Open Source Defense

Open Source Defense

By opensourcedefenseSociety & CultureBusinessEntrepreneurship
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Open Source Defense episodes

  • Joe Fox and Cameron Toor of ShotPay

    Joe Fox and Cameron Toor are the founders of ShotPay, where they're building payment infrastructure for the shooting, hunting, outdoor, and tactical industry.

    • 0:00 - Introduction
    • 3:57 - The Genesis of ShotPay
    • 8:57 - Challenges in the Firearms E-commerce Space
    • 12:27 - Innovative Payment Solutions: BNPL and Layaway
    • 18:52 - Navigating Payment Processing Complexities
    • 28:40 - Building a Stable Payment Infrastructure
    • 30:56 - The Evolution of Payment Processing
    • 37:09 - Navigating the Buy Now, Pay Later Landscape
    • 46:40 - Supporting Veterans and Community Initiatives
    • 54:46 - The Importance of Mentorship and Guidance
      • 1 hr 2 min
    • Doug Ritter of Knife Rights

      Doug Ritter is the founder of Knife Rights, which for our money is one of the most effective single-issue advocacy groups out there. See how they've singlehandedly changed the path of knife laws in the US, with a tiny staff and budget.

      Go to ultimatesteel.org to see the gear available in the Knife Rights' 2026 fundraiser.

      • 0:00 - Introduction to Knife Rights
      • 2:43 - The landscape of knife laws
      • 5:52 - Bipartisan strategies in advocacy
      • 8:47 - Legal challenges and court successes
      • 11:40 - Building relationships with legislators
      • 14:44 - Lessons from Knife Rights for other advocacy orgs
      • 17:50 - The origins of Knife Rights
      • 34:20 - The Federal Switchblade Act and its impact
      • 39:05 - The origins of knife bans and their implications
      • 44:09 - Legal battles and the future of Knife Rights
      • 51:44 - Knives as tools and their role in self-defense
      • 57:06 - The future of Knife Rights and advocacy
        • 1 hr
      • Marc Nemati of GrabAGun

        Marc is the president and CEO of GrabAGun.

        • 0:00 - Intro
        • 0:29 - Why to IPO, and what it’s like
        • 3:54 - Navigating regulatory scrutiny and having mission-aligned shareholders
        • 13:29 - Stock buyback
        • 15:10 - M&A opportunities in the gun space
        • 22:33 - An everything store for guns
        • 24:43 - GrabAGun technical systems
        • 29:07 - Data and analytics in the industry
        • 32:59 - Operational challenges and opportunities for growth
        • 37:03 - GrabAGun’s board of directors
        • 41:01 - Building a team
        • 46:52 - Managing risk in the early days of a startup
          • 51 min
        • Tim of Hoffman Tactical

          Tim is the founder of Hoffman Tactical.

          • 0:00 - Intro
          • 0:23 - How has 3D printing evolved compared to what Tim expected?
          • 9:16 - Does 3D printing need a killer app?
          • 14:22 - Opportunities in destructive devices
          • 18:20 - Tim likes anti-materiel rifles
          • 18:49 - Gun designs are dictated by their manufacturing technology
          • 20:39 - Hoffman Tactical’s customers
          • 24:24 - Drones, automated defense systems, and the potential there
          • 35:12 - Community isn’t strictly required for private defense
          • 40:59 - The Super Safety
          • 43:30 - Debating the value of forced reset triggers and full auto fire
          • 52:12 - Why small companies out-innovate big ones
          • 56:32 - Tim on hot air balloons
            • 1 hr
          • Rob of Constellation Response

            Rob is the founder of Constellation Response, the store for gun culture 3.0.

            Timeline:

            • 0:00 - Intro to Rob and Constellation Response
            • 4:44 - Why modern civilian comms are changing from the old days
            • 8:11 - The rise of Meshtastic and its applications
            • 18:45 - Acceleration in radios
            • 21:43 - Why Constellation Response is getting into drones
            • 24:17 - Drone training courses
            • 30:01 - The impact of regulation on the cool things you could do with drones
            • 36:31 - The future of autonomous drones
            • 42:11 - 3D printing, drones, AI, and comms feel like something really cool is swirling into shape
            • 46:18 - Are signal jammers going to become a thing in the US?
            • 51:16 - Tethered drones
            • 56:38 - Follow Constellation Response
              • 58 min
            • David Han Jr. of Canine Defense Technologies

              David is the founder of Canine Defense Technologies, which makes drones for defense professionals and serious civilians.

