THE PROUDFOOT GROUP

We Champion Technology That Makes the World a Safer Place

We partner with emerging technology companies in AI governance, ethical technology, and child safety — building the governance, infrastructure, licensing, and go-to-market architecture that turns promising products into operating businesses.

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Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned
Woman-Owned Small Business
Marine Corps Veterans
Judge Advocate Backgrounds
30+ Years National Security & Legal
CAGE 7KNB5 · UEI JNKMY9G1SMC3
What We Build

The infrastructure a company
needs to operate at scale.

TPG doesn't advise. We build — governance frameworks, market architecture, government sales channels, licensing systems, training infrastructure, and the BD networks that generate revenue. Founders focus on the product. We build everything else.

01

Company Infrastructure & Governance

Corporate governance structure, equity architecture, legal frameworks, advisor agreements, IP protection strategy, and licensing models. TPG builds the foundation that makes a company investable, contractable, and scalable — before the first dollar of revenue.

02

Market Architecture & GTM Strategy

Market entry sequencing, channel identification, customer segmentation, pricing and licensing strategy. TPG maps the path from product to market and builds the operational infrastructure to execute it — including the documents, materials, and systems required at each stage.

03

Government & Institutional Access

Federal agency outreach, defense and intelligence community engagement, state and municipal procurement pathways, tribal authority relationships, NGO and multilateral institutional access. SDVOSB/WOSB structure opens doors — TPG knows how to walk through them.

04

Training & Knowledge Infrastructure

Internal and external training program design and deployment. Canvas LMS architecture, white-labeled training portals, code-controlled enrollment systems, certification frameworks. When your customers need to know how to use your product, TPG builds the system that teaches them — and manages it.

05

Business Development & Revenue Architecture

Partner identification and engagement, revenue share structuring, channel partner development, BD network construction, investor relations support, grant identification and application. TPG builds the relationships and the structures that generate recurring revenue — not one-time transactions.

06

Licensing & Regulatory Strategy

Licensing framework design, regulatory compliance architecture, accreditation pathways, international deployment frameworks. Particularly relevant for technology companies in regulated markets — child safety, AI governance, law enforcement, healthcare, defense. TPG builds the compliance infrastructure that makes regulated-market entry possible.

Our Work

Real companies.
Real infrastructure built.

We're not billing hours — we're building businesses. Here's what that looks like.

Child Safety
Technology Platform
Governance GTM Licensing Training Gov BD
  • Full corporate governance & equity architecture from formation
  • IP licensing framework, advisor agreements & bylaws
  • International deployment framework — 4 countries
  • Five-track professional training portal on Canvas LMS
  • Congressional pitch — CPAC Combating Human Trafficking
Defense & Public
Safety Technology
Market Architecture BD Structure Investor Relations Brand
  • Equity & revenue partnership with anti-dilution protections
  • Tribal market beachhead strategy for Adams Watch™
  • Three-source pre-money valuation for investor engagement
  • Partner website, brand identity & product brochures
  • BD channel architecture with sub-commission framework
AI-Powered
Training & Publishing
Proprietary Publishing Training Infra LMS
  • 12 published titles on Amazon KDP — live now
  • AIP Academy Canvas course architecture & portal
  • Code-controlled enrollment backend — deployable for partners
  • White-labeled training portal framework
  • Three-tier pricing — Course, Bundle, All-Access
How We Engage

Three ways to work
with TPG.

TPG structures every engagement to align our incentives with yours.

Model 01

Equity Partnership

For early-stage companies where cash is limited but the opportunity is real. TPG takes an equity position and revenue share in exchange for full company-building services — governance, GTM, BD, training infrastructure, and ongoing operational support.

Best for: Pre-seed to Series A companies with a validated product and a regulated-market opportunity. Current examples include ChildSafe.dev and Native Brigade.
Model 02

Project-Based

Defined scope, defined deliverable, defined fee. For companies that need specific infrastructure built — a governance framework, a training system, a government sales strategy, a licensing architecture — without a long-term commitment.

Best for: Companies with specific gaps that need filling. Typical projects range from a single governance document to a full training platform deployment.
Model 03

Retained Partner

Ongoing monthly retainer for companies that need continuous BD, market development, and operational support. TPG functions as your embedded business development and operations team — without the overhead of building one.

Best for: Growth-stage companies that have product-market fit and need consistent, professional BD and government/institutional channel development.
Government Contracting & Teaming

Certified. Experienced.
Ready to team.

TPG's SDVOSB and WOSB certifications are procurement advantages — not just identity badges. We are actively available to team, joint venture, and prime on federal contracts in AI governance, child safety technology, and national security. If you're building a proposal and need a qualified small business partner, let's talk.

