On the Record with Brett Whitsitt, Founder & CEO of Squire Solutions
Hometown: I was born in DC and grew up in Northern Virginia.
Hobbies: Squire took up all my time for hobbies! I like walking the dog whenever I can get to it these days.
3 words to describe yourself: curious, intentional, honest
How did you end up in the Navy? Was it always your goal to join the military?
I actually never intended to join the military when I was young. I was very involved in sports and played lacrosse for the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). During that time, I studied abroad and met a Naval Academy grad who had been selected for Navy SEAL training, which would commence upon the successful completion of his academic program. Speaking with him just flipped a switch for me. I was inspired and, to be honest, in awe of what he described in terms of the SEAL Teams, the associated rigor of the training pipeline, and other aspects surrounding a prospective career in the Special Operations community. I asked him many questions and learned about the process…how to apply, what the physical requirements were, how I might prepare for physical training, etc. About two weeks later, after some thought and personal reflection, I woke up and decided that I had my next mission in life about two weeks later. I went back to VMI and applied for a navy scholarship, and fortunately, everything worked out. I went straight into Basic Underwater Demolitions / SEAL training (known as BUD/S) immediately following graduation from VMI.
Did you consider staying in the Navy for a lifetime career?
I spent just over eight years in the SEAL Teams with four deployments – including a tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. I deployed again when things were heating up around ISIS with spillover from Syria and Iraq. While I am passionate about national security and a greater contribution, I ultimately decided that a 20+ year career in the Navy was not for me. I wanted to go back to school and explore business, more broadly. So, about six years ago, I separated from the Navy and landed in Manhattan, where I started working at J.P. Morgan in the leveraged Finance Group while simultaneously completing Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives.
How did you go from J.P. Morgan to entrepreneurship?
More than anything else, my professors were encouraging me and nudging me toward entrepreneurship, particularly regarding a tech startup. Specifically, with the advent of these other platforms like Siri and Alexa, it seemed like voice technology was spreading like wildfire and that it was a hot segment. It was also an interesting point in time concerning this type of technology and related maturity of voice and Natural Language Processing, in that voice was starting to hit its stride with mainstream adoption becoming more prevalent across industries.
After about six months of research, a lightbulb went off, and I thought, “no one has built a modernized digital assistant for the battlefield or for tactical operations that’s ready to scale.” I was aware of some of the legacy programs with DARPA or elsewhere. Still, having direct experience with battlefield communications’ challenges and pain points, my pathway for execution became very clear. Also, recognizing that the startup could be a great business opportunity, perhaps, more importantly, this felt like my way to get back into the fight and contribute in a more meaningful way and on a grander scale.
We’re all familiar with Alexa, Siri, etc. We know “she” doesn’t always understand what we’re asking. Sometimes we ask for the name of a movie, and she sets up a timer. But you’re in a much higher intensity setting. How is your approach to voice technology different to ensure accuracy?
I’ll start with a high-level explanation of what Squire is: it’s a digital assistant that utilizes data bursts for communications, controlling robotics, and data synchronization across disparate systems and challenging network environments. As compared to some of these other platforms that are out there, our technology is much more powerful in a number of ways.
Because we built the Squire System for initial use across military and emergency response operations, everything we’ve built is designed for complete functionality in an “offline” or otherwise extremely challenging or constrained network environment. The system is not reliant on the cloud or cellular infrastructure, etc. Everything was designed to reside on the edge, with users or operators in the field. At this stage, we are also primarily focused on structured data, which is different from other solutions that we’re seeing enter the marketplace. For this reason, our technology is much more accurate, repeatable, and robust in the context of driving toward a user’s desired outcome virtually every single time.
You made a really interesting point: you simplified the total space that the AI is operating in, but I imagine that in many of your use cases, it’s a pretty chaotic scene on the ground. Can you hear the voice commands, or are there other modalities with which the operators can use Squire?
This is a great question, and people ask me all the time about ambient noise, gunfire, etc., and how that affects voice technology or speech recognition. What you might not realize if you’ve never been in one of these situations is that, for example, even in my “craziest” of missions, including chaotic moments, I was always able to find some level of relative calm behind a corner or perhaps behind a wall to take a knee and collect my thoughts before transmitting my radio traffic. I also explain that - if there was so much ambient noise, gunfire, etc., then I probably have more important things to deal with rather than talking to Squire! So, the issue of ambient noise isn’t as much of a factor as people think.
To your other point regarding the different modalities, though, there are times when voice is not necessarily the most efficient means of communication, or it’s not the most conducive to the needs or requirements of the mission. Squire is not strictly a voice assistant. Voice is one of the numerous layers as part of a multi-layered and multi-modal human interface, whereby the user can choose how to interact with the system based on their needs or information requirements. For example, I might use a conventional joystick if I’m using Squire to control a robot or small drone; five minutes later, I can just as easily tell Squire to switch over to voice control and use voice commands such as “fly 200 meters north,” or “follow me,” or “go home,” etc. Similarly, if voice is not the best interface layer at that moment, I can tell Squire to switch back to my smartphone or tablet and use the touchscreen. This same concept applies across all of our solutions, be it controlling robotics, sending messages, or other burst capabilities. Squire gives its users the option to choose the interface layer that works best for them at that moment.
