BMNT Partners Year-In-Review 2017

MISSION RESULTS
™
2017 HACKING FOR DEFENSE

BMNT'S BREAKTHROUGH YEAR…
Over the past year we’ve leveraged insights gleaned from
client engagements, industry experts and internal experiments
to mature our innovation methodology to a new level. Using
what we learned in building Hacking for Defense™ (H4D™),
we’ve now connected a number of activities to create an
innovation pipeline that we call Hacking for X® (H4X®).
H4X® is a disciplined, evidence-based, data-driven process for
connecting innovation activities into an accountable system
that rapidly delivers solutions to hard problems.
Through partnerships with elite academic institutions such as
Stanford, Columbia, and Georgetown, innovative military
organizations like DIUx, MD5, the National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Ofﬁce of Naval Research (ONR),
the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), and countless bleeding
edge technology startups, we’ve created a vibrant ecosystem
that is purpose-driven to identify, isolate, and solve hard
problems in a variety of environments.
While we’re proud of how far we’ve come, we’ve only just
begun.
2017 Mission Results 2017 Mission ResultsBMNT BMNT1 2

CONTENTS
05 How to Use This Document
07
19
What We Do
Who Works with Us
23 Key Lessons / Case Studies
37
11 H4D™ By the Numbers
15 How We Work
17 Innovation Pipeline
How We Helped Customers
35 BMNT’S Non-Proﬁt Partner - H4Di
41 What’s New with the Company

HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT
Every day we focus on helping our customers quickly
identify, validate, and solve mission-critical problems.
As they move towards implementing those solutions
within their organizations, it’s important for them to be
able to explain what they have accomplished, how it’s
different from what they’ve done in the past and from
work with other companies, what sort of results they’re
achieving, and how those results impact their bottom
line.
They also want to understand the success we’ve had with
customers in other industries. We intend for this
document to help them deliver that message.

WHAT WE DO
We build
relationships with
experts and
leaders in key
industries so we
can leverage their
expertise.
Build
Networks
We work with
clients to identify,
clarify, refine and
score problems
so that we can
focus on what’s
most important.
Validate
Problems
We facilitate
client teams
through a
rigorous process
to deliver tested
solutions with
quantified
improvements.
Discover
Solutions
We help
customers
implement and
scale solutions for
maximum benefit.
Create Solution
Pathways

“[H4X®] provided us with the
foundation on which to build
solutions to longstanding
problems that seemed
previously immutable.”
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
Security Authorization
“H4X® is absolutely worth
pursuing if given the
opportunity. The avenues
that we didn’t know we had
have now come to light.”
- Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Space
Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) (Acquisitions)
GREAT THINGS OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING

H4D™ BY THE NUMBERS
71 Problems forwarded to .edu H4D™ programs
10 H4X® courses taught
28 Technical Terrain Walks (TTWs) completed
23 H4X® Sprints executed by BMNT
Problems submitted206
112 Problems rejected
Actvities Executed
2 Solutions in incubation @ H4X® Labs
Solutions funded17
6 New companies formed
Solutions Delivered
245 University students in H4D™ courses
3000 Interviews conducted
86 Government organizations participating
University teaching teams certiﬁed32
11 Universities offering H4D™
Network Building

As the problem owner, I
wasn't sure what to expect.
But, the guidance of the
facilitators ensured we got
through the messy parts and
continued moving forward. I
was pleasantly surprised
with the number of tools/
techniques and the variety,
as different people think/
learn in different ways.
- IC program manager (DIA)
“H4X® is a great workﬂow
upset that forces you to
confront all the pieces of a
complex problem.”
- 480th Intelligence Surveillance and
Reconnaissance (ISR) Wing

