Beaten Zone Venture Partners launches free Veteran Upskilling series aiming to bring more Defence experience into business and private capital.
Following the success of TAKHACK 2026, a nine-part webinar series will help ADF members and veterans build the business skills to found, join and back Australia’s next generation of defence innovation.
Beaten Zone Venture Partners (BZV), with the support of the Queensland Government, today launched the complete Veteran Upskilling Series, a free, nine-part webinar series designed to continue the education of veterans and defence personnel beyond the hackathon floor.
The series follows TAKHACK 2026, held 14 to 16 August at The Precinct in Fortitude Valley. The hackathon drew 113 applications and brought together 12 pitching teams, 26 mentors, six judges from across Defence, industry and government, and more than 30 veterans as participants, mentors and volunteers.
TAKHACK made it clear: the appetite is there, the gap is in business fluency.
The Veteran Upskilling Series is designed for currently serving ADF members, veterans transitioning out of service, and personnel new to the defence sector. Whether they are considering founding a company, moving into business, or already working inside a startup team and need to speak the language of commerce, the series gives them practical, plain-English grounding in how business actually works.
Each session runs roughly 30-45 minutes, is delivered by practitioners from industry, venture capital, and the veteran community, and is available free on the series page and the BZV YouTube channel for self-paced learning.
Defence personnel have something most founders and investors do not: close proximity to the problems. They have used the equipment, worked the systems, and lived with the consequences of technology that does or does not work in the field.
That experience is exactly what Australia’s defence innovation sector needs more of. Founders need people who understand end-user requirements and long defence sales cycles. Venture capital and private investors need people who can judge whether a product will survive contact with its intended user.
“We need more defence people in this sector, full stop,” said Peta Ellis, General Manager of Beaten Zone Venture Partners. “Veterans and currently serving members understand the end product in a way no pitch deck can teach. They know the user, the environment and the problem. What they often lack is the business language to translate that into a company, a role or an investment decision. This series is the first step in closing that gap.”
“It works both ways. Venture capital and private capital need to engage far more with veterans. If we want to back defence innovation that actually works, we need their lived experience in the room, and on the teams we are backing.”
THE SERIES
- Innovation Decoded: Founder Lessons for Success, Shane “Buzz” Sarlin, Buzzworks
- From the Uniform to Boardroom: Translating Military Skills into Civilian and Business Value, Kelly Hopkins, HAYS Recruiting
- Commercialising Your Skills: Tips for the Real World, Ben Dullroy, Bravo Delta Advisory
- Getting Ahead: Connecting to Services Inside Defence, Tim Walmsley, The Industry Platform
- Defence Finance 101, Alexandra Grigg and Max Quinlan-Ward, Beaten Zone Venture Partners
- Cyber Threats to Australian Defence Industry and How to Protect Your Business, Heath Moodie, Threat Informed Advisory
- Finding Your People: Co-Founders, Networks and Connecting Defence to Business, Jason Murray, Ares Armaments Australia
- Building a Profile: Leveraging Defence Networks in the Commercial World, Angela “Ange” Harper, HarPR
- Hackathon 101: What to Expect and How to Prepare, Peta Ellis and Jake Bostock, Beaten Zone Venture Partners
The series is part of BZV’s broader commitment to building a pipeline of defence-experienced founders, operators and investors. It sits alongside TAKHACK, the annual tactical innovation hackathon built around the Team Awareness Kit (TAK) platform, and is intended as an entry point for veterans who want to take the next step, whether that is into consulting, founding a company, joining a defence industry team, or stepping into private capital.
Session recordings, slides and notes are available now at bzv.notion.site/veteran-upskilling, with new sessions added as they are released. You can also watch recordings in the TAKHACK Veteran Upskilling Series playlist on YouTube.
The Veteran Upskilling Series is presented by Beaten Zone Venture Partners with the support of the Queensland Government.
ENDS
ABOUT BEATEN ZONE VENTURE PARTNERS
Beaten Zone is headquartered in Brisbane and will invest in sovereign early-stage businesses with products having material military use, that help to contribute to Australian and allied war-fighters lethality and survivability. The scope precludes investments involved with controversial weapons, e.g., landmines, or other capabilities that would violate Australian ratified treaties or agreements.
MEDIA CONTACT
Stephen Baxter Lead Investor and Founding Partner (steve@beatenzone.vc)
Peta Ellis General Manager (peta@beatenzone.vc)
ABOUT STEVE BAXTER (www.stevebaxter.com.au)
Steve is a passionate Australian, Queenslander and veteran. He has been investing into the Australian technology scene since 2011 with over 90 companies funded. He was the founder of South Australian dial up ISP SE Net, and co-founder of Brisbane based whole telecommunication company PIPE Networks. Following successful exits, Steve started River City Labs, Startup Catalyst, River Pitch and TEN13 as well spending one year as Queensland Chief Entrepreneur and four seasons on the Channel Ten show Shark Tank.