What I Learned Going From Failed Navy Officer to $450M Exit | Blue Water Autonomy, Rylan Hamilton

Navy Service and Early Leadership Lessons00:00

Right out of college, joined the Navy on ships in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. The Navy 20 years ago had the world's most powerful navy with no pure competitor. As a junior officer in charge of a division, wasn't a great leader initially. In the Navy, you don't choose your team; you make the best of them. Learned to understand what motivates people, care about people—if you don't understand people, you can't motivate them, can't get the job done, and everything unravels.

Deck Plate Leadership

Learned leading from the front and deck plate leadership: be on the deck plates with sailors and team, helping solve issues, not just someone they report to, but part of the team. Spent hours in engine rooms troubleshooting. Faced losing steering at sea, power loss, flooding, fires. When team saw you standing with them, being patient, understanding problems and removing barriers, you earned trust.

Introduction to Blue Water Autonomy01:30

My name is Ryland Hamilton, CEO and co-founder of Blue Water Autonomy. First customer is the US Navy. Designing and building autonomous ships, focus on US Navy and future warships. Served on ships in Pacific, Atlantic, Northern Gulf looking for mines with 24/7 lookouts on front of ship using binoculars. Risky missions like mine hunting shouldn't require ships with 400 sailors. Launched autonomous test vessel, 145-ton vessel outside Boston testing technology. Google Ventures and investors put $50 million into company.