BTU #36: Nicole Schwegman - Navy to Deloitte to Navy & USAA

“Instead of complaining about what I can't do because I'm in the Navy, I decided what can I do to help the Navy? How can I be the change that I want to see? Because if everyone leaves and decides to get out... I hate to break it to you, it's not that easy. You have all types of irritants. Just like you have irritants in the Navy there are irritants in every industry.  That  doesn't mean you shouldn't get out, but don't expect to not have irritants. And I've learned to deal with those irritants a lot better. – Nicole Schwegman

Nicole Schwegman is an industry Fellow (Tours with Industry)  with USAA and is currently on active duty in the US Navy. She started out at the Naval Academy, after which she served as a Surface Warfare Officer for four years, and then a Public Affairs Officer. She first left the Navy in 2008, where she worked at a small PR firm, as a Contractor for Deloitte, and then as a Communications Partner for Gallup. She returned to Active Duty in 2010 after a deployment to Afghanistan, moved to San Diego, deployed on two different surface ships (USS Essex and USS Peleliu) then got a Master's in Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• An overview of the Tours with Industry program, and Nicole's work with USAA
• What it's like working at USAA, and what they do to earn their exceptional customer support reputation
• What Nicole learned from her first transition from the military, and how that affects her view of being on Active Duty now
• How Nicole's perspective on Active Duty is different than the first time she was on Active Duty
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Show Notes

• 2:30 - Nicole's background
• 4:05 - An overview of the Tours with Industry program, and Nicole's work with USAA
• 10:55 - What it's like working at USAA, and what they do to earn their exceptional customer support reputation
• 14:33 - What Nicole learned from her first transition from the military, and how that affects her view of being on Active Duty now
• 24:20 - How Nicole's perspective on Active Duty is different than the first time she was on Active Duty
• 31:00 - How Nicole will approach her next transition from the military

BTU #34 - Molly Laufer: Active Duty to Employee #1 at Nature Box

“In a brand new, early stage startup, no one can be above doing something. As the months rolled on, I started to get an appreciation for just how much a startup was like my military experience. I really leaned in and relied on that experience in saying, “I’ve never done marketing, I’ve never worked in a CPG company, I’ve never worked in an e-commerce company, but what I have done is worked in a really chaotic environment without a lot of guidance and had to roll up my sleeves and get it done. So I might not know startups, I might not marketing, I might not know e-commerce or food, but I know how to operate in this environment. So trust yourself, trust your gut - you can do this." – Molly Laufer

Molly Laufer is the Director of Client Strategy in the Marketing & Advertising space with the Company, Oxford Road - which is the fastest growing full-service ad agency serving the Consumer Tech industry. She started out at the University of Virginia, where she did ROTC and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Affairs and Russian. Molly then served for four years in the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer, serving onboard the Frigate USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS as well as with DESTROYER SQUADRON 23. When she transitioned from the Navy, she was the first employee of the startup, NatureBox - a company that now has over 100 employees and has raised over $58M in funding. At NatureBox she started with Social Media and Content Marketing, and eventually became their Director of Customer Acquisition

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• How Molly used a career counselor to figure out what sorts of jobs she would be interested in and what sorts of problems she’d like to solve
• How Molly approached her first job search and how she ended up as employee #1 at Nature Box
• What it was like to be the first employee at an early stage startup
• An overview of the different roles Molly held at Nature Box, and what her career progression looked like
• Molly’s advice to any veteran thinking of working at a startup
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Show Notes

• 2:25 - Molly’s background
• 3:46 - How Molly approached the decision to leave the military
• 4:59 - How Molly considered the reserves
• 6:59 - The biggest surprises in Molly’s transition to civilian life
• 8:59 - How Molly used a career counselor to figure out what sorts of jobs she would be interested in and what sorts of problems she’d like to solve
• 9:57 - Advice on how to find the right career coach to help with a job search or career change
• 11:49 - An overview of the career coaching process
• 12:39 - How Molly approached her first job search and how she ended up as employee #1 at Nature Box
• 15:49 - How Molly thought about going to business school (while her husband was going to business school as well)
• 18:39 - an EXCEPTIONAL sound bite about how to use an elevator pitch when you're networking
• 20:16 - What it was like to be the first employee at an early stage startup
• 23:59 - An overview of the different roles Molly held at Nature Box, and what her career progression looked like
• 29:35 - What Molly liked most and least about her experience in an early stage startup
• 34:59 - In what ways Molly felt ahead and behind her civilian peers based on her military experience
• 38:37 - Molly’s advice to any veteran thinking of working at a startup
• 41:04 - How Molly made the transition from an early stage startup to an Ad Agency, with Oxford Road
• 44:24 - The day-to-day life of an Account Director at an Ad Agency
• 47:05 - Molly’s final word of advice to other veterans

