BTU #97: Jonny Coreson - Starting a company while on active duty

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This week I'm trying out a completely new interview format. If you'd like to listened to the full, unedited version of this interview, you can check it out here.

Jonny Coreson is currently on active duty in the military, and has started two different companies while on active duty. His current company - Blue Jacketeer - helps Navy Sailors prepare for their advancement exam. This is a great interview for anyone on Active Duty or recently separated who is interested in entrepreneurship.

Our Sponsor:

• Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• • Jonny's company: https://bluejacketeer.com/
  • Recommended Resources
    • Bunker in a Box - brick and mortar collaboration spaces as well as online resources with meet-ups for military aspiring entrepreneurs. Geared towards people on active duty, provides a 14-module course
    • The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
    • Veterati - connects veterans with mentors in a desired civilian industry

BTU #69 - Alex Martin: Marine to Global Entrepreneur at AC Global Risk

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“At this point, I don't think I really could have a boundary [between professional and personal life]. It's not about a forty-hour work week, and being able to accomplish everything in forty hours; I get that. It's about constantly thinking about the product, thinking about the customers we have and the customers we want, where we're going to go and what the next steps are. I just can't turn it off: I dream about it, I think about it every minute, and there is no separation. Maybe that's unhealthy and a bad thing, but at this point if no one is as fanatically excited and obsessed with the product we're trying to create than the founders then I don't think it can work at this stage." – Alex Martin

Alex Martin is the CEO & Co-Founder of AC Global Risk, a company that creates solutions to transform how companies & governments vet, screen and assess internal and external human-based risk. Alex started out at the Naval Academy and served in the Marine Corps for seven years as a Infantry & Ground Reconnaissance Officer. After his transition from the Marines he founded Skye Maritime - maritime security services to commercial shipping - as well as the Kenya Team Leader for the non-profit, Nuru International. Alex is currently a Major in the Marine Corps Reserves.

The top three reasons to listen to this episode are:

1. Service - Alex has continued to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves, he worked in Kenya with the organization Nuru helping local farmers grow their income, and his own company - AC Global Risk - has a service element as well. He’s a great role model for keeping service an active component in his life, and talks about how to serve as a for-profit venture
2. Startups - Alex started his first company straight of the Marine Corps and it failed. He learned from it, and is on his second company, AC Global Risk. He is very honest and balanced in this interview about failure, about mistakes, and how these are essential for entrepreneurs
3. Stanford Ignite - Alex goes in depth on the Stanford Ignite program as well as many other really valuable resources for those of you interested in startups

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• A great article on Alex and his company: http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/job-hunting/from-marines-to-entrepreneur-alex-martin.html
  • • Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World
    • The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
    • Get Backed: Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams - more on technical side, the top 15-20 pitch decks. Can take this and pick and choose what you like and choose your ownBook Recommendations
    • The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law, 4th Edition - save $1000's on legal
• Related Podcasts
  • Great EO Fire podcast episode that talks about the power of obsession in startups. I reference this in the interview and think it’s really relevant to entrepreneurship. Be Obsessed or Be Average, it’s that simple says Grant Cardone 
  • Don Faul interview - referenced as a huge resource of support

Show Notes

• 2:08 - Alex's background
• 2:50 - Alex's decision to transition from the Marine Corps to a civilian career
• 3:39 - Alex's experience being part of the Reserves and how it has impacted his civilian career
• 5:32 - Alex's experience as part of the Stanford Ignite program and how this impacted his entrepreneurial experience
• 7:49 - An overview of Stanford Ignite as a program for veterans
• 10:22 - Alex's experience at Nuru International
• 15:15 - The genesis of Alex's second company, AC Global Risk
• 17:40- An overview of AC Global Risk
• 19:21  - What Alex's day-to-day life looks like as the CEO of AC Global Risk
• 21:11 - Alex's lifestyle as an entrepreneur married to another entrepreneur
• 24:27 - How long it took Alex to be able to pay himself as salary while he was starting his own company
• 28:43 - Alex's biggest mistake in starting his own company and what he learned from it
• 33:03 - Alex's team size at AC Global Risk and what his team looks like
• 34:22 - Advice for any veteran thinking of starting their own company
• 35:36 - Resources Alex would recommend to any veteran thinking of starting their own company
• 37:53 - Advice for veterans seeking to raising capital for their own company, and the fundraising experience
• 43:40 - Habits that Alex had to break when he left the military in order to be successful in his civilian career
• 45:55 - Other mistakes that Alex made since departing the military and what he learned from them
• 48:47 - Final words of wisdom for veterans of the Armed Forces

