experienced team

Multicycle industrial company builders and investors

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Operators Who Understand
High-Stakes Building

Jeff Crusey

General Partner

Jeff spent 20 years building inside the hardest industries, not just investing in them: growing semiconductors in the lab, writing computer vision at the AR startup he co-founded, and helping win a prime position on one of the Golden Dome contracts. Along the way he took the world's first listed space fund public and co-founded Per Aspera with Dan Goldin, NASA’s longest tenured administrator.

Jeff Crusey

General Partner
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Tim Ronan

General Partner
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Tim Ronan

General 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.

Robert Judd

Senior Advisor
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Sam Riehn

Advisor & LP
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Sam Riehn

Advisor & LP

Sam is a US Air Force veteran and former contracting officer turned Founder/CEO of SBIR Advisors, with over $2B in acquisition experience. His firm's playbook got Anduril, Shield AI, and Palantir off the ground, and has powered SBIR/STTR and DoD contract wins for hundreds of clients. Sam works directly with founders to navigate the path from prototype to program of record.

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Ryan Duffy

Media Advisor
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Kevin Compher

Venture Partner
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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.

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.

Thomas Lim-Finsterbusch

AI Advisor
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Ryan Duffy

Media Advisor

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.

Steve Finder

Talent 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.

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.