              Timeline:

              • 0:00 - Intro
              • 0:49 - Drone nomenclature
              • 1:44 - Counterdrone tech and the competition between offense and defense
              • 8:42 - Technological lessons from Ukraine
              • 16:16 - Applying those lessons to civilian drone tech
              • 19:16 - What is the FAA getting in the way of?
              • 25:50 - Panics that could drive bad regulation
              • 32:08 - History and mission of Canine Defense
              • 43:29 - Supply chain as limiting factor
              • 44:55 - Innovations in drone propulsion and power
              • 50:10 - Drones as Second Amendment arms and why fears of misuse are probably overblown
              • 58:50 - Growing Canine Defense’s business
              • 1:05:38 - Future products from Canine Defense
              • 1:08:22 - Decentralized community-building with drone swarms
                • 1 hr 15 min
              • Jon and Sarah Hauptman of PHLster Holsters

                Jon and Sarah run PHLster Holsters, makers of the Enigma, other holsters, and groundbreaking education about how to carry comfortably.

                Timeline:

                • 0:00 - The journey to making holsters
                • 7:58 - What was the need PHLster was responding to?
                • 17:34 - When did Sarah know the Enigma was going to be good?
                • 35:57 - How much of a breakthrough was the Enigma for PHLster?
                • 41:35 - Education and holster fitment as a science
                • 49:28 - What's wrong with telling people to dress around the gun
                • 58:13 - The importance of online communities
                • 1:08:52 - The dynamic around gun products marketed to women
                • 1:20:21 - Social media as a design and manufacturing tool
                • 1:29:48 - Nobody goes to the anti-gun range
                  • 1 hr 44 min
                • Jay of Pew Science

                  Jay is the founder and technical director of Pew Science, the world's top silencer testing company.

                  Timeline:

                  • 0:00 - Are low back pressure silencers the end of history?
                  • 4:50 - Why silencers break the FN SCAR 17
                  • 7:12 - Pistol silencers are hard
                  • 19:21 - What were the breakthroughs in silencer technology?
                  • 24:06 - Consumers, not the military, are now driving the silencer industry
                  • 44:16 - Is there value in modular cans?
                  • 48:48 - The mechanics of silencer assembly
                  • 54:59 - Standardization in silencer attachment
                  • 1:00:41 - Consumer demand vs. military standards
                  • 1:05:36 - Flash hider vs. muzzle brake for suppression
                  • 1:09:34 - Understanding the SCAR's sensitivity to silencers
                  • 1:18:27 - About Pew Science
                    • 1 hr 37 min
                  • Isaac Botkin of T.Rex Arms

                    Isaac Botkin is a longtime leader at T.Rex Arms and the perfect first guest for the Open Source Defense podcast. We talk about the beginnings of T.Rex, whether guns actually prevent tyranny, and future tech in the civilian defense industry.

                    Timeline:

                    • 0:00 - Intro and Background
                  • 2:44 - Milestones and Growth of T.Rex Arms
                  • 9:51 - Challenges of Growth as a Company
                  • 17:45 - Hiring for Passion and Mission Alignment
                  • 25:55 - Transparency and Honesty in Marketing
                  • 32:58 - The Evolution of Gun Culture
                  • 38:56 - Gun Culture 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0
                  • 51:44 - Do Guns Prevent Tyranny?
                  • 1:02:33 - The Future of Gun Culture, Body Armor, and Night Vision
                  • 1:21:47 - Lightning Round on Upcoming Gun Tech
                    • 1 hr 25 min

                  About Open Source Defense

                  From the publisher's feed

                  In-depth interviews with outstanding founders and builders in the civilian defense industry. Culture is upstream of politics, and technology is upstream of culture.