Last year, $9.4 billion flowed to defense contractors in San Diego.

At the helm of one of those local private firms getting some of those military dollars is David Inmon, the CEO of Redhorse Corporation.

In a new episode of I Made it in San Diego, a VOSD podcast about the people behind the region’s businesses, Inmon talks to Scott Lewis about how he built a fast-growing business that provides program management and technology services to the military and other clients.

Almost exactly 10 years ago, Inmon and his business partner opened Redhorse Corporation. They had no capital besides a $50,000 loan from the small business administration.

Inmon is from Oklahoma, a descendent of Choctaw Indians – a minority status that helped him get his foot in the door on government contracts.

Redhorse grew quickly. By 2016, the business had revenue of $57 million and was among the 1000 fastest growing companies in the country, as ranked by Inc. 5000.

In the world of government contracting, small businesses get a big boost. Redhorse is not longer a small business, so Inmon says that shift has been a challenge.

"We made it, but now we've got to sustain it," he said. "We're no longer a small business and that changes the calculus quite a bit, particularly in the federal market space."