BTU #31 - Andreas Jones - Starting your own business and making your dream a reality

“What a lot of people do in networking is they go in with the mindset of “what can I get from it.” The important switch i made was, “what can I give to this relationship that I’m looking to start.” Stop trying to figure out what’s in it for you. Give and it’s the law of nature - if you plant seeds of good and positive vibrations all the time, it’s going to come back to you." – Andreas Jones

Andreas Jones is the CEO and Principal Business Strategist and Leadership Consultant at Combat Business Coaching. Andreas served in the US Army for over 8 years, where he was as a Logistics & Supply Chain Manager. In his civilian career he has worked as: a contributing writer to Forbes and The Huffington Post; a Project Manager work at The Home Depot; and a Vice President of Procurement and Strategy at the Financial Services Company, the Sun Trust. .

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• From the Army to starting his own business - what Andreas learned along the way
• Advice on how to find a co-founder or initial team
• Advice on how to learn and grow through networking
• What day-to-day life looked like while starting a company
• Advice Andreas would give to other veterans considering starting their own business
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Andreas' interview on EO Fire: 1433: Build a meaningful business that has more profit, fans, and freedom with Andreas Jones
• Andreas' company, Combat Business Coaching
• A great way to meet others and network is with MeetUp.com
• Book Recommendations
  • The Compound Effect- taking 1-2 steps weeekly to get you to your goal
  • Andreas' book - Distinguished Men: Grow in influence, Success and Significance

Show Notes

• 1:11 - Andreas’ background
• 3:40 - How Andreas decided to leave the Army
• 4:25 - How Andreas approached is initial job search and what he learned along the way
• 7:01 - What Andreas does for a living, and what his life looks like on a day-to-day business
• 12:40 - From the Army to starting his own business - what Andreas learned along the way
• 15:10 - Advice on how to find a co-founder or initial team
• 16:10 - Advice on how to learn and grow through networking
• 24:24 - Other advice to help you start your own company
• 25:10 - What day-to-day life looked like while starting a company
• 28:24 - When Andreas started his own company, how he felt ahead of his civilian counterparts and where he felt behind
• 30:23 - Advice Andreas would give to other veterans considering starting their own business
• 31:05 - What Andreas has liked most and least about starting his own company
• 32:15 - Other resources Andreas would recommend to listeners
• 34:05 - The most surprising aspect of Andreas’ transition from the Army to civilian life
• 36:40 - Final words of wisdom for veteans

BTU #32: Brooke Jones-Chinetti: Cold emails, JPMorgan, and Startup CEO

“Really its a full time job to get a full-time job. Sometimes with veterans, we're bringing these unfathomable managerial skills to these organizations that we transition to. But we forget that stuff shouldn't just be handed to us... I'm the queen of the cold email now, and I wish that I would have had that confidence as I transitioned to try to find veterans at companies that I was interested in, and to hear what their transition was like." – Brooke Jones-Chinetti

Brooke Jones-Chinetti lives in New York, where she most recently served as the CEO of VetTechTrek - a startup that facilitates high-impact trips to leading tech companies for veterans and their spouses. She started out at West Point, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Portuguese and Environmental Engineering. She served in the US Army for over 6 years, during which she deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and to Kuwait as part of Operation Enduring Freedom - Spartan Shield. She also served as Senior Director of Human Resources and served as the executive officer for the Army's Chief of Signal, a 2-star general position. After her transition from the Army, she spent a year in the Financial Services industry with JPMorgan Chase & Co. as part of their rotational Executive Development Program. She is currently studying at Columbia Business School.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• Step-by-step advice on how to write cold emails to figure out what you want to do and get your foot in the door for a job
• An over of the JP Morgan Chase rotational Executive Development Program
• Brooke’s experience as CEO of an early stage startup at VetTechTrek
• How leadership as CEO of a startup differed from leadership in the military
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Show Notes

