The Briefing Room
Inside The Briefing Room, an Australian venture capital podcast dedicated to Defence, Sovereign Capability and National Security Innovation.
Hosted by Peta Ellis, General Manager of Beaten Zone Venture Partners, and other members of the BZV team, each episode takes you behind the scenes with founders, veterans, investors, and operators who are key players in the Global Defence ecosystem that is building and supporting the future of Defence Innovation and Sovereign capability.
From battlefield innovation to boardroom execution, we uncover how ideas move from concept to capability, and what it really takes to build and fund critical technology in one of the world’s most complex sectors.
- Real conversations with Defence founders and venture investors
- Insights on early-stage capital, capability, and collaboration
- Stories from Australia’s growing sovereign tech ecosystem
This is not theory. It’s the reality of building companies that keep Australia in the fight.
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Beaten Zone Venture Partners | beatenzone.vc
GENERAL PRODUCT ADVICE/MARKETING DISCLAIMER (Fund)
Beaten Zone Investment Manager Pty Ltd ACN 667 064 208 and Beaten Zone Management Partnership 1, LP (The Beaten Zone Group) are corporate authorised representative’s (CAR) (CAR Numbers 1303229 and 1303953) of Boutique Capital Pty Ltd ACN 621 697 621 (Boutique Capital) AFSL 508011.
This document contains general advice only and has been prepared by The Beaten Zone Group for individuals identified as wholesale investors for the purposes of providing a financial product or financial service, under Section 761G or Section 761GA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
The information herein is presented in summary form and is therefore subject to qualification and further explanation. The information in this document is not intended to be relied upon as advice to investors or potential investors and has been prepared without taking into account personal investment objectives, financial circumstances or particular needs. Recipients of this document are advised to consult their own professional advisers about legal, tax, financial or other matters relevant to the suitability of this information.
The investment summarised in this document is subject to known and unknown risks, some of which are beyond the control of The Beaten Zone Group and their directors, employees, advisers or agents. The Beaten Zone Group does not guarantee any particular rate of return or the performance of the Fund, nor does The Beaten Zone Group and its directors personally guarantee the repayment of capital or any particular tax treatment. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
The materials contained herein represent a general summary of The Beaten Zone Group’s current portfolio construction approach. The Beaten Zone Group is not constrained with respect to any investment decision making methodologies and may vary from them materially at its sole discretion and without prior notice to investors. Depending on market conditions and trends, The Beaten Zone Group may pursue other objectives or strategies considered appropriate and in the best interest of portfolio performance.
There are risks involved in investing in the The Beaten Zone Group’s strategy. All investments carry some level of risk, and there is typically a direct relationship between risk and return. We describe what steps we take to mitigate risk (where possible) in the Fund’s Information Memorandum. It is important to note that despite taking such steps, The Beaten Zone Group cannot mitigate risk completely.
This document was prepared as a private communication to clients and is not intended for public circulation or publication or for the use of any third party, without the approval of The Beaten Zone Group. Whilst this document is based on information from sources which The Beaten Zone Group considers reliable, its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Data is not necessarily audited or independently verified. Any opinions reflect The Beaten Zone Group’s judgment at this date and are subject to change. The Beaten Zone Group has no obligation to provide revised assessments in the event of changed circumstances. To the extent permitted by law, Boutique Capital, The Beaten Zone Group and their directors and employees do not accept any liability for the results of any actions taken or not taken on the basis of information in this report, or for any negligent misstatements, errors or omissions.
This document is for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation for units in the Fund. Application for units in the Fund can only be made via the Fund’s Information Memorandum and Application Form.
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Episodes
Thursday May 21, 2026
Thursday May 21, 2026
Ross Osborne is the Chief Engineer and Technical Director at SYPAQ Systems, a Melbourne-based company founded in 1992 that has grown from professional services and consulting in defence and government into one of Australia's most capable autonomous systems developers and manufacturers. Ross has been with SYPAQ for 16 years, joining after a graduate engineering program at BAE Systems where his focus was already on autonomous systems.
