experienced team

Multicycle industrial company builders and investors

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Operators Who Understand
High-Stakes Building

Jeff Crusey

General Partner

Jeff Crusey has spent his career building inside the hardest industrial environments, which gives him judgment forged in reality rather than in conference rooms. He backs founders early and helps them avoid common pitfalls while accelerating their climb from zero to one.

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Jeff Crusey

General Partner
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Ryan Duffy

Media Partner

Ryan is a media specialist turned deep tech operator at Array Labs, where he now heads business development for cutting-edge satellite hardware. Featured in the New York Times and an early, instrumental hire at Morning Brew and Payload, he’s now co-founder of Per Aspera, building massive audiences and networks around deep tech.

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Ryan Duffy

Media Advisor
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Kevin Compher

Venture Partner

Kevin is a deep tech investor and repeat founder (Foundation, OpenSpatial) with experience across the US Intelligence Community and In-Q-Tel. He has led dozens of investments in aerospace, robotics, and autonomy. Kevin works directly with technical founders navigating zero-to-one challenges in national security and industrial markets.

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Kevin Compher

Venture Partner
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Tim Ronan

Venture Partner

Tim is a mission-driven builder and aerospace engineer with 20 years of experience solving critical problems across government and the private sector. Previously an early engineer at Palantir, he served as Head of International Business Development, scaling the company from startup to IPO. Tim now leverages this expertise as an active early-stage investor.

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Tim Ronan

Venture Partner
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Steve Finder

Talent Advisor

Former SpaceX Head of Talent and Tim Cook’s go-to at Apple, Steve is focused on operational advisory for PE/VC backed companies in Space, Defense, and Deep Tech. He supports founders and investors with talent strategy and hiring as well as teams transitioning into the US market.

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Robert Judd

Senior Advisor

Robert is a 40-year veteran of the defense, homeland security, and counterterrorism and current Chief Customer Officer at Blacklake. Previously serving as COO of Metron and GM of Rantec, 3Phoenix, and Smiths Detection, he oversaw UnderSea Warfare, Unmanned Systems, and Missile Defense Solutions. Robert specializes in scaling complex C5ISR systems for National Security Missions.

Robert Judd

Senior Advisor
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Steve Finder

Talent Advisor
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Thomas Lim-Finsterbusch

AI Advisor

A deeply experienced software engineer with expertise in AI, Thomas is a former founder and VC. He was part of the Google[X] team and founding CTO at Cape (acquired by Motorola). Thomas was also a Partner at Gradient Ventures and experienced building AI applications in the financial sector.