• 1:56 - Brooke’s background
• 3:04 - How Brooke and her husband both decided to leave the Army
• 6:15 - Evaluating the Reserves
• 10:40 - The most surprising aspect of Brooke’s transition from the Army to civilian life
• 13:15 - How to use cold emails to find other veterans, learn from their experience, and make connections
• 16:25- Brooke’s first job search and what she learned along the way
• 21:36 - Advice on how to manage the timing of your transition from active duty
• 27:20 - Advice for how to better understand yourself and what you’ll enjoy in a career
• 32:15 - An over of the JP Morgan Chase rotational Executive Development Program
• 34:50 - Brooke’s day-to-day life while at JP Morgan Chase
• 38:15 - Brooke’s decision to transition from JP Morgan Chase to Columbia Business School, and wy she chose an Executive Education program
• 43:02 - Brooke’s experience as CEO of an early stage startup at VetTechTrek
• 47:10 - How leadership as CEO of a startup differed from leadership in the military
• 49:01 - How Brooke felt ahead of her civilian counterparts, and where she had to work to catch up
• 51:33 - Final words of wisdom1:24 - Travis' background

BTU 26: RaeAnne Pae - Army to Facebook and Business Development

“I had been given good advice that it didn't matter the first job I did as long as I was learning from it and seeking out opportunities in the first job to be able to figure out what I wanted to do next. And so I went into it with the mindset that I would pick  everyone's brains who I worked with even if not on my team and build these relationships so i could figure out what the next step was." – RaeAnne Pae

RaeAnne Pae is a Client Solution Manager at Facebook, where she helps Financial Technology marketers grow their audience and business through Facebook. RaeAnne started out at doing ROTC at Morehead State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. After that she served for over 7 years in the Army as an Intelligence Officer, where she was awarded the Bronze Star - the military’s fourth-highest individual military award - not once but twice: first for Combat operations in Iraq while assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division; second for combat operations in southern Afghanistan with assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. When RaeAnne transitioned to a civilian career she started out at the NYSE as an Event Marketing Specialist. She then worked as a Sales & Business Development member first at Tradecraft and then at Addy before joining Facebook.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• Tradecraft and how to get an MBA equivalent experience in 3 months
• How RaeAnne's transition straight to industry compared with her husband's transition to business school
• Advice for those applying to Facebook and common veteran paths
• Two concrete examples of explaining in a veteran background to a Facebook interviewer
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Another interview I did between a husband and wife veteran combo where one went to business school and the other directly to industry are my interviews with Jimmy & Shaunnah interview
• Tradecraft - 12 week tech immersion program. Tracts include Sales & BD, User Experience, and Growth
• Another interview that references Coding Academies and other efficient education sources is my interview with Johannes & Maggi on Career Offroading
• Other programs similar to Tradcraft - GrowthX / Growth Academy

Show Notes

• 1:31 - RaeAnne's background
• 4:58 - How RaeAnne approached her decision to leave the Army
• 8:26 - How RaeAnne and her husband approached the Reserves
• 10:23 - The most surpsing aspects of RaeAnne's transition to civilian life
• 13:45 - How RaeAnne approached her initial job search
• 25:38 - An overview of Tradecraft
• 35:00 - RaeAnne's second job search and how she improved - great advice to all veterans
• 44:40 - Advice for those applying to Facebook and common veteran paths
• 47:00 - RaeAnne explains why her background is applicable at Facebook - this is a great example of how veterans could explain their story in an interview
• 49:33 - RaeAnne explains how her background relates to sales and relationship building
• 51:45 - How RaeAnne's journey directly to industry compared with her husband's choice to go to business school

BTU #21: Ian Folau - Tactical advice for starting a company (even while on Active Duty)

“I was able to throw together some website and it was bringing in enough leads that we were able to fill everybody's houses and it just really took off for me. And it was my first venture, and ever since then I was hooked. The idea that I can make more money than my paycheck was exciting for me - the fact that I can provide something that someone will pay even a dollar for motivated me beyond what I could imagine." – Ian Folau

