BTU #44 - Sam Bond: Bain, Coca-Cola, and General Manager at Lyft

“When I left Bain I reached out to a variety of folks… to explore what was out there. I kept in touch with those folks, and made a point to regularly get back in touch with people and see what they’re up to. It was after a meeting like that - we grabbed coffee and didn’t think much of it at the time, but he called me a few weeks later to let me know that Lyft was starting up in Atlanta. It was basically a lightening bolt that made me aware. It appeared and it appeared because I made contacts and maintained them." – Sam Bond

Sam Bond is a General Manager at Lyft - a company most listeners have probably used for their app which makes it simple for you to find a ride whenever you need one. Although only four years old, Lyft has raised $2B in funding, and has nearly 6k employees listed on LinkedIn. Sam started out at Princeton University and then served as an officer in the Marine Corps for 4 years. After his service, he attended the University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business. He worked in consulting at Bain & Company as a Consultant and then Case Team Leader. He also worked at the Coca-Cola Company - first as a Director Supply Chain Strategy and then as a Group Director of Strategy and Portfolio Management.

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

• An overview of the General Manager position at Lyft
• Indications that a veteran may enjoy the role of General Manager, and indications that it might not be a good fit for them
• What it's like to work at an explosively growing startup (and the pros and cons of joining a company on an exponential growth path)
• An overview of entry level positions at Coca-Cola for a newly transitioned veteran
• How Sam looks back on his journey to a role of General Manager
• 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…

Links

• The ride sharing service, Lyft

Show Notes

• 2:23 - Sam's background
• 3:27 - An overview of the General Manager position at Lyft
• 7:27 - Sam's day-to-day life at Lyft
• 11:58 - Indications that a veteran may enjoy the role of General Manager, and indications that it might not be a good fit for them
• 15:00 - What it's like to work at an explosively growing startup (and the pros and cons of joining a company on an exponential growth path)
• 19:20 - Sam's decision to leave the Marine Corps
• 22:05 - Sam's view on an MBA and how essential it is to a veteran aspiring to a General Manager role
• 24:04 - How Sam decided to enter Management Consulting at Bain & Company
• 26:25 - Some of the skills that Sam learned at Bain that have helped him in his role as General Manager
• 29:45 - How Sam's lifestyle changed between a Consultant to a Case Team Leader
• 31:50 - After three years, how Sam transitioned from Bain & Company to Coca-Cola
• 34:50 - An overview of Sam's roles at Coca-Cola
• 38:20 - An overview of entry level positions at Coca-Cola for a newly transitioned veteran
• 41:10 - How Sam transitioned from Coca-Cola to Lyft
• 47:32 - How Sam looks back on his journey to a role of General Manager
• 50:00 - How leadership outside of the military differs from leadership within the military
• 52:20 - Final words of wisdom from Sam

BTU #43 - Todd Pringle: General Manager at Stitcher, and a history of Product Management

“Many Product Managers - most of them, actually - don't have anyone directly working for them. They work with everybody and yet are the owner - and that's a really interesting role. One of the things that I found useful in the military that I translated was: I found - personally - that getting things done, even in the military where it is more hierarchical, that treating people as peers and as experts in their area; that motivating them to get things done without using your direct authority over them was the best way to get things done. And that skill set really translates well to Product Management. " – Todd Pringle

Todd Pringle General Manager and Vice President of Product at Stitcher - the podcasting app that many of you are use to listen to this podcast, and was acquired by Midroll. Todd started out at UCLA, after which he served in the Navy for 4 years as part of the Supply Corps. After his transition out of the military, Todd attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business. After this he held a variety of Product Management roles - at Netscape and AOL in the early 2000s, and then eBay, AirPlay and then a company called Yoono. Todd also holds two US Patents

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

• An overview of the role of General Manager & VP of Product
• How the role of Product Manager has changed over the last 15 years
• How Todd would approach the Product Manager role if he were starting over again today
• Indications that you may enjoy Product Management, and signs you might dislike it
• An overview of Todd's career in Product Management since business school
• Advice on the decision between joining a startup vs. a more established company
• Things you can do right now to start building a skill set to be a Product Manager
• 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…

