Business

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BTU #157 - Employee #500 at Aol (Rob Shenk)

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BTU #157 - Employee #500 at Aol (Rob Shenk)

This is a terrific episode for any member of the Armed Forces. Rob joined Aol as their 500th employee and was there for their growth to over 10,000 employees. He went through a similar process with eTrade. But he got his foot in the door, directly out of the military, by applying to be a customer phone support person! His story is one of failing and taking risks, or being part of an internet revolution, and continuing to change his career path over time. I found his story inspiring and hope that you do as well.

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BTU 148: Taking a Startup Public and Founding a New Consulting Company (Bill Angeloni)

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BTU 148: Taking a Startup Public and Founding a New Consulting Company (Bill Angeloni)

Bill has had an eclectic career and covers a lot of ground in this interview. In addition to talking about how to find and join a high-growth startup, he also talks about his experience starting his own consulting company. He also has fantastic advice about networking - how to approach it and why it's so important for veterans to learn how to do this effectively.

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BTU 147 - Founding Sport Clips Haircuts & Building 1700 Franchises (Gordon Logan)

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BTU 147 - Founding Sport Clips Haircuts & Building 1700 Franchises (Gordon Logan)

In the past I've interviewed veterans involved in Franchises. Gordon started a company that has become a franchise with over 1,700 locations, and many of their franchise owners are veterans. He gives an incredibly vivid look at what it is like to start and grow a company, how to remain fresh and grow with your business, and how failures are never final.

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BTU #144 - Active Duty to the Boston Consulting Group (Kristen Sproat Colley)

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BTU #144 - Active Duty to the Boston Consulting Group (Kristen Sproat Colley)

For those interested in a career in Management Consulting, Kristen does a fantastic job of breaking down what the projects and day-to-day life are like, as well as very tactical steps to prepare for your interview. But even if you're not interested in consulting, Kristen has great advice on how to explain your skills and make a connection with the person interviewing you for whatever job you pursue.

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BTU 143: Active Duty to Consultant at Bain & Co. (Trevor Miller)

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BTU 143: Active Duty to Consultant at Bain & Co. (Trevor Miller)

Trevor managed to go directly from Active Duty military to Bain & Company, something that less than 7% of military veterans in Management Consulting are able to do. He talks about preparing for one's transition to a civilian career as early as possible, and also being willing to take a step back and take the longview on one's career.

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BTU 141: The CEO of Franchise Business Review talks about Vets in Franchises (Eric Stites)

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BTU 141: The CEO of Franchise Business Review talks about Vets in Franchises (Eric Stites)

(1) Franchises - we continue our deep dive into a career as a franchise owner - why this may be appealing to veterans and how to succeed at it. (2) Honesty about skill set - Eric talks about how vital it is - in franchising and in any career - to be exceptionally honest and reflective about your strengths and weaknesses. (3) Long-term investment - Eric talks about viewing a franchise investment as a 5-15 commitment (which, coin end tally is a great asset of veterans who often have approached the military as a long-term commitment). He talks about doing your homework - especially around culture, and making sure the business won’t be uprooted by technology in the long-term (4) Market Research - Eric’s career has been in market research and he provides some insight into what this sort of career is like.

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BTU #133 - What it takes to become a McKinsey Consultant (original data analysis)

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BTU #133 - What it takes to become a McKinsey Consultant (original data analysis)

Management Consulting is the fifth most popular career route for Veterans of the Armed Forces. Today we’re going to be doing a data episode, specifically with information from LinkedIn, that I’ve put together to discover the different paths veterans have taken within the field of management consulting. This is something I’ve been thinking about for nearly a year. It’s just been difficult to carve out the time to sift through all the information that is on LinkedIn. Rather than waiting to publish this information as a massive e-book, I thought it might be better to start out with a podcast. I would really appreciate any feedback you might have. It will help me drill down on what people are interested in learning more about. Feel free to leave that feedback in the shownotes.

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BTU #128 - Deloitte, Apple, Startups & Facebook (Francis Ebong)

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BTU #128 - Deloitte, Apple, Startups & Facebook (Francis Ebong)

Francis went directly from the Navy to consulting at Deloitte, and has worked at Apple, in startups, and now at Facebook. He talks about each of these career paths, why veterans may love operations, and advice to help in interviews and finding your ideal career.

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BTU #129 - Veterans & Franchises (John W. Francis, aka "Johnny Franchise")

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BTU #129 - Veterans & Franchises (John W. Francis, aka "Johnny Franchise")

John W Francis runs Next Level Franchis, Inc in Minnesot, where he helps franchisors, franchisees and supplier companies with their business issues by offering perspective, experience, advice and connections to help move them forward. He started back in 1' helping in his family business, The Barber’s Inc, which a the franchir of Cost Cutters, City Looks, and We Care Hair Salon. Over the next 5+ years he elped to grow he business internationally, eventually selling to the Regis Corporation in 1999. Since then he has directly worked with franchises, as well as served as an advisor, board member, consultant, and speaker to any people and companies in the franchise world. He is known as “Johnny Franchise” and is a Franchise Expert.

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BTU #126 - Airlines, E-Learning & finding excellence in VERY different industries (Nicholas Loudon)

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BTU #126 - Airlines, E-Learning & finding excellence in VERY different industries (Nicholas Loudon)

In this interview we discuss a variety of topics relevant to veterans in any industry. Nick has great advice for veterans about checking one's ego at the door, rolling up one's sleeves and doing whatever it takes to improve whatever task you're given. He shows how a willingness to learn has allowed him to transition - and be successful in - wildly different industries. And how a mindset of happiness, learning and humility can make all the difference.