In this episode we trace the full arc of SYPAQ's most celebrated product: the Corvo PPDS, widely known as the cardboard drone. Ross explains how the concept came from a three-day sprint in 2018, prototyped on day one, flown on day two, bid written on day three. The idea was pitched at an Army Innovation Day, secured a contract, went through 10 months of engineering development, was shelved during COVID, and then, when the Ukraine conflict began in 2022, went from sitting on a shelf to full-rate production of 100 systems in five weeks.
We also discuss the Corvo X, SYPAQ's fixed-wing VTOL surveillance drone now delivered into Australian Army service through a formal acquisition program, a journey that took close to a decade. Ross explains the difference between running a rapid innovation program and navigating a full defence acquisition cycle, why both matter, and what makes SYPAQ's engineering culture different: nearly a quarter of the workforce are veterans, the team draws from automotive, medical, aerospace, and software backgrounds, and the engineering environment is built around multidisciplinary collaboration.
Ross shares his thinking on sovereign manufacturing, why the small premium to produce in Australia is worth it, how SYPAQ is now turning its decade of drone-building experience toward counter-drone technology, and why the 5,000 square metre Melbourne facility that felt large five years ago is already bursting at the seams.
🔗 GUEST LINKS
Ross Osborne LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-osborne-sypaq/
SYPAQ Systems: https://www.sypaq.com.au
Host Links:
Peta Ellis (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/petaellis
BZV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BeatenZoneVenturePartners/videos
BZV Website: https://beatenzone.vc
Recorded and produced at The Podcast Boss podcast studio in Brisbane
thepodcastboss.com
Thursday May 07, 2026
Thursday May 07, 2026
Judd McCann, supply chain and defence tech specialist, joins The Briefing Room to share what it really takes to break into U.S. and UK defence markets as an Australian founder.
Judd's career spans British MOD contracts in conflict zones, autonomous maritime platform development, and hands-on U.S. federal contracting, including 72-hour bid windows for U.S. Navy programs. He explains why your network is worth more than your product, how SBA programs and joint ventures compress timelines, and why the UK is often the smarter first move before tackling the U.S.
Topics include SOFWERX, Cyber CISA, Defense Innovation Unit, Vulcan, Austrade pathways, Sam.gov, Society of American Military Engineers, and why reliability matters more than ego in federal procurement.
Find out more: https://beatenzone.vc
Judd McCann LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juddmccann/:
Peta Ellis (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/petaellis
BZV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BeatenZoneVenturePartners/videos
BZV Website: https://beatenzone.vc
Recorded and produced at The Podcast Boss podcast studio in Brisbane
Thursday Apr 30, 2026
Thursday Apr 30, 2026
Robin Levison, investor, former ASX-listed CEO, and one of Beaten Zone's earliest Limited Partners, joins The Briefing Room for a candid conversation on high-risk investing, sovereign capability, and why he sees Australian defence as low-hanging fruit.
We trace Robin's career from KPMG auditor to Merrill Lynch investment banker to CEO of an ASX-listed technology company, culminating in a $700 million acquisition by General Electric.
Robin explains why he stopped doing his own angel investing, how he came to trust the BZV team's research process, and why special purpose vehicles like HEO's Series A offer investors a way to back sovereign capability on their own terms.
Topics include financial discipline in startups, fractional executives, university commercialisation, the future of Australian defence investment, and why the large super funds are about to start paying attention.
Guest Links :
Robin Levison LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-levison-7b9b3b10/
Ignition Equity Partners: https://www.ignitionpartners.net/
Host Links (for YouTube description / pinned comment):
Peta Ellis (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/petaellis
BZV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BeatenZoneVenturePartners/videos
BZV Website: https://beatenzone.vc
Recorded and Produced at The Podcast Boss podcast studio in Brisbane
Thursday Apr 16, 2026
Thursday Apr 16, 2026
In this episode of The Briefing Room, Peta Ellis sits down with Wayne Jones, CEO and Co-Founder of xReality Group (ASX: XRG) and its subsidiary Operator XR.