Links

• Todd's Company - Stitcher - is my favorite app for listening to podcasts

Show Notes

• 2:24 - Todd's background
• 3:26 - An overview of the role of General Manager & VP of Product
• 5:39 - The General Manger role on a day-to-day basis
• 7:12 - What drew Todd to the Product Manager role after business school
• 11:00 - How the role of Product Manager has changed over the last 15 years
• 12:45 - How Todd would approach the Product Manager role if he were starting over again today
• 15:12 - Indications that you may enjoy Product Management, and signs you might dislike it
• 17:40 - How leadership has differed outside of the military vs. inside the military
• 19:15 - An overview of Todd's career in Product Management since business school
• 24:18 - Advice on the decision between joining a startup vs. a more established company
• 27:52 - Things you can do right now to start building a skill set to be a Product Manager
• 29:55 - Habits that have helped - and hurt - veterans in the civilian world
• 33:29 - How to know when to move on from one company - or role - to the next
• 36:36 - How Todd approached the Reserves
• 39:09 - An overview of Todd's company, Stitcher
• 43:11 - Some of Todd's favorite podcasts
• 44:53 - Final words of wisdom from Todd

BTU #37 - David Cho: Starting a Cosmetics eCommerce company while in the Army

“I'm in the beauty industry. I'm this ex-combat arms officer who knows way too much about cosmetics now. I think it's really funny. For me, timing really worked out. When we started Soko Glam, I was an Executive Aide to a General Officer. Although my time was really sporadic, for the most part I was in garrison. So I had a lot of time to research and take night classes, research certain things and go out and network. That would be my piece of advice - when you're still in really take the time to meet people and  figure out what you want to do. Do as much reading as possible but you gotta go out there and meet people." – David Cho

David Cho is the Co-Founder and CEO of Soko Glam - an eCommerce beauty shop and lifestyle brand with the best selection of Korean Beauty products and content. Dave started out at West Point, and served as a Combat Arms Officer for over 8 years. After his transition from the Army, David attended Columbia Business School, during which he worked at Facebook as a Global Accounts Intern. In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• How Dave started an e-commerce beauty company while on active duty in the Army
• What it's like to have your wife as your co-founder
• Resources Dave would recommend to any aspiring veteran entrepreneur
• WhatWhat Dave wished he had known when he first started his company, Soko Glam
• 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…

Links

• Dave's company, Soko Glam: https://sokoglam.com
• Book Recommendations:
  • Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
  • Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
  • The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
• Website Recommendations:
  • Fred Wilson Blog
  • TechCrunch
  • Google News (personalized to your interests)
• American Corporate Partners - connects veterans with mentors in the civilian workforce
• Google Veterans Summit

Show Notes

• 2:19 - Dave's background
• 2:53 - An overview of Dave's company, Soko Glam
• 4:48 - Finding a co-founder, and what it's like to be married to them
• 11:11 - What Dave's like as a Co-Founder & CEO looks like on a day-to-day basis
• 13:16 - What Dave's lifestyle looks like as an entrepreneur
• 16:33 - What it was like to start Soko Glam while on active duty in the Army
• 19:19 - Resources Dave would recommend when you're preparing to start your company
• 23:30 - Whether or not to consider business school when starting your own company
• 29:07 - How Dave's wife, Charlotte, continued to work on Soko Glam while Dave was at business school
• 29:37 - What Dave wished he had known when he first started his company, Soko Glam
• 32:32 - Some of the best advice Dave received when making the transition from the Army
• 38:15 - Some consistent misconceptions that Dave sees veterans make when he is mentoring veterans going through the transition to civilian life
• 41:30 - How to better know if you'd like a large company or start your own company
• 43:20 - The bad habits that Dave needed to break when he left the military
• 46:30 - The biggest surprises Dave experienced in his transition to civilian life
• 49:20 - Dave's final words of wisdom

