RE: A little reminder of what we're backing here27 Feb 2026 11:38
Andrew McCartney wrote:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 "𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆" (𝗢𝗿: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲)
I’ve always lived by a specific mantra: "Nothing is worth doing except what the world says is impossible."
It sounded heroic when I was a startup founder. Now that we are building the UK’s first software-focused sovereign Defence PLC, I realise just how high we set the bar. I sometimes joke that "slightly difficult" might have been better for my blood pressure, but honestly? I wouldn’t trade this level of impact or velocity for anything.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝘃𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗟𝗖 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅
For the last decade, we lived in the "Startup Crucible". We had a cloak of invisibility. We could pivot, break things, and spend 3-5 years navigating the "Valley of Death" to get a pilot, and nobody outside the room had to know.
Now? We’ve flipped the physics.
Building Defence Holdings PLC has been the wildest ride of my career. The irony is that as a regulated PLC, everyone assumes you get slower. The reality? We are moving at "Wartime Pace".
We are executing in months, not years. We are seeing velocity I’ve never experienced in this sector, partnering with the world’s largest tech companies to deliver sovereign capability to the most complex users on the planet (Defence & National Security).
𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆" 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺
But here is the catch and the hardest part of this transition:
In a startup, you build a cool thing, you tweet about it.
In a Defence PLC, you build a world-changing thing, and then you enter the "Messaging Paradox":
1. Build it. (Fast)
2. Validate it with the customer. (Fast)
3. Formalise it with massive tech partners. (Complex)
4. Regulatory Sign-off because we are a PLC and market integrity is everything. (Strict)
We are running a sprint, but the press release is legally required to take a leisurely stroll.
It creates this strange period of "Silent Velocity". We are doing the most important work of our lives, hitting the exact tempo the SDR asked for, bringing the ecosystem to UK Defence at speed, but we have to be quieter than ever about it until the paperwork catches up.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲
We are building the impossible. We are bridging the gap between hyperscale tech and national security. And we are doing it in the public markets.
Honestly, even writing this post was a strategic operation. I had to pause and think: "Who might I offend? Did I inadvertently disclose a regulated milestone? Is this compliant?".
But that’s the job. The "𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲" is just standard operating procedure now.
Back to work. (And hopefully, back to announcing what we've been up to soon!)
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