Paul Couston

Paul Couston is a second-time GovTech founder and entrepreneur focused on building technology that improves safety and decision-making for warfighters and first responders. He is the co-founder and CEO of WearTAK, a wearable situational awareness platform integrated with the Department of Defense Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) ecosystem. The platform delivers real-time location tracking, physiological monitoring, and operational alerts directly to the wrist, enabling faster and more informed decision-making in high-risk environments.

Under Paul’s leadership, WearTAK has been deployed across all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), multiple municipal fire departments, and international partners in countries including Japan, Canada, India, Australia, Thailand, and Qatar. Operational deployments have demonstrated measurable impact, including a 40% reduction in rescue times during joint airborne operations.

Prior to founding WearTAK, Paul co-founded Optivolt Labs, a Techstars-backed energy technology company focused on solar resilience and energy harvesting systems. Optivolt developed self-charging power platforms for drones, sensors, and mobile devices and secured contracts with the U.S. Air Force to develop deployable solar power systems for expeditionary environments.

Across his ventures, Paul has raised more than $7.5 million in venture capital and secured over $11 million in federal contracts and program revenue with agencies including the U.S. Air Force, Army, NIST, and other public safety organizations. His work sits at the intersection of defense technology, wearable systems, and operational data platforms designed for mission-critical environments.

Paul studied Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he also chaired a $10 million student-run cleantech grant fund supporting early-stage energy and infrastructure innovation. He has been recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30, received the Chicago Innovation Award (2024), and was named 2024 Dealmaker of the Year by Smart Business Dealmakers for his work advancing government technology.