From Government Aide to Talent Matchmaker: Spotting the "American Dynamism" Gap
Last spring, Geo Saba—a longtime aide to Silicon Valley Democratic congressman Ro Khanna—was deep into his grad studies at Stanford. But he was restless. Since leaving government, he'd been moonlighting as a matchmaker, linking ex-government folks with startups hungry for their expertise.
That's when he connected with Mike Moriarty, an operating partner at venture capital firm Human Capital and a go-to talent acquisition pro. The two clicked instantly and zeroed in on a massive opportunity.
The "American Dynamism" Wake-Up Call
They both saw how the U.S. tech scene had gotten sidetracked. While we're churning out software widgets, social apps, and B2B tools, countries like China are surging ahead in real-world breakthroughs—think semiconductors, autonomous missile systems, and nuclear reactors.
This idea was gaining steam everywhere. At the March 2025 American Dynamism Summit in D.C., then-VP and ex-VC JD Vance nailed it: “For those of us lucky enough to be Americans, we shouldn’t be fearful of productive new technologies—in fact, we should seek to dominate them.”
Coined by Andreessen Horowitz's Katherine Boyle back in 2021, American Dynamism is all about funding companies that serve the "national interest." That means rebuilding U.S. manufacturing, supercharging the military-industrial complex, and owning the AI race. It's pulled in big political buzz and bucks—Andreessen Horowitz alone pledged at least $600 million to the space.
The Missing Piece: Talent
But here's what Moriarty and Saba spotted that others missed: a glaring talent shortage. Everyone's hyped about the fundraising frenzy, but who's tackling the people problem?
“Everyone’s talking about the fundraise,” Moriarty says, “but no one’s talking about the talent gap.”
This duo is betting big on filling it—and it could reshape how "dynamism" startups scale.