I was the first hire for the marketing team in June 2024, and now we have a full six person team.
ACS is a defense technology startup. We’ve developed a robot (Bullfrog) that uses a machine gun to shoot drones out of the sky. It’s an ingenious combo of computer vision + EE + MechE.
Here’s a video. It is an awesome product.
The second part of my job at ACS is to produce our podcast, The Drone Ultimatum.
What initially started out as a hobby project of our company President (my ultimate boss) has turned into a full-blown voice in the industry. We launched in September 2024 and have published over 60 episodes to date. Tens of thousands of downloads. We record every episode face-to-face, in person.
I’m in charge of everything except the hosting. I book the guests, organize logistics, prep the topics & questions, hire and manage the editor, set up and maintain the AV equipment, sit in the room and manage the recording process (while also speaking up occasionally during the episode), and a few other miscellaneous things.
It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.
I’m knee deep in the first volume of Robert Caro’s Lyndon Johnson biography. It’s masterfully written and full of interesting political history.
I’m getting more into the classics. I just read The Picture of Dorian Gray and have a good stack on my nightstand to get to: Pride and Prejudice, The Count of Monte Cristo, East of Eden, etc.
My other full-time job is being a husband and a dad. Best jobs in the world. Men, I highly recommend it.
I grew up in northwestern Wisconsin. I went to Notre Dame for college and moved to the Washington D.C. area to get into politics, which I did for just one year before finding ACS.
© 2026 Jack Usher