Maven Scouts Wins $1 Million SBA Award to Launch Gulf South Defense Tech Cluster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Maven Scouts Wins $1 Million SBA Award to Launch Gulf South Defense Tech Cluster
All-veteran core team will provide free accelerator services, business assistance and financial workshops for eligible Louisiana startups and small businesses.
MONROE, La. — October 6, 2026 — Maven Scouts, a Louisiana-based, veteran-led accelerator and dual-use technology commercialization firm, has been awarded $1 million through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Regional Innovation Clusters program to launch and lead the Gulf South Defense Tech Cluster.
The Gulf South Defense Tech Cluster joins an SBA network of 12 Regional Innovation Clusters nationwide, following the agency’s October 6 announcement of more than $7 million in awards to establish nine new clusters supporting biotechnology, defense, advanced manufacturing and transportation.
“President Trump is restoring America’s industrial capacity—from defense systems and biotechnology to advanced manufacturing and transportation,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler in the agency’s national announcement. “By expanding and modernizing our nationwide network of Regional Innovation Clusters, the SBA is supercharging production capacity in communities across the country and helping small businesses bring critical technologies from the drawing board to the factory floor. The result is a stronger industrial base, more resilient supply chains, and less dependence on foreign competitors.”
The cluster’s two-year plan aims to support 150 Louisiana small businesses and deliver 6,000 hours of direct assistance, helping companies develop technologies, reach customers and compete in defense and commercial markets. All cluster services, including the accelerator, business assistance, financial workshops and coordinated introductions, will be provided at no cost to eligible veteran-owned and non-veteran-owned startups and small businesses. Participation does not require equity, investment or the purchase of affiliated services.
Maven Scouts is led by Grant Rogers, a Ouachita Parish native with a decade of entrepreneurial experience. The all-veteran core team brings more than 110 years of combined experience, including U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and AFWERX backgrounds.
Maven Scouts operates from locations in West Monroe, Monroe and Bossier City and plans to open an office in Lafayette to expand its technology transfer and commercialization work with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
“We’ve moved from bridging the gap to accelerating the path from innovation to deployment,” said Grant Rogers, founder and CEO of Maven Scouts and managing partner of Grind Ventures. “Our all-veteran core team will work alongside other entrepreneur support organizations to connect founders with the universities, end users, manufacturers and investors they need. Together, we can build Louisiana’s dual-use identity and turn promising technologies into companies that grow here.”
The cluster will focus on dual-use technologies with both defense and commercial applications. Its six priority areas are counter-drone and installation protection; uncrewed and autonomous systems; artificial intelligence and secure computing; energy and grid resilience; advanced manufacturing; and maritime and critical infrastructure security.
Louisiana Economic Development reports nearly $260 billion in announced capital investment statewide since 2024. That momentum includes Meta’s commitment of more than $50 billion in the Richland Parish region for its data center development and Hyperion AI training cluster; Amazon’s planned $18 billion investment in data center campuses across Caddo and Bossier parishes; and SpaceX’s announced $100 billion Starbase Louisiana development in Vermilion Parish. The cluster will help small businesses prepare to compete for opportunities across the industrial, infrastructure and technology markets taking shape around these investments.
Maritime technology will be a major focus. Saronic Technologies’ announced $300 million expansion of its Franklin shipyard illustrates the opportunity in autonomous vessels serving defense and commercial markets. Maven Scouts will help entrepreneurs pursue opportunities across shipbuilding, ports, offshore energy and maritime infrastructure.
The cluster will offer the MavenWERX 15-week accelerator and tailored assistance with customer discovery, technology licensing, commercialization planning, manufacturing readiness, government contracting and capital preparation. It will also connect companies with research and development resources, financial-management workshops, prospective customers and specialized partners.
Through customer discovery and coordinated introductions, the cluster will expand opportunities for companies to engage military and industrial end users, understand operational problem statements and evaluate potential applications. That engagement will help founders focus development, identify testing and demonstration pathways, and prepare for procurement opportunities.