Teaming Opportunity 01

Subcontractor

TPG brings domain expertise in AI governance, child safety technology, and ethical technology — alongside SDVOSB and WOSB certifications that satisfy small business participation requirements on set-aside and full-and-open federal contracts.

Best for large primes and systems integrators seeking a qualifying SDVOSB/WOSB sub with substantive technology and compliance expertise — not just a pass-through.
Discuss Teaming →
Teaming Opportunity 02

Joint Venture

TPG is structured for JV arrangements on SBIR/STTR opportunities, mentor-protégé programs, and larger contract vehicles where both parties share operational responsibility, risk, and reward. Our legal and governance background makes us an unusually capable JV partner.

Best for partners pursuing set-aside vehicles, 8(a) mentor-protégé arrangements, or multi-award contract vehicles requiring substantive small business participation.
Discuss Joint Venture →
Teaming Opportunity 03

Prime Contractor

TPG primes on child safety technology, AI governance, and public safety contracts — with ChildSafe.dev / RoseShield™, Algorethics.ai, and Native Brigade as the technical solution layer. Our partner portfolio is purpose-built for federal and state agency deployment.

Best for agency opportunities in child digital safety, AI ethics enforcement, law enforcement technology, and tribal community public safety — where TPG's partner platforms are the right technical solution.
Discuss Prime Opportunity →
Entity The Proudfoot Group, LLC
Certifications SDVOSB · WOSB · VOSB
CAGE Code 7KNB5
UEI JNKMY9G1SMC3
NAICS Codes 541512 · 541690 · 541990 · 541330 · 541511
Capability Statement Download PDF ↓
Leadership

Founded by Marines.
Driven by Mission.

Both founders are Marine Corps veterans and former Judge Advocates — with careers spanning national security, higher education leadership, and corporate governance. That background isn't decorative. It's the reason TPG understands how government buys, how regulated industries operate, and how to build legal and compliance infrastructure that actually holds up.

Melissa Ehlers
Melissa Ehlers
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

Marine Corps veteran and former Judge Advocate with more than 30 years of leadership experience across national security, compliance, and organizational governance. Led NIST 800-171 and FOCI readiness initiatives. Brings deep expertise in high-trust partnership development and regulated-market strategy. Co-founder of TPG Publishing and the Appalachian Hope Academy Foundation.

LinkedIn →
Dr. Loy Ehlers
Dr. Loy Ehlers III
Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder

Marine Corps veteran, former Judge Advocate, and corporate executive with more than 30 years across national security, higher education leadership, and complex organizational management — including service as senior legal officer for a joint DoD/State Department organization supporting global embassy operations. Author of the AI-Powered Professional Series. Co-founder of TPG Publishing and the Appalachian Hope Academy Foundation.

LinkedIn →
Current Partners

The companies we're
building right now.

TPG maintains active partnerships with a curated set of companies across AI governance, child safety, and defense technology. These are the businesses we've built infrastructure for — and continue to represent in government, institutional, and commercial markets.

Child Safety Technology
ChildSafe.dev &
RoseShield™

A full-stack child safety platform — RoseShield™ on-device AI, the ChildSafe.dev compliance API, and ShieldConnect, a supervised social and messaging platform for youth. Zero data collection. Offline-capable. Designed for institutional and carrier-scale deployment.

View Platform →
AI Governance & Enforcement
Algorethics.ai

Global ethical AI infrastructure delivering real-time policy enforcement, algorithm transparency, and AI governance at enterprise and national scale. EU AI Act, NIST, and UAE compliance frameworks. Operating across USA, UAE, India, and Georgia.

View Platform →
Defense & Public Safety Tech
Native Brigade
& SGAW

Veteran-led child protection and community safety platforms — Sentinel Guard™ for real-time threat monitoring and Adams Watch™ for trafficking detection and response. Designed for law enforcement, tribal community, and public safety deployment.

View Platform →
TPG Publishing & Learning

We also build training programs
and publish the books behind them.

TPG's publishing arm has produced 12 titles in the AI-Powered Professional and Student Series — available on Amazon KDP. The AIP Academy delivers those courses through a code-controlled Canvas LMS portal, alongside ChildSafe.dev professional certification and partner training programs. The same training infrastructure we build for partners, we built first for ourselves.

View the Books → Enter Learning Center
Work With Us

Ready to build
something real?

TPG works with a small number of companies at any given time — by design. Every partnership gets full attention, not a slice of it. If you have a technology that deserves better infrastructure, better market access, and a team that's built companies before, let's talk.

[email protected]
Download Capability Statement
Location Blowing Rock, North Carolina