Shyam Sankar

You know, I remember one early meeting I had in the Pentagon, I didn't wear a tie. I mean, I wore a suit, everything except for a tie. First 30 minutes of the meeting, I just got dressed down for how disrespectful it was to show up without a tie. Look, I always wear a tie now. I've learned my lesson. But I think we lost the plot. The substance is the code, not the quality of my tie.

You know, I remember one early meeting I had in the Pentagon, I didn't wear a tie. I mean, I wore a suit, everything except for a tie. First 30 minutes of the meeting, I just got dressed down for how disrespectful it was to show up without a tie. Look, I always wear a tie now. I've learned my lesson. But I think we lost the plot. The substance is the code, not the quality of my tie.

It's the quality of the code.

It's the quality of the code.

It's the quality of the code.

There was. There was a lot of pushback. There's a lot of – kind of fake partnerships, like, hey, let's bring you in for some small, tiny amount of work share that will actually be zero. We don't really need you, is the vibe. But I would say, in fairness, when we first started, we thought the primes would be our big competitors.

There was. There was a lot of pushback. There's a lot of – kind of fake partnerships, like, hey, let's bring you in for some small, tiny amount of work share that will actually be zero. We don't really need you, is the vibe. But I would say, in fairness, when we first started, we thought the primes would be our big competitors.

There was. There was a lot of pushback. There's a lot of – kind of fake partnerships, like, hey, let's bring you in for some small, tiny amount of work share that will actually be zero. We don't really need you, is the vibe. But I would say, in fairness, when we first started, we thought the primes would be our big competitors.

What I didn't realize is actually the government was our big competitor. The way that the government structured you have these program offices and they have the perfect five-year, 10-year plan. They kind of just want to lock in their plan. And we were a threat that disrupted all of their well-laid plans. Instead of adopting us, you know, they wanted to reject us.

What I didn't realize is actually the government was our big competitor. The way that the government structured you have these program offices and they have the perfect five-year, 10-year plan. They kind of just want to lock in their plan. And we were a threat that disrupted all of their well-laid plans. Instead of adopting us, you know, they wanted to reject us.

What I didn't realize is actually the government was our big competitor. The way that the government structured you have these program offices and they have the perfect five-year, 10-year plan. They kind of just want to lock in their plan. And we were a threat that disrupted all of their well-laid plans. Instead of adopting us, you know, they wanted to reject us.

And so if you really look at the early days of Palantir, all of our adoption was driven from the field back. You know, so all of our attempts to get people in DC really interested in what we're doing, it was in benefit of hindsight, was wasted time. You know, our first deployment, was with Tent Group as they took over Siege of Sotaph AP in Balad.

And so if you really look at the early days of Palantir, all of our adoption was driven from the field back. You know, so all of our attempts to get people in DC really interested in what we're doing, it was in benefit of hindsight, was wasted time. You know, our first deployment, was with Tent Group as they took over Siege of Sotaph AP in Balad.

And so if you really look at the early days of Palantir, all of our adoption was driven from the field back. You know, so all of our attempts to get people in DC really interested in what we're doing, it was in benefit of hindsight, was wasted time. You know, our first deployment, was with Tent Group as they took over Siege of Sotaph AP in Balad.

And it's because the commander, the colonel, was just like, three days before deploying, he called us up. We had been showing him our software. He's like, well, I don't know. Like, I don't buy things. I'm a warfighter. I don't buy things. And three days before he was going, he just had that feeling, like, I need this.

And it's because the commander, the colonel, was just like, three days before deploying, he called us up. We had been showing him our software. He's like, well, I don't know. Like, I don't buy things. I'm a warfighter. I don't buy things. And three days before he was going, he just had that feeling, like, I need this.

And it's because the commander, the colonel, was just like, three days before deploying, he called us up. We had been showing him our software. He's like, well, I don't know. Like, I don't buy things. I'm a warfighter. I don't buy things. And three days before he was going, he just had that feeling, like, I need this.

Like, if you guys come, drive for Fort Carson, I'll palletize your servers, and I'll give you four seats. And that's what happened. We just drove all our stuff over there, flew over. For two weeks, the Krusty Warren officers were like, why do I have to find housing for these 22-year-olds? Two weeks. But after that, we earned our keep. They're like, I know why they're here. You were over there?

Like, if you guys come, drive for Fort Carson, I'll palletize your servers, and I'll give you four seats. And that's what happened. We just drove all our stuff over there, flew over. For two weeks, the Krusty Warren officers were like, why do I have to find housing for these 22-year-olds? Two weeks. But after that, we earned our keep. They're like, I know why they're here. You were over there?

Like, if you guys come, drive for Fort Carson, I'll palletize your servers, and I'll give you four seats. And that's what happened. We just drove all our stuff over there, flew over. For two weeks, the Krusty Warren officers were like, why do I have to find housing for these 22-year-olds? Two weeks. But after that, we earned our keep. They're like, I know why they're here. You were over there?