Bridging The Gap Between Military Service And Entrepreneurial Life
Patriot Boot Camp Presented By Techstars
I recently asked an Operations and Detention Specialist from the U.S. Navy what his unique value proposition (UVP) was. He responded, “My unique value proposition is that I’m a veteran.” A UVP is a clear statement that describes the benefit you offer. This couldn’t have been a more succinct statement.
This past weekend I, the humble ventures crew and many others, mentored at Patriot Boot Camp (PBC) in San Antonio, Texas. PBC, presented by Techstars, is an intensive three-day event with a mission to equip active duty military members, veterans, and their spouses with the education, resources, and community needed to be successful tech entrepreneurs.
An important feature of patriot boot camp is the nationwide network of business and startup community thought leaders. This community helps entrepreneurs to bridge the gap between military service and entrepreneurial life. In a single event over 200 individual mentor sessions occur with 7K+ minutes of mentor advice and 30 guest speakers.
The objective for the volunteers that traveled from around the nation was to mentor and train the next generation of high-growth, scaleable and impactful companies. Mentors can be veterans or non-veterans, allowing the program to offer many useful business perspectives. Being divorced from the patriotic duties of the country emerges individuals that stand shoulder to shoulder with their peers.
“Given all this battlefield entrepreneurial experience, the vets coming out of the Iraq and Afganistan wars are better prepared than ever for the business world, whether building startups or helping lead larger companies through the current turbulent period.”—Dan Senor & Saul Singer, Authors of Start-Up Nation
There was significant representation from the VC community such as USAA Corporate Development and In-Q-Tel. Among the 55 early stage founders from a spectrum of verticals (B2B, B2C, SaaS, social media, FinTech, cloud), there were some notable startups developing innovative tech who have demonstrated traction in the market. Below are two of them:
Airzaar: Founded by a UAV (drone) Flight Operator
Gitlinks: Founded by a West Point and Cornell MBA grad
Strengthening underrepresented founders and underserved communities is something we should all support. Since 2012, PBC has hosted programs in Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, New York, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona and Texas. This San Antonio event was their 10th program.
Charlotte and Josh, thanks for having us this weekend and we’re looking forward to supporting the next one in Denver this fall! Learn more about the program by clicking here.
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