We help our clients solve hard problems. While most
clients possess some of the capabilities required to
discover and deliver solutions for their most pressing
challenges, they are often missing something that
prevents them from extracting maximum value.
And that’s where we shine. We function as the connective
tissue for organizations that want to go further than
they’ve gone in the past. Our understanding of this role
in achieving breakthroughs is reﬂected in our updated
2018 product portfolio:
HOW WE WORK
Problem Curation
Playbook
TTW Playbook Workshop Playbook Experimentation
Playbook
After Action Report
Storytelling Pre-read
Experiment Results
Experiment Pre-
read
Action Plan
Workshop Pre-read
Market Survey
TTW Pre-read
Problem Statement
Problem Curation
Pre-read
Welcome Packet
Mission Model Canvas
Value Proposition Canvas
Workﬂow
ACTIVITIES
PRE-READS
ARTIFACTS
TRAINING
MATERIALS
DELIVERABLES
Workshop Senior Leaders
Brief
Kickoff Technical
Terrain Walk
Problem
Curation
MVP Testing

INNOVATION PIPELINE
The H4X® Innovation Pipeline is a disciplined, evidence-
based, data-driven process for connecting innovation
activities into an accountable system that rapidly delivers
solutions to hard problems. This is a battle-proven
methodology for driving innovation that comes from:
• Knowledge gleaned from decades of attacking
emerging, persistent and complex problems
• An extensive network of government (including military
and intelligence), industry and academic experts
• Access to equity capital, government contracting
mechanisms, labs and manufacturing facilities
Days Days - Weeks Days - Weeks
Problem Curation Prioritization
Weeks - Months
Solution Exploration /
Hypothesis Testing
Weeks - Months
Incubation
Weeks - Months
IntegrationInnovation Sourcing
Horizon 3
Disruptive
Network Bulding
Problem Validation
Solution Validation
Solution Delivery
Ideas
Technology
Problems
Problem Statement
Use Cases
Market Survey
Quickwins Graveyard
I-CORPS/H4D/H4X
Disruptive Opportunity
Capability Renewal
Engineering

WHO WORKS WITH US
Government
Commercial
U.S. National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency
U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
U.S. Army Research LabU.S. Air Force Space and Missile
Center
U.S. Ofﬁce of the
Undersecretary of Defense for
Intelligence
U.S. Joint Improvised-Threat
Defeat Organization
Australian Department of
Defence, Defense Science &
Technology Group
U.S Defense Innovation Unit
Experimental
U.S. National Security Agency U.S. Air Force 480th
Intelligence, Surveillance, and
Reconnaissance Wing
National Media Exploitation
Center
U.S. Army Cyber Command MD5U.S. Ofﬁce of Naval Research
Booz Allen HamiltonAdvocate Lutheran General
Hospital
Alion Robert C. Byrd Institute:
Advanced Manufacturing
EY General Mills

“Thanks again for pulling
together H4D™ (Hacking for
Defense™). We have
sponsored two projects now
and the beneﬁts to our
workforce have been huge --
not just in the way they
approach their work, but
also in the way they teach
others. H4D™ is making a
huge difference, sometimes
in subtle ways and
sometimes in very overt
ways. Thank you."
- National Security Agency (NSA)
“H4X® Sprint is valuable to
begin changing
organizational culture
around capability
development.”
- Army Cyber

