Goat Rodeo #10 Featuring Les Craig – Budget Cannibalism, Series B Surge, and Squirt

This episode: Les Craig, General Partner at Next Frontier Capital, joins the crew to talk defense venture trends, budget dysfunction, and whether innovation theater is masking a system in need of real change. From AI hype to institutional inertia, Les offers a candid look at how the funding landscape is shifting—and what startups (and policymakers) keep getting wrong. The crew also digs into defense budget priorities, including the controversial decision to move Army infrastructure funding to the border, and whether piling billions onto legacy systems actually gets better tech to the warfighter. Plus: “budget cannibalism,” callsigns, Congress as a herd, and the eternal fight between speed, scale, and reality.

Our Podcast: National security, defense tech, and geopolitics—serious topics, but that doesn’t mean we have to be boring about it. The Goat Rodeo Podcast brings you three military veterans turned defense insiders, breaking down the biggest stories shaping the future of warfare. Expect sharp insights, unfiltered debates, and the occasional defense industry hot take—because let’s be honest, this space can be a total goat rodeo.

Listen on other platforms!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2mTJ1oJEgB3rCbQouCL7XD?si=45c67d5954a443b5

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/goat-rodeo/id1801310605

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@GoatRodeoPodcast