Fello is honoured to have this conversation with Glenn, a former JTF2 squadron commander who spent eighteen years in uniform, including thirteen years in Canada’s most secretive special operations unit, before trading frontline missions for boardroom missions. Today, he leads ONE9, the country’s first national security focused venture fund, applying battlefield tradecraft to back dual use technology that serves both defence and commercial markets. With Ottawa based Capability Labs, deep operator networks, and a philosophy of define the problem and let the market decide, Glenn is rebuilding Canada’s defence ecosystem from the ground up. In this interview, he explains how mission planning cycles become investment frameworks, why procurement must be rewritten, and which emerging threats demand our next big bets

From JTF2 to Venture Capital

Question: You served as a squadron commander in Canada’s elite special operations unit JTF2. You have said building and backing early-stage companies feels a lot like running missions, with tight teams, limited resources, and high risk. How has that experience shaped your investment strategy at ONE9, and can you share a concrete example where a special operations principle directly influenced how you supported a founder or startup?

Glenn: In special operations, you never call yourselves elite. You execute the fundamentals with absolute precision. We recruit imaginative, resilient thinkers, plan for every contingency, and operate on first principles. At ONE9, our playbook mirrors our mission planning cycle: Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze. That model guides every investment decision.

We hunt capability driven ventures, not flashy gadgets, because without deep domain expertise, you will get crushed. Take Tomahawk Robotics as an example. They built software that lets different drone systems operate together through a common command and control interface. We knew through our network of former special operators in Canada, the US and UK that the critical gap they were solving had mission relevance and we completed a thorough technical and tactical diligence. After investment, the fun begins as we roll up our sleeves to integrate their solution into real world operations, supporting their scale and adding massive value to our portfolio. One of our mottos inside ONE9 is Find, Fund, Scale.

Validating Dual Use Innovation

Question: ONE9 focuses on dual use and national security technology validated by real end users, such as your investment in Ventus, which serves military, law enforcement, and first responders. How do you assess whether a startup’s solution meets actual capability gaps, and how early are operators or government partners involved? How do you help founders balance defence needs with broader commercial viability?

Glenn: We think of dual use as less of a sub-asset class or category of company/technology and more of a deliberate go-to-market strategy. People thought I was crazy for investing in a respirator/mask company before COVID, but the writing was on the wall that over population, deteriorating air quality and densely packed urban centres would require a safeguarded breathing space. The military has long employed respirators and masks, so I was shocked when the most resourced, high end military units in the world were forced to buy a particulate respirator at Home Depot, there was a market for a bespoke respirator that, in essence, was a military tech wearable. 

We engaged Tier 1 end-users early and leveraged our experience in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) to understand the requirements. That deep, lived experience meant we did not guess at market fit; we knew it. Through trial and error (and lots of error!), we guided Ventus to focus first on military contracts before expanding into wider commercial markets. We resourced the team with high quality leadership and technical expertise and applied our networks to building a global distribution channel. This investment has been difficult because even though we deliberately selected a military first model, I am continually shocked at just how long these cycles can be.

Building a Modern Defence Ecosystem in Canada

Question: You have been outspoken about modernizing Canada’s defence industrial base. What is your long-term vision for that ecosystem, and how does ONE9’s strategy, including Ottawa based Capability Labs and partnerships like Kensington, create the infrastructure needed?

Glenn: Defence and security is having its “Uber moment”, and venture backed, agile companies are challenging the large prime incumbents on how to build, deploy and scale as conflict is changing and evolving at an unprecedented pace. Venture capital is rapidly becoming a tool of national security unto itself. The characteristics of the pace of deployment and speed of scale is challenging this archaic, bureaucratic and lethargic process.  There are lot of positives unfolding in Canada. Just recently crown corporations received a mandate for defence investing that just months ago would have been unheard of. I’m working with investment banks and institutional investors who were traditionally wary on how to best approach the sector. 

Our role is not only to pick the winners but work with end users to accurately define the problem and build public private frameworks that will ultimately let the market decide on which company / capability will prevail. We created Capability Labs in Ottawa so founders can work side by side with operators and test facilities, it’s through “labs” that we add immense value to our portfolio. By aligning operators, private capital, and policy experts, we are stitching together the missing rails so Canada can finally strengthen its defence innovation base. We didn’t want to wait for government top cover, so we took the “if you build it, they will come approach”.

Navigating Government as a Startup

Question: Defence startups often struggle with long procurement cycles, unclear processes, and limited early support. What systemic changes does Canada need, and how do you coach your portfolio companies to navigate government and close the gap from prototype to adoption?

Glenn: Procurement reform is mission critical. We must decentralize decision-making, involve founders and investors in defining the problem, and empower end users to select technology instead of relying on a multi-layered bureaucracy. Until that change happens, startups must design their business models around today’s reality.

My advice is to pick your market early and resource your company appropriately depending on the go to market strategy you’ve chosen to focus on. In theory, most technologies can be dual use, and we encourage a conditions-based criteria before deliberately opening the aperture to the other market be it defence or commercial.

What Is Next in National Security Innovation

Question: You have pointed to emerging threats like cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, and climate change as future flashpoints. From your vantage point, which technology areas are most critical today, and how do you balance solving immediate problems versus backing long range disruptive technology?

Glenn: The unpopular reality is that we are preparing for war. We are already in economic conflict with peer actors (and I’m not talking about the US and the tariff threats), and kinetic conflict remains a risk. The next battlefield will be space and the electromagnetic spectrum, with satellites, radio frequency jamming, and cyber physical attacks all unfolding within minutes.

We must build resilient society complete with sovereign, redundant communications, space / satellites and robust before crisis strikes. Imagine GPS going dark and everything from logistics to daily services grinding to a halt. Investing in hardened satellite networks, mesh radio systems, harnessing and harvesting proprietary data sets to build, agentic AI and cyber defences is of critical importance. 

From Operator to First Time Fund Builder

Question: You transitioned from eighteen years in uniform, including thirteen years in special operations, to launching Canada’s first national security venture fund. What were the biggest challenges, which skills translated, and what new muscles did you have to build?

Glenn: Nothing happens fast. Raising a first-time fund in a Canada that shied away from defence felt almost impossible. It was like a selection course in extreme conditions. You need mental toughness, perseverance under pressure, and the grit to weather repeated rejection. 

The special operations mindset of making decisions with incomplete information and planning contingencies served me well. In venture, the eighty percent solution today beats the one hundred percent solution too late.

What Should Canada Be Doing Better

Question: If you could change one thing about how Canada supports national security innovation—procurement, funding, talent, or culture—what would it be and why?

Glenn: Culture. Canada needs a shared commitment to serve something greater than ourselves. I would introduce a form of national service, whether it is military, firefighting, eldercare, or environmental work, to help every young Canadian learn a skill, earn respect for public service, and build our societal resilience. Not everyone will wear combat boots, but everyone should contribute to collective security. When the moment arrives, we want citizens who are ready, committed, and able to defend our values and infrastructure. 

Conclusion

This was one of the most important conversations I have ever had. I work with tech companies across many industries, including defence, and it is rare to meet a VC who truly understands the challenges. Glenn’s insights are a call to action: move now, embrace uncertainty, plan for every contingency, and never grow too comfortable. When he spoke about Canadians coming together in collective service for something bigger than ourselves, I admitted I got a bit emotional and inspired. Canada has every asset needed to lead in national security innovation, but only if we channel this energy into action. Let us stop hiding behind red tape, lean into the challenge, and prove our best days lie ahead