KEY LESSONS / CASE STUDIES
USAF Multi-Domain Operating Center (MDOC)
We taught a client how to kill a project and save $500M.
BMNT partnered with DIUX to engage MDOC, run 2 Sprint
workshops, and develop 2 Minimum Viable Products (MVPs).
The client used the outcome to secure $5M in funding from
the project sponsor. The results from those pilots led to the
cancellation of a contract that saved $500M that would
otherwise have been wasted. MDOC spent less than 1% of
the program cost to determine that the proposed solution
was the wrong one and then kill the project.
Joint Improvised Threat Defeat Agency (JIDO)
In 3 days, we introduced top, most-relevant Augmented
Reality (AR) companies in the country and enabled them to
discuss needs, demo headsets and understand technology
limitations.
BMNT partnered with JIDO to run a Technical Terrain Walk
(TTW) followed by a Sprint Workshop to explore the
feasibility of using a handheld device to integrate new
Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) capabilities into an
existing defense platform. Normal procurement for such a
project was slow and costly. BMNT helped the client rapidly
award funds to multiple non-traditional vendors for
integration work on their hardware platform via the Army
Research Lab and researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.
BMNT was able to help JIDO identify vendors and develop a
Statement of Work and award money within 6 months (a
process that could normally take 2-4 times as long).
Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx)
We helped the client quickly find and engage the right
partner and quickly fund the development of the solution.
BMNT helped the DIUx find and and purchase next-
generation technology for Counter Unmanned Aerial
Systems (CUAS). We ran a TTW to expose the customer to
leading experts in the space and define the range of the
work to be done. The customer awarded over $1.8M in
funding to non-traditional technology companies identified
and engaged during the TTW. These groups are now
working together to explore how to build the right solution.

“[We conducted] more
research in a day and a half
than anyone [internal to this
organization has done to
date] on this problem.”
- Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Senior Expert -
Relative to the TTW
“H4X® validated commercial
interest in our datasets from
companies we would not
have otherwise interacted
with.”
- Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Space
Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) Future Ground and
Exploitation Division

USAF Space-Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) Future
Ground and Exploitation Division - SBIRS Tools,
Applications and Processing (TAP) Lab
We leveraged H4D™ to develop an understanding of the
dual use potential of their defense focused product data (i.e.
valuable both to defense/intel and commercial users).
In a H4D™ Sprint (Problem curation, Technical Terrain Walk
(TTW), Workshop), the SBIRS team worked rapidly through
the steps needed to deliver an Minimum Viable Product
(MVP) of their space-based infrared (IR) datasets. We
exposed the SBIRS team to leading edge technology and
companies working with Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) algorithms to exploit data coming from
space-based assets. Numerous early stage companies (who
are not traditional suppliers to the defense and intelligence
industry) validated the assumption that commercial
companies would be interested in using SBIRS IR data sets to
build their commercial capabilities. This activity could
ultimately lead to delivering more robust product back to the
USAF to exploit their own data. The validated commercial
interest in their IR datasets justifies continuing to fight for
declassification and making the effort to engage with
companies that are non-traditional defense suppliers. This
activity accelerated the pathway to de-classifying data sets to
provide to companies as an Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
to learn the value of the data, explore use cases, build
commercial remote sensing exploitation algorithms, and
expand the ecosystem of partners.
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) - Budget Execution
We used an H4D™ sprint to help an intelligence agency to
develop better internal management tools. They developed
three solutions pathways and are testing two in order to
provide simplicity and transparency to the way they operate
and manage their budget.
While this project is ongoing, the H4D™ Sprint resulted in
three Minimum Viable Products (MVP). First, DIA developed
and began testing an Application Programming Interface
(API) with a leading data integration company. This API
would integrate the legacy databases that analysts use to
record and track business operations. DIA also tested
whether analysts could teach the API to provide advance
warning of the agency under-executing its budget. Second,
DIA began investigating the utility of a customized
"dashboard" for every level of the agency. This tool can
visualize the current status of budget execution for each
person in the workflow. Despite client excitement about the
solution, the third MVP, was scrapped due to unforeseen
political issues within the agency. The H4D™ Sprint provided
the problem owner with validated approach to shift the
balance of their day-to-day efforts. With these solutions, they
can increase time invested in analyzing their programs for
effectiveness, and decrease time spent merely calculating
how much of their budget they've spent. This capability can
lead to improved business operations and budget decisions.

