Welcome back to GovCon Unscripted! In this episode, Chelsea sits down with Robert Fehlen, Managing Principal of Dark Corner Solutions.

Robert shares how his defense ventures led to the launch of Mission Cultivate, a discreet and secure social networking platform designed for defense, national security, and industry professionals who are tired of “happy hour networking” and cluttered platforms.

On this episode, we discuss:

Why authentic connections still drive GovCon success

How Mission Cultivate ensures security and vetted access

Why traditional networking isn’t working, and what comes next

How 60,000+ users joined the waitlist through word of mouth

Timestamps:

[00:00 ] - Introducing Robert Fehlen and Dark Corner Solutions

[01:00 ] - Launching new platforms across defense and national security

[02:00 ] - Robert’s path into GovCon — family military legacy and entrepreneurship

[03:00 ] - Why Mission Cultivate was created

[06:00 ] - Government participation and growing waitlist of 60,000+

[08:00 ] - Word-of-mouth growth and community management

[10:00 ] - Cutting noise, avoiding spam, and discouraging pitch-heavy interactions

[13:00 ] - Community types: public, private, hidden

[15:00 ] - Surfacing non-SAM.gov opportunities and problem statements

[20:00 ] - Tackling plagiarism and AI-generated content

[23:00 ] - Launch plans, events, and regional expansion

[25:00 ] - Security, vetting, and AWS GovCloud infrastructure

[27:00 ] - Balancing professional and personal conversations in communities

[29:00 ] - White-glove onboarding for organizations and associations

[30:00 ] - Where to connect with Robert

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Links and Resources:

• Chelsea’s LinkedIn Profile

• Robert Fehlen’s LinkedIn Profile

• Mission Cultivate Website

• Dark Corner Solutions Website