BTU #58 - Duane France: Army NCO to Thought Leader on Veterans Mental Health

“There is still maybe a stigma in the community. There's an idea that veterans are viewed in one of three ways. They're either a victim, this broken winged bird that needs to be nursed back to life. Or they're a villain, they're this crazy combat vet who is about to explode at any moment. Or they're seen as some sort of mythic hero. And none of those are true. No veteran I've ever known wants to be treated like a victim. Being labeled a villain could make them more aggressive. and most will resist being called a hero. And so there are these archetypes that the community sees, but in reality we're really a combination of all of them."– Duane France

Duane France serves as the Program Director for the Colorado Veteran Health and Wellness Agency, as well as the Director of Veteran Services for the Family Care Center, and also as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. He started out as a Noncommissioned officer in the Army, where he served for 22 years with five combat and operational deployments. Since leaving the Army he has established himself as a Veteran Mental Health Thought Leader, being listed by LinkedIn as one of the top five most influential veterans on LinkedIn. You can find him online at his website www.veteranmentalhealth.com and on Twitter as ThCounselingVet

The top two reasons to listen to today’s episode

1. Responsibility - Duane has devoted his career to helping veterans and established himself as a Veteran Mental Health Thought Leader. In this episode he talks about the main problems addressing the veteran community. You may think this doesn’t apply to you, but if not it definitely affects some of the people you served with. Duane has great advice that would be helpful to anyone who served in the military
2. Counselor - Duane retired in the military and then approached his second career as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. If you’re interested in this industry, he’s a great role model to follow.

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• A few of Duane's Posts that you may enjoy
  • Let’s talk about Vets for a moment
  • An Open Letter to America from One of Your Veterans - this captures Duane's frustration and desires for his brothers and sisters in the service.
  • 8 Things a Veteran Wants their Mental Heath Counselor to Know
  • 8 Things a Metnal Health Professional Wants a Veteran to Know
  • We Lost Another Veteran Yesterday
  • A Message From a Veteran To Veterans: You Have the Potential to Change the World
  • Book Recommendations
    • • Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character
      • Man's Search for Meaning (especially part 1 about his experience in a concentration camp)<liLearned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life - combats Learned Helplessness and keeps us from remaining pessimists
      • On Combat, The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
      • On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
      • Documentary - Acronym, cross generational battle with PTSD. Details different forms of therapy including equine therapy, golf, and others

Show Notes

• 2:00 - Duane's background
• 2:56 - Duane's decision to leave the Army
• 5:46 - What drew Duane to the mental health profession
• 9:05 - The different capacities in which Duane currently serves
• 10:46 - The day-to-day life of Duane's work in the mental health industry
• 13:40 - The most helpful way that Duane prepared for his career, and advice to other veterans looking to enter the mental health profession
• 17:24 - A story from Duane's life of the "paradox of the veteran's story"
• 22:17 - Advice for veterans in becoming more comfortable talking about their experience in the military
• 23:50 - What stands in the way of realizing that one single thing poses the majority of problems in the veteran community
• 26:33 - Some of the biggest challenges facing veterans today
• 45:13 - Advice on how veterans may uncover a new purpose after their military service
• 49:50 - Resources that Duane would recommend to any veteran listening
• 56:25 - Final words of wisdom

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 #30 - Travis Collier: The US Coast Guard & Using Sprints to Find Your Passion

“It's so unfortunate that veterans don't practice their new life, until they're in their new life. And really by then, you're behind the eight ball. So really any chance you get to take now while you're in uniform - look at it this way: the military is funding you as the R&D project to find the best life and the best way you can serve others. Finding those condensed opportunities to gain that experience, to gain that data. It's really traingulating - you're taking a fix on geography, income, occupation and fit. If it works it works, if it doesn't then you just keep trying something else." – Travis Collier

Travis Collier is a Journeyman Marine Inspector with the US Coast Guard, where he has served for the last 15 years. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Government and International Affairs from the US Coast Guard Academy, and a Master’s in Instructional & Performance Technology from Boise State University. He is the author of the books "Command Your Transition" & “SCALE”, and works as a coach for military members with 8-10 years of service to implement an intent and strategy to transition out the military and achieve even greater success on the outside .

