Veteranology 26 – Alex Pedersen, COO at Polco

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Today’s guest is Alex Pedersen, an Air Force Academy graduate and veteran who is now the Chief Operating Officer at Polco, a civic engagement and analytics company. Its primary product is a web-based platform for local governments to get input from their communities and then use that data to drive decisions.

Alex and I met at VETCON 2017 in March, where he competed against several other veteran entrepreneurs for $10,000 in funding.  It was his first “official” pitch but he’s be informally promoting Polco for a few years now.

Alex graduated high school in 2004 and driven by the events of 9/11 decided he wanted to serve his country.  After hearing about the Air Force academy from a friend he decided it would be the best place to challenge himself, not just physically but academically as well.  Once he graduated and was pinned a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Force he was accepted to grad school.  He attended Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government where he earned his Masters in Public Policy, focusing on International and Global Affairs.

He spent his operational time in the Air Force deployed to Germany where he acted in an advisory role to the Joint Terminal Attack Controllers stationed there within the US Army.  He later returned to the Air Force Academy as an instructor in Political Science.  It’s here that he meets Nick Mastronardi, a fellow Air Force officer and instructor.  From their discussions while teaching at the academy the groundwork would be laid for developing the idea that turns into Polco.

I’ll let you listen to the rest of his story in the interview.  Some of the main topics we cover are:

  • What it was like to attend and pitch his company at VETCON, a conference specifically for veteran entrepreneurs.
  • The biggest strength he took from the military and applied to his civilian career and entrepreneurship.
  • His decision to leave an amazing career at Google to join in on building a company from the ground up.
  • How Polco educates city officials and helps bridge the divide between constituents and those making policy decisions.
  • Examples of policies the Polco platform has helped cities develop and vote on.
  • Much more…

Links from the show:

The Polco website – find out more, reach out, and try out a demo!

Alex’s book recommendation: Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise

Purchase a Veteranology Challenge Coin!

Veteranology on iTunes

Veteranology 025 Pt.2, Duane France

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We continue and conclude our interview with retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Duane France, discussing his transition out of the army and into mental health counseling.  In the second half of the interview we dive into:

  • How veterans sometimes hold themselves back by not allowing themselves to make an impact on others’ lives.
  • The cohort of 9/11 veterans, their strengths, and their impact.
  • The irrepressible sense of self tied to being a veteran, and where it fits in among our other ideas of who we are.
  • General Mattis’s mention of “Post-traumatic growth”
  • And much more…

By far though, my favorite portion of part 2 is discussing the importance of finding both meaning and purpose.  These two ideas come together and without one or the other we hamper our feeling of hope.  Duane breaks down the distinction between the two and gives examples of what life is like when you have one, but not the other.

Important Links:

Headspace and Timing Blog

The Family Care Center in Colorado Springs

Veteranology 025, Pt.1 – Duane France

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In episode 25 I’m joined in the studio by Duane France, a retired Sgt. 1st Class who has built a career as a mental health professional after leaving the Army.  Duane has continued to serve the veteran community in a myriad of ways.  He’s currently a mental health professional working at a private practice in Colorado Springs.  Second, he’s the Director of Veteran Services at The Family Care Center where he specializes in caring for veterans and their families.  Third, he manages a program that provides counseling to his local veteran court.  Finally, he writes the Headspace and Timing blog featured on VeteranMentalHealth.com.

In part 1, Duane and I discuss is time in service and how that experience pushed him towards a career in mental health counseling, while touching on the following topics:

  • The challenges that a serviceman can face when joining the military during wartime and how that can affect the course of their career and their perspective of what it means to serve, especially as their branch transitions to “peace-time” service.
  • How the constant high-speed training and deployment schedule can affect a transitioning veteran leaving the military.
  • How much I sucked at garrison life.
  • How we love going 0 to 60, but we’re horrible at going from 60 to 0.
  • The importance of being flexible and open to several possibilities when planning for your future career and lifestyle
  • How your sense of self shifts during the transition into civilian life.

There’s a lot of great storytelling in Part 1 and Part 2.  I hope you enjoy!

