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EP 102: He Raised $76M With No Defense Tech Background | Nelson Mills Founder of VATN Systems
Description
From VC intern to $76M raised, here’s how it really happened.
He raised $76M in two years—without ever working in defense tech.
Nelson Mills, co-founder and CEO of a fast-growing underwater defense startup. Shares how he went from a VC intern to leading a company building autonomous undersea vehicles and why the maritime defense space became the perfect opportunity.
He breaks down how he validated the market, assembled a world-class team, and raised more than $76M across multiple rounds.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- How Nelson raised $3.5M pre-seed, $13M seed, and a $60M Series A as a first-time founder
- Why fundraising looks easy from the outside—and why it isn’t the biggest mindset shift Nelson made going from VC to founder
- What he’d do differently if he had to raise again tomorrow
- Why raising capital ≠ success (and what actually matters)
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Here's what you're in for:
00:00 Intro
00:06 From VC intern to founder
01:18 Finding the opportunity in underwater defense
02:56 Technical challenges & innovations
07:23 Building investor relationships
10:57 Inside the seed round
23:17 Hiring & talent strategy
26:31 Competing in defense tech
28:24 Customer-driven product thinking
29:29 Why lobbying starts on day one
32:49 Navigating government sales
34:23 Capital strategy & funding options
37:28 Scaling hardware & supply chain
44:18 Building a company with family
46:00 Nelson’s advice for defense-tech founders
48:38 Final thoughts
ABOUT NELSON MILLS
Nelson Mills is the founder and CEO of Vatn Systems, an underwater vehicle startup building some of the world’s lowest-cost, high-production UUVs. In just 15 months, he led the company from concept to TRL 7, raising more than $3.5M in venture capital and assembling a team pushing the boundaries of maritime tech.Before launching Vatn, Nelson led hull development at Pure Watercraft, a marine electrification company backed by over $170M in funding.
He later moved into venture capital, with roles at Link Ventures, Lux Capital, and Global Founders Capital, giving him a unique lens on product development, capital strategy, and scaling deep-tech companies.Nelson holds both a BA and an MBA from Columbia University and brings a blend of engineering insight, founder grit, and investor perspective to everything he builds.
You can reach out to Nelson Wills through:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/millsn/
ABOUT JASON KIRBY
Jason Kirby is the co-founder of Thunder, a tech-enabled investment bank helping founders reach their ideal target outcomes through capital strategy and M&A. He is a serial entrepreneur with four exits and decades of experience in fundraising, M&A, and business building. In his career, he has coached hundreds of entrepreneurs on fundraising, investing, capital strategy, M&A, and business development. He’s transacted over $135M and his firm Thunder has transacted over $200M+
You can reach out to Jason through:Email: jason@thunder.vcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonrkirby/
ABOUT $100M EXITS
My goal is simple: to equip founders with the knowledge, inspiration, and guidance to navig