It’s easy to assume our country is on autopilot—that all the hard problems are solved and the rest of us can just scroll. But every generation inherits essential work that must be done to move the world forward.
For us, that work is fixing public-sector procurement. The rules meant to save taxpayer money often end up wasting it. That’s the great irony. We’re not trying to rewrite those rules—we’re building a system that helps good companies navigate them better.
Together, we started Pursuit to make public procurement transparent, competitive, and fast—so the best solutions win and governments serve people better.
For decades, selling into government meant navigating resellers, distributors, systems integrators, lobbyists, and contract vehicles—layers that added cost and bias toward access over merit. Pursuit flips that model by reading the raw voice of government—plans, budgets, minutes, and contracts—and surfacing verifiable intent months before an RFP.Vendors win on merit and fit; buyers gain a trust layer of proposal verification, price transparency, and reference routing. We route predictions into action—outreach, workflows, marketplaces—compounding learning with each closed-won or lost deal. The result: a market that runs on signals, trust, and merit—not gatekeeping.
That thesis powers Radar (our signal-detection engine) and Intel (real-time contact intelligence).
From the Hatch to Pursuit
Mike: I graduated from Michigan State with a degree in business, started my career at Accenture, and eventually built my first company, Wisely, which we sold for $187 million. That experience taught me how to build great products, businesses, and teams—but also how much you need to love the customer and the mission if you want to build something truly transformative.
Brandon: I wrote my first paid software at fourteen. It wasn’t elegant, but it worked—and that bias toward shipping has guided everything since. At MSU, the Burgess Institute gave that instinct a home. I was one of the first in-house developers at The Hatch, turning rough student ideas into usable products. Those reps mattered more than any single success. They taught me momentum.
After stints at Adobe and Olo, I joined Mike to co-found Pursuit. The hardest challenge wasn’t technical—it was internal. When you grow up without much, stability can feel like the finish line. Comfort is subtle gravity. It tells you to polish a little longer, to wait for perfect. But perfection is a mirage. Progress compounds only when you ship.
On Risk, Momentum, and Building Early
Mike: Starting is the hard part. You’ll learn more from ten conversations with customers than from ten weeks of planning. And the truth is, you’re probably better positioned today than you’ll ever be—you have time, no kids, low personal burn, and your health. Those ingredients matter. They give you freedom to move fast, make mistakes, and recover quickly. Think about risk differently. Many students are told—by parents, professors, recruiters—that the goal is a stable job at Adobe, Accenture, Microsoft, or Google. But startup experience is now insanely valuable everywhere. Learning how to operate in ambiguity, build quickly, and solve real problems under pressure is the fastest path to leadership—whether you stay in startups or not. If you look at Pursuit’s values, you’ll notice we prioritize this experience.
Brandon: People overestimate the downside. The worst-case scenario isn’t failure—it’s experience. You’ll get sharper faster than your peers, and those skills compound for life. The worst case scenario is that you’ll be more qualified for a job at a company that would pay you a ridiculous amount of money. The world doesn’t change by consensus. It changes because a small group of people refuse to let inertia win. So build before you feel ready. Talk to customers every week, ship something small every week, and measure one number that truly reflects value. Keep that rhythm and luck will find you working.
To MSU Students: Build Now, Connect Outward, and Go AI-Native
If you’re at Michigan State right now, start building while you’re in school. The risk is lowest, the community is strong, and the Burgess ecosystem is one of the best places in the country to experiment.
Don’t just stay on campus—reach out to Spartans in the real world who are building. Email the CEO. Ask for an internship. You’ll be surprised how many will say yes. Those connections and reps matter far more than another polished résumé bullet.
And above all—become AI-native in everything you do. No matter your major or career path, learn to use AI creatively. Automate routine work. Use it to brainstorm, write, analyze, design, and test. The people who master AI early will lead every industry of the next decade. You can be one of them.
Our journey started at Michigan State, and the Burgess Institute remains a touchstone. It’s where we first learned to turn instincts into action. Today, we mentor student founders through Burgess and the Spartan Founders Club, helping them apply the same bias toward motion.
We tell them what we’ve lived: don’t wait for permission. Just start. Iterate. Learn. Keep trying. Never quit.