Today Vector announced it has raised over $61m, with a vision to build the next great modern defense tech company. We at Pelion are very proud to have led Vector’s series A, and I wanted to share more on why we invested in Vector.
First, a quick story.
Not long ago, Ben Lambert and I heard that George Matus Jr, – who was the founder of another Pelion company years ago (Teal Drones) – was starting a new business focused on modernizing our country’s defense. We were immediately excited. George is a special founder and the time seemed right to help our country onshore critical defense technologies, especially drones.
That’s when we met Andy Yakulis, the CEO of Vector, and George’s co-founder. Andy is a former special operations leader from the Army who experienced the problem first hand and knew that our defense needed to be modernized. After our first pitch with Andy, Ben and I called each other extremely excited. We knew Andy and George were special.
Andy invited us out to Washington DC to meet in person and to get to know each other better, and that’s when we really knew Vector would become a special company.
Why?
For one, Andy asked us if we’d be open to meeting in Arlington Cemetery. That’s a first. We arrived in sweltering heat, and were fortunate enough to have a several hour tour of the cemetery with Andy serving as our guide. At the end of the conversation, Andy led us to sacred spot in the cemetery, where he shared more about his motivation for starting Vector, the type of company he planned to build, and who he wanted as partners. It was an emotional conversation. I will never forget it.
As we flew back to Utah from DC, we knew we had to lead Vector’s series A. Thankfully, Andy agreed to let Pelion invest.
It is safe to say that the primary reason for our excitement is the team: Andy, George, Larsen Jensen, and Matt Long (the 4 founders) are exceptional. But we also believe the tailwinds are very strong.
US defense needs to modernize. President Trump has made it a national priority. But the way the government purchases products is outdated – by the time the purchase is approved, the product cycle has passed and a new version of products is available, making our military perpetually behind. Andy had an insight: what if we innovated on the business model as well as the product, and sold services to the military to start, opening a pathway to sell products as well? This approach had multiple benefits: not only does it streamline the buying process, but it helps Vector build better products by getting continual feedback directly from the warfighter.
Vector has been on a tear since we invested. They’ve launched new products, like the Vector Hammer, with many more to come. They are landing massive contracts. The business model innovation is working – Vector is closely tied to our nation’s top military teams, ensuring we are well prepared as a company and country for whatever comes.
Right team. Right market. Right time. That’s why we are so proud to partner with Vector.
always happy; never satisfied 