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 #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 #13 - Taylor Justice: Army to Raising $6M in Funding

“As you start to make this transition, -asking for advice is the smart move. Thinking that you have everything figured out or that you're going to be bothering someone learning about what they're doing that's the fool's road. I would urge people to not be scared of reaching out to people - if you don't, you're hurting yourself." – Taylor Justice

Taylor Justice is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at Unite Us, a start-up that connects citizens with local coordinated services. Based in New York, Unite Us has raised over $6M in venture funding, and over 20 employees. After attending the U.S. Military Academy and serving for over a year as an Infantry Officer in the Army, Taylor was unexpectedly medically discharged from the Army. He faced his transition to civilian life years before he expected it, with no peers or classmates from whom to seek advice. Through a meticulous approach to reaching out to others, Taylor landed his first job in the Medical Devices industry, and then transitioned to the world of tech. While attending Columbia Business School he met his co-founder, and launched Unite Us.

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

• An unexpected departure from the Army, and navigating a career search before his peers
• Using a systematic email process to gain information and his first job
• The advantages of client support functional roles and sales roles
• What it's like to start and grow a startup
• Advice for other veterans seeking to start their own business
• Not being afraid to ask advice from anyone and everyone as a means of learning
• 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

• Higher Echelon
• Columbia Business School
• Unite Us

Show Notes

• [1:38] Background
• [2:40] An unexpected separation from the Army
• [8:40] The most helpful resources in his initial job search
• [14:07] Advice for structuring an outreach process as part of a job search
• [15:48] How the military most prepared and least prepared him for an Account Executive and Sales role
• [18:50] The starting point of founding Unite Us
• [22:25] Advice on finding and vetting a potential co-founder
• [24:15] Whether to gain experience prior to starting a company, or do it straight out of the military
• [29:12] The day-to-day life of starting a company
• [33:30] Common misconceptions that military personnel have about starting a company
• [38:25] How military personnel can benefit from Unite Us
• [44:05] Biggest advice - don't be afraid to ask for help

BTU #9 - Will Grannis: Boeing, Google, Startups and More

“Asking for help sometimes for some people implies weakness. If there's one thing I did that was semi-smart it was realizing that I wasn't going to be able to do it on my own and asking for help from those who were closest to me and had the most vested interest in my success." – Will Grannis

Will Grannis is the Managing Director of the Cloud CTO Office at Google. Since his time as an officer in the Army, he's had an incredible career prior to Google, including: Founding a company that was acquired after just two years; serving as the Chief Technology Officer for L-3 Communications, a company with over 38,000 employees worldwide; leading Boeing's Advanced Information Solutions team.

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

• His decision to leave the Army.
• How he leveraged his closest relationships to land his first civilian job
• How the Army most prepared him for his first job, and where he had to catch up to his peers
• How overhearing a conversation in an adjacent cubicle changed his career
• The advantages of working in a small office environment
• How valuable industry experience is prior to pursuing an advanced degree
• What it's like to work through the first part of a week, hop on a plane and attend grad school, fly back home and start the whole cycle over again
• 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

• Comtech Mobile Datacom Corporation
• Boeing
• Wharton Executive MBA Program

Show Notes

• [1:45] Background info
• [3:04] Approaching the decision to leave the Army
• [5:40] Active duty to IRR... and then to the Reserves
• [7:51] The Telecom industry and a role as Program Manager
• [10:19] How Will approached his job start when he first left the Army
• [14:38] Day-to-day life in Will's first civilian job in the Telecom Industry, and why small companies are so valuable for veterans
• [20:58] How the Army was a competitive advantage for Will... and where he had to catch up
• [22:52] The biggest surprise Will faced when he transitioned to civilian life
• [25:35] Making the transition to Boeing after one year as a civilian
• [32:31] Pursuing an MBA at Wharton while working at Boeing
• [36:15] How to consider grad school or straight to industry and what degree to pursue
• [38:48] Final advice to anyone on Active Duty