Wayne served 21 years in the Australian Defence Force, spending the last 15 in the Special Air Service Regiment with deployments across Rwanda, East Timor, and Afghanistan. After leaving the ADF, he co-founded Indoor Skydive Australia (iFly), which listed on the ASX in 2013 as the highest-performing IPO of the year. When a legal battle halted iFly’s expansion, Wayne made a bold pivot into virtual reality, ultimately building Operator XR, now one of the world’s leading tactical training platforms for military and law enforcement.
In this conversation, Wayne and Peta cover:
What 21 years in the SASR teaches you about leadership, resilience, and taking action under uncertainty
How two SAS soldiers founded iFly and built the highest-performing ASX IPO of 2013
The legal battle that stopped iFly’s expansion and forced a pivot to virtual reality
How Operator XR now serves around 95 US law enforcement agencies with immersive, data-driven tactical training
Why counter-drone training in VR is now one of the fastest-growing use cases for the platform
Keeping the engineering culture alive in Australia while scaling the business in the US
GUEST LINKS
Wayne Jones LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-jones-637aba58/
xReality Group: https://xrgroup.com.au
Host Links:
Peta Ellis (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/petaellis/
BZV Website: https://beatenzone.vc
Produced at our The Podcast Boss podcast studio in Brisbane
Thursday Apr 09, 2026
Thursday Apr 09, 2026
In this episode of The Briefing Room, Peta Ellis sits down with James Palmer, CEO and Co-Founder of Silentium Defence, the Adelaide-based company redefining what it means to see without being seen.
James shares the full story: from meeting his co-founder at the Defence Science and Technology Group in 2006, to a decade of experimental research, to the decision in 2017 to leave the public service and build a company from scratch.
What followed is one of Australia's most compelling deep tech origin stories, navigating IP and conflict-of-interest requirements, running through the CSIRO ON Accelerate program, securing early grants and commercial contracts, and ultimately building a globally recognised passive radar business with over 100 employees across Australia and the US.
In this conversation, James and Peta cover:
How passive radar works, and why not emitting a signal is the ultimate tactical advantage
The MAVERICK family of systems, from soldier-portable units to the OmniGuard space domain awareness platform
The decision to enter the US market and post a co-founder to Virginia
How Silentium maintains a unified culture as it scales globally
What the next two years look like as the company focuses on manufacturing scale and global market expansion
GUEST LINKS
James Palmer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-palmer-sd/
Silentium Defence: https://www.silentiumdefence.com.au
Host Links:
Peta Ellis (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/petaellis
BZV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BeatenZoneVenturePartners/videos
BZV Website: https://beatenzone.vc
Produced at our The Podcast Boss podcast studio in Brisbane
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
Martin Shaw, President & CEO of Wounded Heroes Australia, joins us in The Briefing Room with frontline stories from supporting veterans and Defence families facing crisis. We discuss the hidden challenge of veteran homelessness, programs like Exercise Stone Pillow and Horses 4 Heroes, and how Wounded Heroes built national trust without government funding. Martin reflects on balancing business experience with charity leadership, the role of innovation in veteran support, and what younger founders can do to create meaningful solutions for those who've served.
🔗 GUEST LINKS
Martin Shaw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-shaw-94021052/
Wounded Heroes Australia: https://www.woundedheroes.org.au/
Host Links
Peta Ellis (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/petaellis
Jake Bostock (Cohost) https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake123456789/
BZV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BeatenZoneVenturePartners/videos
BZV Website: https://beatenzone.vc
Produced by The Podcast boss
Thursday Mar 19, 2026
Thursday Mar 19, 2026
Rob Nioa shares the remarkable story of how his parents started the family business in the 1960s selling produce from a roadside trailer, before eventually building one of Australia's most important defence manufacturing companies.