“This process, in a short
amount of time, changed the
direction and focus of my
research.”
- Army Research Lab Problem Owner
“We need to bring in this
process at the strategic level
to inform how we determine
our research priorities.”
- Army Research Lab Senior Leadership
"We need to do more of
these with other users.”
- Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO)

Army Research Lab (ARL)
We piloted an approach to apply H4X® to the transfer and
commercialization of ARL research and technologies and led
to the redirection of $2M in funding.
ARL wanted to explore early technology transfer
opportunities for thermo-photovoltaic (TPV) technology to
be used in a man-portable power generator. We explored
potential commercial markets and opportunities for co-
development of the technology and then conducted a
Beneficiary Discovery workshop that invalidated the near-
term viability of commercial markets. ARL subsequently
explored other transition opportunities and identified early
adoption use cases. The workshop identified new research
avenues and ultimately shifted the near-term direction of
ARL's research from smaller to larger scale applications.
Workshop lessons prioritized and guided ARL's investment
of $2 million in funding for TPV R&D. ARL Researchers broke
with traditional research lab paradigms and found value in
reaching out to end-users to improve their understanding of
what research must be accomplished. A coalition of
supporters around TPV was formed, MVPs and an
experimentation plan were developed moving forward.
Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO)
Beneficiary Workshops - LA & Alexandria
We helped JIDO understand and communicate its value to its
end users and expand its knowledge of commercially
available solutions.
We hosted two one-day Beneficiary Discovery workshops in
our Los Angeles, CA and Alexandria, VA offices. Attendees
included, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) robot
operators, robot manufacturers, robot Program Managers
(PMs) and industry leaders in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and
Machine Learning(ML). In these workshops, robot operators
and makers discussed technical limitations of current robots
and learned how State-of-the-Art (SOTA) AI/ML systems
could help resolve current robot limitations. Participants
learned who would use the solution, how they would use it,
and what technologies might be feasible. After the Los
Angeles session, at least one, robot maker continued follow-
on conversations with an industry leader to explore how to
implement identified solutions, while another robot operator
met with Shield.ai for detailed product demo. The Alexandria
session led to follow-on discussions between JIDO and
leading AI/ML companies, and invitations to the FOCUS
Hackathon (hosted by JIDO) that would allow them to
explore and prototype important solutions. JIDO is using
innovation leadership activities like this to extend its reach to
be viewed as the nucleus of robot solutions for the
warfighter...not just for drones.

“[H4X®] allows stakeholders
to get to the root of the
problem by dispelling
misunderstandings and
teaming to resolve what’s
left.”
- NGA Security Authorization
“The experience has been
transformational for the
students and the college.”
- Defense Aquisition University (DAU) (Special
Assistant to the Dean)

BMNT’S NON-PROFIT PARTNER - H4Di
H4Di, BMNT’s non-proﬁt partner, provides a pathway to
identify and intake government problems and to certify
educators to deliver the H4D™ course in a university
setting.
Started at Stanford in early 2016, Hacking for Defense™
(H4D™) is a graduate-level class that brings together
bright and motivated engineering, business, and policy
students to work on a government problem over the
course of a semester, where they rapidly iterate
prototypes and produce solutions.
In 2017, H4D™ was taught at eight schools: Stanford
University, Georgetown University, Columbia University,
James Madison University, University of Pittsburgh, Boise
State University, University of Southern Mississippi, and
Defense Acquisition University. In 2018, we expect to
expand to another 15 universities, for a total of 23.
Congress has recognized the value that H4D™ delivers.
The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
authorized the Secretary of Defense to allocate $15M to
support Hacking For Defense™ programs around the
country, highlighting that "... by presenting national
security problems to universities and education centers,
increasingly diverse stakeholder participation will aid in
the rapid development of solutions to national security
challenges and improve Department of Defense (DOD)
recruitment of young technologists and engineers with
critical skill sets, including cyber capabilities."
H4Di was very productive in 2017. From the 206
problems submitted to BMNT for curation, H4Di
distributed 71 problems to university programs that
were worked on by 245 university students. As a result
of the H4D™ University Programs, 6 new companies
were formed and funded.