The SBA-supported cluster will serve eligible businesses in Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Ouachita, Lincoln, Vernon, Lafayette, East Baton Rouge, Terrebonne and Orleans parishes. Delivery will be coordinated across the Shreveport–Bossier, Monroe–Ruston, Central Louisiana, Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Houma–New Orleans areas.
Maven Scouts’ broader growth strategy includes expanding its accelerator, technology scouting and commercialization activities into Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia and Alabama. That expansion will emphasize collaboration with local entrepreneur support organizations, universities and industry partners.
The award will strengthen Maven Scouts’ work with Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL), Louisiana State University and the Biomedical Research and Innovation Park (BRIP), which is affiliated with the University of Louisiana Monroe. It builds on the firm’s engagement with Lumen Technologies, Leidos, military organizations within the U.S. Department of War and the Texas A&M University System’s George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex.
Cluster partners also include ULM’s School of Management, UL Lafayette’s Office of Innovation Management, Nicholls State University, Louisiana Delta Community College, the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office, Boot64 Ventures, Grind Ventures and the Monroe Chamber of Commerce.
Fletcher Directive and Single Source Business Solutions will serve as delivery partners. Fletcher Directive will lead the Gulf South Defense Tech Cluster’s dual-use storytelling and brand identity, highlighting Louisiana’s entrepreneurs, technologies and industry opportunities. Single Source Business Solutions will deliver free financial workshops focused on financial management, cash-flow planning, and lender and investor readiness.
“Louisiana’s dual-use innovators are building world-class technology, and their stories deserve a national stage,” said Benjamin Lee, partner at Fletcher Directive. “We’re proud to partner with Maven Scouts to make sure the Gulf South’s founders, technologies and opportunities get the spotlight they’ve earned.”
“We’re proud to work alongside Maven Scouts on this SBA Regional Innovation Clusters initiative,” said Bob Thames, co-founder of Single Source Business Solutions. “The Gulf South has talented entrepreneurs and businesses with ideas that can serve both commercial and defense markets. At Single Source, our role is to help those businesses build the financial and operational foundation to pursue those opportunities, grow sustainably and create jobs here at home.”
Maven Scouts also plans to hire students from UL Lafayette’s marketing program and from colleges and universities across Louisiana to support the cluster’s marketing, communications and storytelling. These roles will give students practical experience working with entrepreneurs and help develop Louisiana’s next generation of marketing and business talent.
Grind Ventures is raising private capital for the Grind Ventures Accelerator Fund to invest in promising dual-use startups. Maven Scouts serves as the fund’s scouting and talent development arm, identifying emerging companies and helping founders prepare for investment. By expanding founder support and customer engagement, the cluster creates additional opportunities to identify startups that may fit the fund’s investment strategy.
For prospective fund investors, this relationship is intended to strengthen sourcing and due diligence. Working with founders over time gives the investment team an opportunity to evaluate customer demand, technical readiness, capital needs and progress against business milestones. That experience can inform investment decisions and help identify where continued business-development support could add value as companies pursue defense and commercial markets.
Maven Scouts’ program records document more than $40 million in competitively awarded federal research and development funding and more than $30 million in private and corporate investment associated with assisted companies, along with more than 100 net-new jobs. The cluster will expand the firm’s work connecting Louisiana businesses with technology, customers and commercialization resources.
The award follows three consecutive wins in the SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, building on Maven Scouts’ record of supporting entrepreneurs and technology commercialization. Rogers was also recognized as Louisiana’s 2025 SBA Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year.
“It’s time we all come together—one team, one mission, one fight,” Rogers said. “Our national and economic security depend on this movement. Move your company to Louisiana. Let’s build together.”
Companies interested in locating or expanding in Louisiana, eligible businesses seeking cluster support, and prospective partners or fund investors can contact Maven Scouts at grant@mavenscouts.com or 318-658-5363.
About Maven Scouts
Maven Scouts, a Louisiana-based, veteran-led accelerator and dual-use technology commercialization firm, connects innovators with government, industry and capital. The organization operates the 15-week MavenWERX Accelerator and serves as the scouting and talent development arm for the Grind Ventures Accelerator Fund, identifying and preparing startups for investment. Founded in 2017, the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business operates in West Monroe, Monroe and Bossier City, with a Lafayette office planned.