“A Very Unfortunate Growth Industry”

No.392

Keith Walawender and Mike Biller

TOMAHAWK STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS

Three-year growth 1,168.3% 2018 revenue $2.8M

Nashville | Founded in 2014

- Tom Foster

Keith Walawender and Mike Biller served with one of the Navy SEALs’ most elite teams, the Naval Special Warfare Development Group—also known as SEAL Team 6 and DevGru—which undertook the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. After they left the SEALs, they recognized their special-ops experience could be invaluable to law enforcement groups and corporations, and formed Tomahawk Strategic Solutions.

Keith Walawender, CEO I was just 17 when I joined the military. All I wanted to do was be a Navy SEAL. I did five years with SEAL Team 2 and eight years with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Eventually, I got injured in combat and was medically retired in 2014.

I hurt my back in a heli copter crash overseas. I can’t say anything else about that crash.

Mike Biller, president and COO I remember being 12 and riding bikes with my friends. One kept saying that becoming a Navy SEAL is impossible—nobody can do it.

I was a little bit talky back then, and I said, “I can do that. I can definitely do that.”

I was 17 when 9/11 happened, and a kid came up to me and said, “That means we’re going to war. You’re not going in now, are you?” I said, “That’s why I am doing this. I do want to go to war. I do want to fight and kill bad guys. That’s important to me.”