Steve Baxter is a former Shark Tank investor, ex-Army guided weapons technician, and founder of Beaten Zone Venture Partners, a fund backing Australian defence startups and pushing them into the US market where the real money is.

In this conversation, Steve takes us from growing up in outback Queensland and joining the army at 15, through building and selling one of Australia's biggest dial-up internet providers, to why he believes private capital — not government grants — is the key to Australia's sovereign defence capability.

We get into cardboard drones that took out Russian aircraft in Kursk, robot dogs armed for the battlefield, a hypersonic aircraft built in Brisbane, and why 83% of Australia's super funds won't touch defence investment because of ESG. Steve also gives his blunt take on the Iran war, why he thinks deterrence beats conflict every time, and what he'd say to anyone about investing in the business of war.

Subscribe to the Mentored newsletter here: https://the-mentored-platform-pty-ltd.myklpages.com/l/WWJGc5 

Join my exclusive Mentored+ community: https://mentored.com.au/become-a-member/ 

Steve Baxter is a former Shark Tank investor, ex-Army guided weapons technician, and founder of Beaten Zone Venture Partners, a fund backing Australian defence startups and pushing them into the US market where the real money is.
In this conversation, Steve takes us from growing up in outback Queensland and joining the army at 15, through building and selling one of Australia's biggest dial-up internet providers, to why he believes private capital &mdash; not government grants &mdash; is the key to Australia's sovereign defence capability.
We get into cardboard drones that took out Russian aircraft in Kursk, robot dogs armed for the battlefield, a hypersonic aircraft built in Brisbane, and why 83% of Australia's super funds won't touch defence investment because of ESG.&nbsp;Steve also gives his blunt take on the Iran war, why he thinks deterrence beats conflict every time, and what he'd say to anyone about investing in the business of war.
Subscribe to the Mentored newsletter here: <a href="https://the-mentored-platform-pty-ltd.myklpages.com/l/WWJGc5">https://the-mentored-platform-pty-ltd.myklpages.com/l/WWJGc5</a>&nbsp;
Join my exclusive Mentored+ community: <a href="https://mentored.com.au/become-a-member/">https://mentored.com.au/become-a-member/</a>&nbsp;

Too often, we avoid real conversations. Entrepreneur Mark Bouris sits down and gets to know people, understands what makes them tick, and shares the great and unusual things they’re doing. There’s no sugar coating. There’s no hiding behind fancy marketing slogans. Just an honest conversation.

Too often, we avoid real conversations. Entrepreneur Mark Bouris sits down and gets to know people, understands what makes them tick, and shares the great and unusual things they&rsquo;re doing. There&rsquo;s no sugar coating. There&rsquo;s no hiding behind fancy marketing slogans. Just an honest conversation.

Straight Talk with Mark Bouris

Steve Baxter: Inside Australia's Secret Defence Tech Boom

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/424b5780-38ea-4eb8-9d31-b498008a55a8/transcript