You’ve discussed the coordination of the triangle between command and control (i.e., the point of casualty, base command, and medevac en route). Still, you can control aerospace assets or robots. Are you trying to become the central command for communication and coordination of data/flow of information across the entire battlefield and civilian spaces? How do you get there, and what do you see as the problems in that space today?
It’s definitely a problem that exists today. Drawing from my experiences across the spectrum of special operations, it became clear to me what we needed to build and where this technology needed to go moving forward. My service provided a deep foundational knowledge of what challenges exist today and where we could make improvements regarding broken communications capabilities and poor information flow on the battlefield. Simply put, communications from the field and across various stakeholder groups are often fractured, siloed, and disparate, which can cause more significant issues around cognitive overload, unnecessary delays, and inaccurate information. This is critical in a tactical environment, where the difference between life and death can, at times, be measured in seconds.
My understanding of tactical operations and related information requirements helped us account for the other stakeholder groups and their respective information requirements. For example, after an injured soldier or teammate requests a Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) rescue from the field, our system affords an evolutionary leap in unified command and control and data synchronization across disparate systems that otherwise may not be able to interact with each other. In turn, Squire unlocks collaboration across all other stakeholders participating in a specific event or workflow through a “single pane of glass,” so to speak. This might include the MEDEVAC helicopter crew flying to pick up the patient, or perhaps this includes communications with the field hospital that will be receiving the patient upon arrival back at base. Currently, we have all these different stakeholder groups that don’t have accurate, timely information. So, we’re absolutely trying to get into this space, but it’s worth noting that we’re not trying to replace any legacy information management systems. We envision Squire as the connective tissue or “glue” that brings these other systems to life by facilitating the data flows across any myriad of adjacent systems, sub-systems, platforms, or applications.
What are some things from your prior experiences that you feel have shaped you to become the right entrepreneur to solve this problem?
The most obvious, unfair, competitive advantage is my experience in the SEAL teams and my domain expertise. As mentioned, many of the ideas behind Squire stem from my own experiences overseas, having dealt firsthand with so many of the issues around broken communications and life-threatening capability gaps that we’ve been solving for. And it’s not just for medical rescue—it’s for virtually any time-sensitive situation such as, “I need back up,” or “we’re running out of supplies/water/ammo,” or “we need air support,” and so forth… We currently have very archaic, outdated systems and protocols for battlefield communications. Beyond that, my network and access to military personnel also add value to Squire. Many of my former teammates are still in the community, and some have risen to points in their careers where they can make a difference through innovation channels, which aligns with our shared goal of getting better tools to our front lines as quickly as possible.
What's been the biggest challenge that you didn’t expect? What gets you excited about the future?
The biggest challenge, and I wouldn’t say that I walked completely blind into this, but I definitely didn’t appreciate the magnitude of it: finding really great technical talent for our team. That continues to be a challenge—in that there’s high demand and short supply. Fortunately, we have top-notch talent across our engineering team, and we’ve also been able to mitigate some of these challenges with recruiting tools. That said, we will continue to monitor this area as we expand our tech and continue to grow the team. It was also no surprise to learn that there would be some challenges associated with bureaucracy across DoD/defense acquisitions. This is not unique to Squire, but it’s why some people shy away from working with the government because it’s different from your standard, commercial customer base. However, despite a high barrier to entry that may be difficult to penetrate, DoD can be the best customer base on the planet. It’s one of the largest customers, and it’s very sticky—it’s super difficult to get dislodged once you’re in.
So, those are some of our current challenges, but I think we’re set up for success in the long run. We’ve landed some rockstars with tremendous experience in business development and sales efforts in this space as well, and we’ll continue to mitigate the tech talent challenges moving forward.
What's been your biggest motivator working on this?
I alluded to this before, but what really gets me out of bed in the morning is that this is my way to get back into the fight. Through Squire, I can contribute in a more meaningful way and on a broader scale than anything I might have accomplished while still in uniform. Knowing that we have an opportunity to build better tools for our front lines that will ultimately save lives and help win the fight. It’s very easy for me to get behind this literally seven days a week. This doesn’t feel like work. This is my passion, and it’s very close to me.
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Brett Whitsitt brings a lot of experience to his role, built on a foundation of servant leadership & passion for National Security. As a SEAL Officer, having led troops in combat during 4 deployments or directing special operations activity across 12 countries in Europe, he has deep knowledge of the strategic, operational, and tactical requirements across military and emergency response segments. After service, he earned a Wharton MBA while working at J.P. Morgan in the Leveraged Finance Group. His military and business experience fortify the firm’s position to deliver results and exceed expectations.
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