EP 1 — 47G's Aaron Starks on Why VCs Are Finally Betting on Hard Tech

Utah's aerospace and defense sector drives 20% of the state's annual economic activity and impacts 500,000 jobs, yet the industry struggled with fragmentation until Aaron Starks, Co-founder, President, & CEO, founded 47G as an industry-led private nonprofit. The organization's structure is intentionally dual-purpose: one side connects 200 member companies with buyers, partners, and investors through annual planning sessions, while the other executes state economic development priorities like building spaceports and developing rare earth element extraction. 

Aaron reflects on how the venture capital landscape for defense and hard tech companies is shifting dramatically after years of exclusive focus on software-as-a-service companies offering 10x returns in 18 months. Aaron identifies two critical factors driving this change: federal involvement actively de-risking investments, and procurement reform finally allowing commercial innovators to compete with defense primes. He also offers a contrarian take on workforce development: companies claiming they can't find engineers should ask themselves how many students they've personally taken to lunch, because with just that connection, the probability of them joining and recruiting their peers increases dramatically.

Topics discussed:

• How a dual structure as both industry-led nonprofit and state economic development partner creates leverage by combining private sector networks with public infrastructure priorities.
• The venture capital shift from exclusive software-as-a-service focus to hard tech investment driven by federal de-risking.
• How procurement reform is creating opportunities for commercial innovators with attritable technology.
• The convergence of previously siloed verticals where energy now powers every aspect of aerospace, defense, and space operations.
• A contrarian workforce development model where companies must actively compete for students through personal relationship building.
• How revenue-based membership pricing ensures accessibility while maintaining sustainability, with companies never turned away but expected to renew at higher rates as their businesses grow.
• International market development through delegations to connect member companies with buyers, partners, and investors.
• The importance of making aerospace and defense accessible by helping founders communicate what they do.