MILCOM Founders Podcast -- Episode 16: From West Point Cyber Officer to Document Intelligence Innovator with Ian Garrett

Join host Rod Loges and guest Ian Garrett as he shares his journey from West Point graduate and Army cyber officer to co-founding Phalanx, a company that transforms document sharing into actionable business intelligence.

In this episode:

• Ian's path from Northern Virginia kid to West Point Glee Club member to Army cyber branch pioneer
• Transitioning from structured military and defense contracting environments to entrepreneurship
• Building resilience and grit through military service, PhD studies, and startup challenges
• Co-founding a company with his brother Austin and the advantages of family partnerships
• The evolution from AI security research to document intelligence solutions
• Navigating Techstars accelerator program and choosing between top-tier incubators

Key takeaways:

• Imposter syndrome is universal - if you feel like you belong everywhere, you're not pushing yourself
• Resilience requires practice and training, not just reactive responses to crisis
• You don't need a perfect idea to start a business - jump in and iterate based on customer feedback
• Early-stage businesses need minimal funding if you focus on customer development over salaries
• Team building and leadership skills from military service directly translate to startup success
• Document sharing doesn't have to be a "black hole" - visibility and analytics drive better outcomes

Guest: Ian Garrett, CEO and Co-founder of Phalanx, Former US Army Cyber Officer, West Point Graduate

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianygarrett/
• Business Website: https://phalanx.io/

Ian Garrett is a West Point graduate who served as a cyber officer in the Army, joining the cyber branch at its inception. He holds a PhD in computer engineering with research focused on AI and cybersecurity. After transitioning to the reserves, Ian worked in defense contracting before making the leap to entrepreneurship during the COVID era. Along with his brother Austin, he co-founded Phalanx, which helps startups and SMBs gain actionable insights from their document sharing activities. The company went through Techstars NYC and has evolved from AI security research to document intelligence solutions that solve real pain points for business development and sales teams.

Looking ahead: Ian continues building Phalanx while serving in the Army reserves, focusing on helping small teams that sell to enterprise clients gain visibility into their document interactions and convert that data into actionable insights.

The MILCOM Founders Podcast champions and celebrates military community business owners. Each episode brings practical insights and lessons learned from successful veteran entrepreneurs.

Sponsored by One Degree Financial www.onedegreefinancial.com

Want to support veteran entrepreneurs? Learn about the Dick Loges Veteran Entrepreneur Scholarship Fund at https://www.milcomfounders.com/