Ian Folau is the Co-Founder & CEO of the New York based startup, GitLinks. However, this wasn't Ian's first startup. Ian started founding companies while still on active duty in the Army, where he started his first of multiple startups. Ian studied Systems Engineering at West Point after which he served in the Army in multiple capacities before returning to West Point as an instructor. After departing the Army, he attended Cornell Tech to obtain his MBA, and during which he co-founded his most recent company.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• Steps you can take right now to start your first company (even if you're on Active Duty)
• Resources you can use to start learning and growing as an entrepreneur
• Entrepreneurial mistakes that Ian made and what he learned from them, and the importance of failing fast
• Advice on how to tease out who might be a better Co-Founder
• What Ian's day-to-day life looked like when he first founded GitLinks
• How leadership as an entrepreneur differs from military leadership
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Related Interviews: BTU #13 - Taylor Justice: Army to Raising $6M in Funding
• Book Recommendations:
  • Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
  • Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth
  • The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
• Podcast Recommendations:
  • Entrepreneur On Fire
  • Smart Passive Income
  • The Tim Ferriss Show
• Tech MBA Programs referenced:
  • Cornell Tech
  • University of Washington Technology Management MBA
  • UT Austin

Show Notes

• 1:39 - Ian’s background
• 2:40 - Ian's decision to leave the Army
• 6:26 - Deciding to not pursue the Reserves
• 7:20 - The most surprising aspect of Ian's transition to civilian life
• ** 9:39 - Ian does a fantastic job of explaining his background in a way that is relevant to the listener. This comes up time and time again in interviews as a really crucial skill
• 12:45 - Advice on how to better explain a veterans history to a civilian
• 15:10 - Ian's experience starting companies while in the Army and how he got started
• 21:30 - Resources to consider to help in your own entrepreneurial journey
• 28:11 - Entrepreneurial mistakes that Ian made and what he learned from them, and the importance of failing fast
• 33:10 - Advice on how to tease out who might be a better Co-Founder
• 38:52 - Cornell Tech, and how it supports entrepreneurs
• 40:52 - Advice on applying to Cornell Tech, and other programs to consider
• 43:10 - An overview on Ian's current company, GitLinks
• 46:15 - What Ian's day-to-day life looked like when he first founded GitLinks
• 48:56 - How leadership as an entrepreneur differs from military leadership
• 51:19 - Actions you can take right now to start an entrepreneurial journey (even while on Active Duty)
• 53:19 - Final words of wisdom

BTU #20 - Tony Zamora: Electronics Technician to Human Resources

“Something that was surprising [about the transition to civilian life] is that not everything is really laid out for you. In the military a lot of things are laid out for you; you go through specific trainings and checklists, you have a criteria on how you’re going to grow your career and take the test to advance and everything is defined by points and very structured in the military. When you get out, it’s nothing like that. You’re as successful on the outside as you want to be. you have to be hungry for those opportunities and seek them, because nothing is really laid out for you." – Tony Zamora

Tony Zamora is the Director of Human Resources at Ipsos, a company with over 17,000 worldwide employees. Tony started out as an Electronics Tech in the US Navy, and also served as an Electronics Repair Technician with the Coast Guard. He has worked in Human Resources roles at the Sierra Nevada Corporation and The San Jose Group.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• An overview of Human Resources and why you might find it appealing
• What it’s like to be a Director of Human Resources, and what day-to-day life looks like
• Common mistakes that veterans make in their transition and job search
• How to improve your resume
• What someone on active duty can do right now to start preparing for their transition to a civilian career
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Show Notes

• 1:20 - Tony’s background
• 2:25 - Tony’s decision to leave the military and how he approached it
• 3:31 - How Tony researched what he wanted to do outside of the military
• 5:41 - An overview of Human Resources and what appealed to Tony about this career
• 7:01 - What it’s like to be a Director of Human Resources, and what day-to-day life looks like
• 11:10 - In what ways Tony felt ahead of his peers in Human Resources, and where he had to catch up based on his military service
• 13:07 - What was most surprising to Tony about his transition to civilian life
• 14:40 - Advice to veterans based on Tony’s experience in Human Resources (HR)
• 16:35 - The best advice Tony received about how to transition to a civilian career
• 17:40 - Advice on how to network
• 21:45 - Common mistakes that veterans make in their transition and job search
• 22:16 - How to improve your resume
• 23:50 - What someone on active duty can do right now to start preparing for their transition to a civilian career
• 27:35 - Final words of advice to veterans