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

• Travis' advice of embracing a transition strategy really early in the transition process
• How to set aside a budget for your own personal Research & Development and use sprints and "takeover weekends" to find your passion
• An overview on coaching and how it can help veterans reach their full potential
• How important sales is to any veteran
• 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

• Eric's article on Top Talent
• Book Recommendations:
  • Command Your Transition: Declare your Intent, Craft your Mission, Make it on the Outside,
  • SCALE: Refuse to Settle Recognize What Matters Redefine Success
  • The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business
  • The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life
• Stanford Ignite Program
• David Sedaris' essay on the Four Burer Theory

Show Notes

• 1:24 - Travis' background
• 2:38 - A few curve balls Travis has experienced while in the US Coast Guard
• 8:15 - Travis' advice of embracing a transition strategy really early in the transition process
• 12:10 - How to set aside a budget for your own personal Research & Development and use sprints and "takeover weekends" to find your passion
• 18:42 - Finding the lifestyle to live, serve, and be honored by
• 26:04 - An overview on coaching and how it can help veterans reach their full potential
• 32:42 - How important sales is to any veteran
• 36:16 - Common roadblocks Travis sees for veterans
• 38:18 - Final words of wisdom

BTU #28: Graham Plaster - Navy to Public Policy & Startups

“I think that failure is such a scary word to anyone in a large organization, because generally in a large organization - like the military or government - they train you to not discuss failure openly. But in grappling with what you want to do next in life and coming to gips with who you are you need to develop a lot more candor. And you need to develop resiliency. It helped me to really reflect on how much sacrifice will I be willing to make in order to achieve what I want to achieve; and how will i talk about my failures to other people so I can help them." – Graham Plaster

Graham Plaster a Senior Adviser at the Defense Language and National Security Education Office. He started out at the Naval Academy, where he received his Bachelors degree in English. After that, he served in the Navy for 11 years as: a Surface Warfare Officer, the Assistant Dean of Students at the Naval War College, a United Nations Liaison Officer, a Foreign Area Officer, and a Navy Staff Officer for the OPNAV Staff. Since his transition to his civilian career he has worked as a consultant, author, editor, founder and advisor in a variety of capacities in the Washington D.C. area

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

• How to embrace failure as a way to learn about yourself
• How to find a community where you can add value and potentially start a business
• The advantages of juggling multiple projects and how you can more effectively do this
• How to use LinkedIn as a powerful tool for networking and advancing your 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…

Selected Links from the Episode

• American Corporate Partners - the "best kept secret for veterans" - pro bono organization to connect veterans with senior civilian at Fortune 500 companies
• Podcast Recommendations
  • Entrepreneur On Fire - with Army Veteran John Lee Dumas
  • This Week in Startups
  • A16Z (Andreesen Horwotiz)
  • 99% Invisible
• Book Recommendations:
  • Hacking the Job Search: How to escape the rat race of unread résumés and unanswered applications
  • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
  • In the Shadow of Greatness: Voices of Leadership, Sacrifice, and Service from America's Longest War
• LinkedIn Free Premium Account for Veterans
• Purple Squirrel - buy time by hour of person you're wanting to interview
• 1000 true fans by Kevin Kelly - a must read for entrepreneurs

Show Notes

• 1:38 - Graham's Background
• 3:21 - How Graham approached the decision to leave the Navy
• 5:02 - How Graham considered the Reserves and remained involved
• 6:44 - An overview of American Corporate Partners - a FREE resource every veteran should consider
• 9:50 - The most surprising aspect of Graham's transition to civilian life
• 11:21 - Graham's advice on how to approach a job search
• 13:22  - Some practical tips and tools to help with increasing your self-knowledge
• 18:10 - Advice for using LinkedIn effectively for networking
• 25:27 - How Graham started TheIntelligenceCommunity.com
• 31:30 - What Graham's startup looks like on a day-to-day basis and what it's like juggling this with a fulltime job
• 38:30 - Advice for veterans considering starting their own company
• 40:10 - Advice for those seeking to juggle multiple jobs and side projects at the same time
• 46:80 - What it's like working at the Defense Language and National Security Education Office
• 49:40 - Final words of advice