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BTU #122 - Army to CEO of Skullcandy (Jason Hodell)

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BTU #122 - Army to CEO of Skullcandy (Jason Hodell)

Jason Hodell is the CEO of Skullcandy, which markets headphones, earphones, speakers and other products. Skullcandy was founded in 2003 and acquired in October 2016 by Mill Road Capital for $200 million. Jason started out at West Point, after which he served as an Infantry Officer in the US Army for five years. After the Army, he picked up his MBA at Wharton.He had an impressive career prior to Skullcandy, which we’ll discuss in the interview, and joined the Skullcandy team initially as their CFO & COO.  Since that time the company has grown revenue from $210M to approximately $300m, and he was appointed as the CEO of Skullcandy  about one year ago.

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BTU #117: Jim Vesterman: Marine Corps to Search Funds and Buying a Company to Run

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BTU #117: Jim Vesterman: Marine Corps to Search Funds and Buying a Company to Run

Jim Vesterman is the CEO of Raptor Technologies, which is the nation's leading provider of integrated safety technologies for K-12 schools. He got his undergraduate degree at Amherst College, after which he worked at both the Monitor Group and for a software startup. He deferred his MBA to join the Marine Corps as part of 3rd Force Recon Company. After he got his MBA from Wharton, he started an entrepreneurial vehicle called a search fund - which we’ll get into - called Liberty Place Capital. Liberty Place Capital ultimately purchased Raptor Technologies in 2012 and he has been running that company for 5 years.

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BTU #115 - Network Marketing & Residual Income While on Active Duty (Ray & Samantha Allen)

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BTU #115 - Network Marketing & Residual Income While on Active Duty (Ray & Samantha Allen)

Ray and Samantha Allen are both 2009 Naval Academy Graduates. After graduation, Ray went to flight school & became a Navy Helo pilot while Sam became a Marine. Samantha served as a Marine for 5 years at Marine Special Operations Command (2nd MSOB) and weapons training Battalion. Ray is an HSC pilot now instructing at the Naval Academy. The two live in Annapolis, MD with their three daughters, and have been building their business together for four years.

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BTU #114 - Founding an Inc 500 Company While Traveling Southeast Asia (Justin Cooke)

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BTU #114 - Founding an Inc 500 Company While Traveling Southeast Asia (Justin Cooke)

Justin Cooke is the Founder at Empire Flippers, a company that helps others buy, sell, and invest in profitable websites and online businesses. He started out in the Navy, where he spent 6 years as a Sonar Technician 2/C (STG2). Empire Flippers is an INC 500 company - Justin runs a 22 person team and has $27M+ In Online Businesses Sold.

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BTU #112: Growing Black Rifle Coffee from $1.8k to $20M in 2.5 years (Evan Hafer)

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BTU #112: Growing Black Rifle Coffee from $1.8k to $20M in 2.5 years (Evan Hafer)

Evan Hafer is the Founder & CEO of Black Rifle Coffee, a small batch coffee roasting company. He started out at the University of Idaho, after which he spent 14 years in the U.S. Army as an infantryman, a Special Forces soldier, and a CIA contractor.I came across Evan in a 2016 Forbes Article about the Top 25 Veteran Founded Startups in America.

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BTU #110: Co-Founding Plated & Raising $55M (Nick Taranto)

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BTU #110: Co-Founding Plated & Raising $55M (Nick Taranto)

Nick Taranto is the Co-Founder & CEO of Plated, a company whose "Mission is to Help People Eat Better, and Live Better." Plated has raised over $55M in funding, and been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NYT, Wired Magazine and more. He started out at Dartmouth College, after which he worked at KOMPIP Microfinance before going on to Harvard Business School. After HBS, he graduated from the Marine Corps' The Basic School, where he Drilled as an active reservist for 3 years. He also worked at Goldman Sachs as a Private Wealth Advisor prior to starting Plated.

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BTU #111: Two sibling Army Vets and Their Two Successful Startups

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BTU #111: Two sibling Army Vets and Their Two Successful Startups

Jon Boggiano and Chris Boggiano are the Co-Founders of Versame, which leverages technology for large scale impact to improve early childhood education and language development. Versame has raised $2.5M in funding and is a team of sixteen.

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BTU #109: 20 years in the Army, selling a startup to Mercedes, and co-founding GoodWorld (John Gossart)

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BTU #109: 20 years in the Army, selling a startup to Mercedes, and co-founding GoodWorld (John Gossart)

John Gossart is the Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of GoodWorld (www.GoodWorld.me), the FinTech startup revolutionizing philanthropy and social payments.  GoodWorld was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2016 and D.C.’s Best Technology Startup. Prior to GoodWorld, John was an original partner at RideScout (www.RideScout.com), the tech startup acquired by Daimler-Mercedes in 2014.

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BTU #107 - Elijah Crane: SEALS to ABC's Shark Tank & Bottle Breacher

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BTU #107 - Elijah Crane: SEALS to ABC's Shark Tank & Bottle Breacher

Elijah Crane (Eli) is the Founder and CEO of Bottle Breacher, a company that creates hand crafted 50 caliber bottle openers made by Military Veterans. As President of Bottle Breacher, Eli has grown Bottle Breacher’s annual revenue to over $5 million in 2015, applied for and received 7 patents, and Negotiated a partnership with Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank. Eli started out in the Navy, where he served as a SEAL for over 15 years. He started Bottle Breacher while on active duty and has run the company for nearly five years now.