BTU #18: Tom Wolfe - Everything you need to know to plan your transition

"Open your eyes, be receptive, try to learn about what's unknown to you, in addition to what you're already aware of."– Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe is a career coach, author, and columnist. He is the author of OUT OF UNIFORM -- Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Transition, as well as a columnist of 11 years for CivilianJobs.com. Tom has over 29 years of experience in the Career Development industry. Tom is a graduate of the US Naval Academy, and served as a Surface Warfare Officer and Admiral’s Aide.

In this interview we discuss:

• Stereotypes about veterans - how to use stories in interviews to reinforce the positive ones, and preemptively combat the negative ones
• Common mistakes veterans make - like being too humble or understated in an interview
• Job hunting techniques (like using informational interviews to see if you’d like a career and potentially get your foot in the door of an organization)
• Using Filters for your job search so you can avoid boiling the ocean when looking for your ideal job
• Using a career coach as a personal trainer for your career
• Tactical exercises you can use to improve your self knowledge as part of a job search
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Tom's book: Our of Uniform
• Contact Tom at: http://www.tomwolfe-careercoach.com/index.html
• Tom's book's website: http://www.out-of-uniform.com
• Canines for Service: http://www.caninesforservice.org/

Show Notes

• [3:10] - Tom’s background in writing and career coaching
• [4:10] - The most common mistakes Tom sees veterans make in their career transition
• [13:27] - Stereotypes - how to reinforce the positives and preempt the negatives
• [24:26] Reasons why veterans get rejected in interviews
• [27:00] - A surefire way to succeed in an interview
• [28:33] - How to gather information about what you want to do as efficiently as possible
• [33:18] - Using Informational Interviews to figure out what you want to do… and potentially get your foot in the door
• [36:12] - How to use filters to simplify your job search
• [43:20] - 1/2 of veterans end up working for a company they weren’t aware of at the start of their search..how to broaden your search to be aware of broader opportunities
• [47:50] - A personal trainer for your career - Career Coaching
• [57:03] - Using mistakes to learn in you job search
• [58:32] - Where you can learn more about Tom’s work

BTU 17: Maggi & Johannes - Career Off-roading

This episode is a break from my normal format - rather than interview a veteran about their civilian career, I interview TWO veterans about their advice based on their work in helping other veterans. This episode is FULL of helpful hints, resources, and recommendations that would benefit any veteran.

In this interview I meet with Johannes Schonberg and Maggi Melina. Johannes enlisted in the navy as a Nuclear Machinist Mate, before attending the Naval Academy with a degree in English. He served as a Surface Warfare Officer in San Diego for five years before transitioning to civilian life. He has done work in Politics and as a consultant, helping companies like T-Mobile and Facebook hire veterans. Maggi Air Force ground radar systems journeyman, deploying to Kuwait. After her transition, she completed her bachelors degree, went to law school, and worked as a lawyer for seven years. After practicing law, she worked in politics, as an electrician, and then as a founder of a startup.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• Practical tips and tools to use as a veteran to help in your networking
• Coding academies and other efficient resources to help educate you for a specific job
• What companies like Facebook and T-Mobile look for in veterans
• And much, much more...

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Operation Code- mentor people to learn new tech skill set
• LinkedIn Premium Account
• Education sources to consider: EdX, Coursera (Promotion for Veterans), Salesforce for Veterans (VetForce), udemy, Khan Academy,  Udacity, Continuing education at community college
• Events to consider - Startup Weekend; Seattle Tech list serv, MeetUp.com, Lean Startup, Veterans on Wall Street, Military Conferences, Academy Conferences
• Code Schools to consider: Code Fellows, Operation Code (list of code schools that take the GI Bill)
• Glass Door - there's a lot of salary info here. I recommend you use them to see the earning potential of graduates from a program; before you invest money in an education, know the concrete numbers you can expect to make on the other side
• American Corporate Partners - connects military personnel with a senior level civilian to be your mentor
• Deliotte Core Leadership Program - helps veterans build an elevator pitch and build their personal brand
• Vet Tech Trek - go from tech companies around SF and NY and finance
• The Commit Foundation - creates tailored transition solutions for top Veteran talent and are reaching Veterans across the nation through our small touch, high impact workshops and 1-on-1 transition assistance programs.
• Upwork - freelance site; could use to build skills
  • Top skills for 2015 - what skills are most valuable that year
• To consider while on Active Duty - The Defense Innovation Initiative; the Navy Innovation Advisory; Hacking for Defense (H4D), Defense Entrepreneurs Forum,
• http://seattletechstartups.com/
• To Contact Maggi - OperationCode.Org's Slack Channel (Direct Message @Maggi)
• Johannes' work at Bunker Labs - free resource, overview of what entrepreneurship looks like, as well as the Athena Project

