Supplier: Building a Stronger Defense Industrial Base

The Department of Defense (DoD) has spent decades building programs to attract innovative small businesses and accelerate emerging technology into the defense market. Yet according to former Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Small Business Programs Director Farooq Mitha, the department was still losing 3 to 5 percent of its small business Defense Industrial Base each year. The challenge facing defense innovation is no longer simply finding promising technologies. It's creating pathways that allow innovative companies to grow, compete, and remain part of the Defense Industrial Base.In this episode, host Dr. Arun Seraphin sits down with Mitha, now CEO of the Imbue Group, to discuss the evolving role of small businesses in Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition, emerging technology, and innovation. Drawing on more than a decade of experience inside the Pentagon, Mitha reflects on efforts to expand small business participation, modernize programs such as Mentor-Protégé, and strengthen pathways for emerging companies to compete in the defense market while supporting the Defense Industrial Base.Seraphin and Mitha also examine the growing role of venture capital in national security, emerging technology investment, and the Pentagon's efforts to connect private investment with defense priorities. As Mitha notes, "the government cannot out-invest the private sector," but attracting capital is only part of the challenge. The harder task is creating the demand signals, acquisition pathways, and growth opportunities that allow innovative firms to become enduring players in the Defense Industrial Base, strengthening the Department of Defense (DoD) innovation ecosystem and the broader defense market.For updates on our content, sign up for our weekly mailer: https://www.emergingtechnologiesinstitute.org/sign-up2026 NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition September 9-10, 2026, at the Walter E. Washington DC Convention Center: ndiatechexpo.orgBe sure to follow us on social media for updates, early access to upcoming events, inside scoops, & more:LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4htROo0 Twitter: https://bit.ly/48LHAx3 Facebook: https://bit.ly/47vlht8And for more podcasts, articles, & publications on emerging technology, check out our website at: ndiaeti.org #DefenseInnovation #DefenseIndustrialBase #Departmentofdefense #DefenseMarket #EmergingTechnology Keywords:-          Defense Industrial Base-          Department of Defense (DOD)-          Defense Market-          Emerging Technology