Exchanged a couple of calls with Michael last night, indicating our interest in investing in the current round if it were to open up, even if very small, and potentially investing more to a 10% cap.

It turns out Michael signed and sent out legal docs for signature today for the current seed round, so no availability to come in the current round. He is in discussions with two larger VCs to invest at a $30M post-money valuation.

According to Michael: one group has indicated an interest in investing $1M at a $30M post, with a handshake agreement to do $3–4M at the Series A. Another group has indicated they would do $1M at the $30M post and then $2M uncapped, with a discount to the Series A. Michael indicated they likely would only want to take $1M at the $30M post, but there could be flexibility.

Michael indicated he would have potentially had us in at the prior round in a small way, and he was surprised that Kimberly responded in the prior email exchange — the first time she had responded to a fundraising thread (Michael had been away from computer).

StoryHouse position: Miles bringing the deal to IC tomorrow (July 1st). Unlikely to do a full $1M at $30M; more likely $250–500K. Would target ~$1M at Series A, potentially co-investing alongside one of the other firms. StoryHouse would be a minority investor at the $30M if they participate.

Timeline: decision on $30M bridge partners by Friday, July 10th. Miles to indicate check-size interest and next steps after IC.

Next steps: bring deal to IC and confirm participation size (Miles) — recommend $250–500K; this is at least if not more attractive than Sancho at the $30M post given traction, product development and co-investor syndicate. Need to see if we have received data room and DD questionnaire.

Spoke with Michael, he apologized for non-responsiveness — was doing the Army demo the last few days. Round is oversubscribed and he indicated there is no availability for StoryHouse.

Said that they would consider raising additional capital at a higher cap. I said this would likely not be a fit for StoryHouse but to keep us in the loop about it.

Disappointed we weren't able to access this one. Part of me would be interested in investing $500K at a $25M post-money SAFE, part of me says to just move on and if they break out, work later to try to access the A or the B.

Defensetech VC perspective — Alex Harstrick perspective, as discussed in this call:

Generally positive on the company. He said he liked it, thought the price was high but not too high, and reacted well to the founder's hustle and customer orientation. He specifically liked founders who are “driving hard to get to a customer.”

Main diligence question: how real and sustained the company's momentum is. He pushed on when Michael had really been doing this “in earnest” versus earlier experimentation. He also looked for evidence of technical momentum, including government contract history.

He seemed comfortable once the traction timeline became clearer. After hearing that the company had meaningful Customs and Border Patrol engagement about 2.5 years ago, Alex responded that this “makes a lot of sense.”

He wanted to understand round dynamics and whether the valuation was truly market-set. He asked about 1517 vs. Outlander, who set the price, whether Outlander had renegotiated it, and what 1517's original basis was. That suggests he was testing whether the round was being driven by credible insiders versus momentum pricing.

He was also diligence-checking 1517 as a partner. He asked whether 1517 is good at supporting companies over time versus just locking in paper gains.

Bottom line: Alex came across as constructive and substantively interested, with the biggest lens being founder quality, real traction, and whether the valuation / round formation is justified by the underlying progress. He did not sound dismissive; he sounded like someone doing real underwriting.