Katie Bigelow, a former Black Hawk pilot, launched Mettle Ops in the summer of 2013 — the same season she was diagnosed with melanoma while facing significant personal challenges.

By early fall, life had intensified in ways that required her to step away from the business for about a year.

But she started again.

Today, Mettle Ops builds reactive armor tiles for Army combat vehicles, manufactures U.S.-made drone motors, and employs 65 people across Michigan and Huntsville, Alabama.

Katie talks about:

the moment a million-dollar invoice made it feel real

why paying vendors on time accidentally saved her company during COVID

how checklists and after-action reviews became the backbone of a culture that refuses to cut corners on the people carrying their equipment into combat.

Thank you, Katie, for coming into the studio and sharing your heart behind all you do!

*Chapters*

0:00 – Intro and Katie Bigelow’s Background

1:08 – Starting the Business as a Side Gig During Naptime

3:05 – From Arabic Linguist to Blackhawk Pilot

4:28 – Leaving the Army to Start a Family

7:06 – The Business Plan Built From Her Husband’s Work Stories

8:49 – Launching Mettle Ops While Caring for a Quadriplegic Son

10:45 – Cancer Diagnosis, Losing Brett, and Coming Back

14:05 – Hustling for Contracts and Learning the Proposal Process

17:11 – The Grit That Was Always There

20:14 – Should You Recommend Military Service?

24:35 – From $75K Revenue to the First Million-Dollar Invoice

28:02 – War Fighters Serving War Fighters: The Mettle Ops Mission

32:39 – How Paying on Time Saved Her Supply Chain During COVID

35:00 – Reactive Armor Tiles and the Drone Business

39:08 – Cybersecurity Threats and the Narrowing Military Tech Gap

46:59 – Checklists, After-Action Reviews, and Simple Leadership

55:34 – The Pajama Foundation for Hospitalized Children

1:00:28 – Exit Strategy: ESOP, Sale, or Becoming the VC

1:05:49 – Advice to Her Younger Self: Just Sit at the Table

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