Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

  1. The Truth About Being a Defense Entrepreneur: Larsen Jenson Part II

    04/12/2025

    The Truth About Being a Defense Entrepreneur: Larsen Jenson Part II

    Larsen Jenson is a 2x Olympic medalist, former U.S. Navy Seal and founder of Harpoon Ventures and Vector Defense. Their convo covers: - Founders must thrive in discomfort. - Startup failure in the U.S. vs other countries. - Why Harpoon invested in Firestorm. 00:00 – Intro. 01:41 – The Origin Story: From almond farming to Olympic Silver and Bronze medals. 04:10 – Joining the Navy SEALs: Seeing the technology gap on the battlefield. 06:15 – The Psychology of Success: Being comfortable in uncomfortable situations. 09:40 – Just Start: Overcoming the fear of the unknown. 11:34 – The American Edge: Why the US startup culture is unique in the world. 15:28 – Failure vs. Scarlet Letters: The difference between US and UK business cultures. 19:17 – The Citadel Story: From stadium cameras to saving lives in combat. 22:00 – Real Impact: Meeting the soldier whose life was saved by the tech. 25:06 – Investment Thesis: Why Harpoon invested in Firestorm. 27:16 – The Future of Drone Warfare: The need for mass manufacturing. #Olympian #NavySEALs #EntrepreneurMindset #Leadership #Firestorm #Citadel #MassManufacturing #Startups #Resilience #InvestmentThesis About Drone Wars Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

    28 min
  2. America’s Defense Tech Revolution: Larsen Jenson Part I

    03/12/2025

    America’s Defense Tech Revolution: Larsen Jenson Part I

    Larsen Jenson is a 2x Olympic medalist, former U.S. Navy Seal and founder of Harpoon Ventures and Vector Defense. They dive into: - Founding one of the first defense tech VCs before anyone in Silicon Valley cared. - Geopolitical urgency and rapid tech progress. - VC trends: why physical products are making a comeback. Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: The "Tequila Story" and the shift in defense investing. 01:23 – Guest Introduction: Larsen Jensen and the Harpoon Ventures mission. 03:04 – Defining Dual-Use: How enterprise software powers the government. 05:13 – The Catalyst: Moving from counter-terror to Great Power Competition. 07:46 – The Hard Truth: Why the best product doesn't always win in the DOD. 11:03 – "The Future is Here": Autonomous systems, Ukraine, and structural reform. 13:20 – Defense Tech 2.0: Why top talent is finally opting into national security. 15:23 – Hardware is Hard (But Sticky): The resurgence of physical tech investing. 18:18 – The LLM Movement: Why AI is disrupting white-collar jobs first. 20:19 – Efficiency: How AI is rewriting government contracts and saving time. #DefenseTech #VentureCapital #DualUse #NationalSecurity #HarpoonVentures #AI #DeepTech #GovTech #SiliconValley #AcquisitionReform About Drone Wars Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.

    23 min

About

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.