HOW WE HELPED CUSTOMERS
Improved customer outcomes are the best evidence of
success. Nothing makes us happier than to see our clients
achieve something that was previously elusive or thought
impossible or that would have taken months -- or even
years -- longer using their traditional approach.
We’ve selected a few of our customer success stories to
illustrate the impact of a successful project:
Customer Outcome: $500M Capital Freed
A “pivot” is a change in strategy without a change in
vision. Many organizations suffer from a “zombie
projects” problem - projects that continue on long after
it’s clear that the project output will fail to meet user
needs. We helped a client turn a small investment into
several 3 to 6 month pilots that gave them enough data
to justify killing such a zombie project, freeing $500M for
investment in more agile solutions.
Critical Success Factor: Making a “pivot,
persevere or kill” decision
Customer Outcome: Reduction in Time to Market
During a 3-day sprint, we introduced a client to the top,
most relevant Augmented Reality (AR) companies in the
country, enabling them to discuss needs, use the
hardware, and understand the technology limitations.
They left that sprint with a plan of action and a
committed team that built a solution in days that would
otherwise have taken months.
Critical Success Factor: Rapid engagement
with the right partner at the right time
Customer Outcome: Increased Impact and Effects
We helped several clients develop a richer and broader
understanding of their problem sets. This enabled them
to prioritize activities and resources to focus on the ones
with the most impact.
Critical Success Factor: Focusing on solving
the right problems ﬁrst

Customer Outcome: Increased Relevance
We helped an intelligence agency understand and
communicate its value to its end users so they
understood how the agency provided value. Additionally,
we helped the agency expand its knowledge of
commercially available solutions so that it could better
execute those missions.
C r i t i c a l S u c c e s s Fa c t o r : Fo c u s i n g
communications and outreach to build
knowledge and awareness
Customer Outcome: Reduction in Time to Value
We helped a client quickly ﬁnd and engage the right
partner and quickly fund the development of the
solution.
Critical Success Factor: Rapidly evaluating
potential partners and engaging an effective
funding mechanism
Customer Outcome: Better Use of Funds
We piloted an approach to apply H4X® to the transfer
and commercialization of research and technologies that
led to the redirection of over $2M in funding.
Critical Success Factor: Using data and
evidence versus opinion and politics
Customer Outcome: Improved Process and Tools
We helped an intelligence agency develop better
internal management tools. They developed three
solution pathways and are testing two in order to provide
simplicity and transparency to the way they operate and
manage their budget.
Critical Success Factor: Better metrics and
internal control processes
Critical Success Factor: Demonstrating the
dual-use value of an existing product
Customer Outcome: Increased Market Valuation
We helped a client develop an understanding of the
commercial / dual use value of their defense-focused
product data.

WHAT’S NEW WITH THE
COMPANY
In 2017, we grew our Palo Alto office, expanded our team, and stood up three new offices.
We’ve also expanded our offering portfolio...
And we’ve only just begun! We’ve got big growth plans for 2018 that include...
• Expanding H4X® Labs to incubate, fund and grow startups from emerging solutions
• Adding new customers in National Security and Commercial sectors
• Expanding the breadth and depth of our talented team across the country
• Adding new offices to create a present in Austin, Boston & Boulder
• Expanding our program offerings to support manufacturing, urban resilience &
healthcare
• At least doubling the number of universities participating in H4Di
• Accelerated Sprint Workshop
• Experimentation Playbook
• New Problem Curation Software
• New Problem Assessment Algorithm
• New Workshops (Beneficiary Discovery, Problem Curation)
DC Boston
Palo Alto
LA
We’re proud to say we’re a work in progress. As a bootstrapped startup, our growth is
dependent upon -- and a reflection of -- actual customer validation of the impact of the
work we do together. We deliberately review the “how” and “why” behind our successes
and failures so that we can adjust accordingly to continually exceed our customers’
expectations.

BMNT Partners Year-In-Review 2017

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