Today, Nioa Group is Australia's largest privately owned supplier of weapons and munitions, operating across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
Rob explains the company's work across ammunition manufacturing, weapons logistics, missile collaboration programs, and international defence partnerships. We discuss sovereign capability and why domestic manufacturing matters as global security dynamics shift, including the Benalla ammunition factory, guided weapons production capability, and international expansion into the US and UK defence markets.
Guest links
Rob Nioa LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnioa/
Nioa Group Website, https://www.nioa.com.au/about
Rob Nioa Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIOA
Host Links (for YouTube description / pinned comment):
Peta Ellis (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/petaellis
BZV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BeatenZoneVenturePartners/videos
BZV Website: https://beatenzone.vc
Produced By The Podcast Boss
Thursday Mar 12, 2026
Thursday Mar 12, 2026
Kelly Hopkins leads Defence recruitment within one of the world's largest recruitment firms and works across the full spectrum of the industry, from global primes like Boeing and Northrop Grumman to fast-growing Australian defence SMEs.
Finding talent in defence is unlike any other industry. Much of the work is classified, the technology is highly specialised, and the people with the right skills often cannot publicly disclose what they do.
Kelly explains how recruitment in defence relies on deep trust, long-term relationships, and strong connections within the ecosystem. The conversation explores why recruiting for defence is one of the hardest talent challenges in Australia, how the defence sector has evolved from sustainment to advanced technology and innovation, and why recruiters must build genuine ecosystem knowledge to understand the technology they are hiring for.
Guest Links
Kelly Hopkins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyhopkinshays/
Host Links
Peta Ellis (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/petaellis
BZV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BeatenZoneVenturePartners/videos
BZV Website: https://beatenzone.vcProduced By The Podcast Boss
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
In this episode of The Briefing Room, Sean Singleton, US Venture Partner at Beaten Zone Venture Partners, breaks down what Australian founders really face when entering the United States Defense market.
Sean’s role is simple but hard: to help portfolio companies open doors in the US and 'get on contract'. That means handling the nuance of how the US Department of Defense actually buys technology, not how founders assume it does.
We unpack why the US public sector defaults to what it already has on contract, why Australian founders underestimate the complexity of the US Defence ecosystem, and why relationships and credibility take time to build.
Sean explains the fastest paths to revenue. Why systems integrators like Lockheed Martin and Boeing matter. How master collaboration agreements can compress multi-year timelines down to 12–18 months. And why bringing experienced US operators onto your team is often the difference between progress and stall.
The conversation also covers where founders should actually set up in the US. Which states are business-friendly for Defence and manufacturing? Why incentives, congressional support, and proximity to Defence assets matter. And why staffers on Capitol Hill are often more important than elected officials.
Sean shares his own long career path, from the US Air Force Academy and the F-22 program, through counter-intelligence, federal sales, JP Morgan, and the Defense Innovation Unit. The result is a grounded, experience-led guide for founders serious about building in the US Defence market.
This episode is essential listening for Australian founders, investors, and operators looking to move beyond theory and execute in the US.
Guest Links
Sean Singleton – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean‐singleton‐b616292/
Beaten Zone Venture Partners: https://beatenzone.vc
Hosted by: Peta Ellis
Produced By The Podcast Boss
Thursday Jan 29, 2026
Thursday Jan 29, 2026
In this episode of The Briefing Room, Dr Will Crowe, Co‐Founder and CEO of HEO, walksthrough a non‐linear founder journey that ends in orbit.
Will started as a researcher in astrodynamics, completed a PhD at UNSW, explored asteroidmining, and realised his work had immediate, practical value. That insight led to HEO.
Today, HEO enables commercial, resolved non‐Earth imaging by acquiring and analysing satellitedata through proprietary software. The company helps satellite operators and governmentsmonitor space assets, manage debris, inspect damaged satellites, and protect both Earth andspace infrastructure.
This conversation covers the shift from research to execution, how deep technical work becomesa commercial platform, and what it really takes to build a space company with long timelinesand real consequences.
Episode Links• Dr Will Crowe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william‐crowe‐space
• HEO: https://www.heospace.com
Produced by The Podcast Boss