Show Notes

• 1:30 Intro and background info Johannes and Maggi
• 7:12 What people on active duty may not understand about civilian life.
• 12:30 What is “networking” and advice for veterans about how to get started
• 17:10 Education - taking a proactive and efficient approach to education, and specific resources to consider
• 21:00 How a veteran might approach “networking” in a way that is more authentic and natural to them
• 23:26 A few other resources to consider for education
• 25:20 Common mistakes that veterans make in their transition to civilian life
• 29:50 An overview of Code Schools and Coding Academies
• 34:58 What veterans should know about applying to companies like Facebook and T-Mobile
• 43:40 Other advice and words of wisdom for veterans

BTU #4 - Brad Bonney - Business School, Confidence, and a Startup Rollercoaster

“What I didn't know [when I was first getting out of the Navy] was how prepared and equipped veterans are as they're transitioning for an unbelievable number of roles within corporate america.”

– Brad Bonney

Brad Bonney grew up in Kansas City and in 8th Grade decided to attend the Naval Academy. He graduated from USNA in '05, went to Stanford University to get his MS in Electrical Engineering, and then joined the submarine pipeline. After five years of service on the USS Jefferson City, he left the Navy to attend the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

After graduating from Stanford (for the second time), Brad joined AirBnB as one of their first thousand employees. Since then, he has seen the company triple in size, as he serves as a manager on their Trust & Safety team (with over 200 employees).

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• His decision to leave the Navy, and how he thought about the Reserves
• How he decided to go back to grad school again
• Advice on applying to a top tier business school
• Thoughts about Executive Education programs
• How he decided to join AirBnB, and how he got his foot in the door
• What is day-to-day life like at a high-growth internet startup
• What has been the most surprising aspect of civilian life
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
  • NEW: Watch on video on YouTube here:

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Trident Scholar Program
• Stanford Master in Electrical Engineering
• USS Jefferson City (SSN 759)
• Stanford Graduate School of Business application
• Veterans club for Harvard Business School and Stanford GSB
• UCLA Executive MBA
• Airbnb
• Other sharing economy companies: TaskRabbit, Lyft, Postmates
• Goldman Sachs
• Stanford Career Life Visioning

Show Notes

• [3:03] - Personal, USNA and Navy background
• [3:35] - Stanford MS experience
• [4:23] - Decision to transition from the Navy
• [5:08] - Decision process for not joining the Navy Reserves
• [5:55] - Deciding to get another degree
• [7:20] - Choosing Business School over other grad programs
• [8:23] - Why Stanford & the application process, how to evaluate the value of business school
• [9:45] - Advice for applying to Stanford (and Business School in general) and what not to do
• [12:10] - Advice to active duty military thinking of applying to Business School in several years
• [13:40] - considering Executive Education vs. Full Time grad school
• [15:08] - Understanding what you're buying with an MBA experience
• [15:48] - AirBnB description & joining a high-growth startup
• [17:43] - What day-to-day job looks like
• [19:13] - Team size and composition
• [19:48] - Travel
• [21:10] - Hours
• [22:29] - Perks & Paternity Leave
• [25:18] - Vacation
• [26:29] - Choosing an Industry and deciding on AirBnB
• [29:03] - Preparing for Interview, and the interview process
• [31:18] - Deciding on the size of the company
• [33:08] -  Difference in management in civilian life vs. the military
• [36:58] - Advice to current college students planning a transition to civilian life
• [38:23] - Advice to officers thinking of getting out of the military in the next 1-2 years
• [40:16] - Most surprising aspects of transition from active duty