Ep. 05: How Sameer Singhal built CFD Research into a $75M Defense Business

CFD Research started in Huntsville, Alabama in 1987 by Sameer Singhal's parents. Since Sameer took over he's grown it to be a $75M defense business, and transitioned to 100% employee ownership.
CFD has a diverse portfolio of transition strategies, ranging from services to spinouts, always keeping mission at the core of their work.
In Sameer's first podcast, he shares his story and lessons with us!
⏲️ Timestamps ⏲️
1:52 - Origin of the CFD story
6:00 - How Sameer returned to run the family business
8:45 - CFD structure and team
13:22 - Understanding the CFD Business Model
14:55 - The Services Business
16:20 - The Product side of the business
17:15 - Developing and licensing thermal battery technology
22:20 - Negotiating a licensing deal with a big company
26:40 - How CFD spins out companies
32:57 - A commercialization case study: ground test support for hypersonics
42:35 - The federal Go-to-Market Strategy
44:10 - What most people get wrong about SBIR
46:20 - Sameer's lessons from the helm of CFD
49:29 - What the future holds
For more on CFD Research, visit their website at www.cfd-reserach.com