Important Links:

Headspace and Timing Blog

The Family Care Center in Colorado Springs

After Action #1 – Redmond Ramos

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Redmond Ramos revisits Veteranology to give an update on what he’s accomplished since our last chat during Veteranology #18.  Besides working on a Macy’s athletic wear campaign and booking more motivational speaking gigs, Red landed an opportunity that has me quite jealous.  He is one of the contestants on this season of The Amazing Race.

In this quick 20 minute episode Red shares a bit of what’s going on behind the scenes of the race, his partnership with fellow racer Matt Ladley, and how they used smiling to hide their true thoughts while competing against the other teams.

The 29th season of The Amazing Race launched on CBS March 30th, and new episodes premiere every Thursday at 10/9 central.

The Amazing Race‘s website.

Redmond and Matt’s bio videos for the show.

Torie Fisher – Founder of Backward Flag Brewing

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Our guest today is Torie Fisher, a veteran of both the US Army and National Guard.

Torie is now the founder of Backward Flag Brewing, a craft brewery and taproom located in Forked River New Jersey. She started her business nearly 2 year ago with two other partners, and after they both quickly dropped out she carried on and moved forward on her own. Now she has a staff of about 8, made up almost entirely of veteran volunteers who she gives most of the credit to regarding the brewery’s continued success. On top of running the brewery, Torie is currently building a non-profit to run in parallel to her company, with the mission of teaching veterans brewing and business skills while building their professional network.

Discussed in this episode:

The Federal Technician Program, Helping other find purpose, Joining the National Guard after active duty service, the beers on tap, and much more.

http://backwardflagbrewing.com/

Outro Link:

http://www.veteranconference.com/

Veteranology 023 – Justine Evirs

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Our guest today is Justine Evirs. She is currently the Senior Director of Programs at Service to School. Since leaving the Navy, she’s become an intrapreneur and a subject matter expert on finding and closing the gaps of service found in campus programs and policies related to veteran education.

Before joining Service to School she was hired at the college of San Mateo to be their first veteran services program coordinator. Altogether, Justine has dedicated the last 6 and a half years to transforming academic advising and program development for the active duty, military spouse, and veteran communities.

On today’s episode Justine and I discuss the personal challenges that got her started on her current career path, the trends she sees in how veterans interact with and navigate their college experience, the statistics behind how many veterans are first generation college students, and much more.

You can reach out to Justine Evirs on LinkedIn.

Check out Service to School, non-profit that provides free application counseling to military veterans. Our goal is to help veterans win admission to the best universities possible and to help them maximize their education benefits.

Are you a vetrepreneur?  Looking for more information on VETCON? Find out more and register here!

Veteranology 022 – Ian Faison

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Getting hired is tough, no matter who you are.  Veterans face their own hurdles to finding employment, but there are people and organizations on our side, one of them is Ian Faison.  Ian has spent his post-service career helping leaders build amazing companies.  He’s been hired by companies to build better veteran hiring practices, and gives them the tools to connect smarter and faster with the 1% of the US population that serves in the military.

Beyond his work in the military hiring arena, he’s also an avid mentor when it comes to veteran entrepreneurs, often giving them valuable insights into sales and business development practices that can take their company to the next level.  Ian has taken this drive one step further, and joined a team of vets to create VETCON, the “veteran entrepreneur [vetrepreneur] conference, an annual gathering of visionaries, hustlers, and game-changers from around the world. We promote the international community of veterans who run their own businesses.”

VETCON takes place this year in Redwood City, CA on March 23rd-25th.  You can register to attend and find more information at http://www.veteranconference.com/

Ian and I dive into a lot in this interview, from the value of your experiences in garrison and training to some of the specific challenges we as veterans have in communicating out work experience to hiring managers and recruiters.  If you’re a veterans currently looking for work or vetreprenuer building a business, this is the Veteranology episode for you.

You can contact Ian Faison on LinkedIn, or find him on twitter at @ianfaison

Paul Warmbier – Marine Corps Infantry to Winemaker & Teacher

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Paul Warmbier is a Marine Corps combat veteran who served two tours with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines.  After leaving the service he pursued a career in teaching, becoming an English teacher and serving both middle school and high school aged students.  He’s now completing his Master Degree is Nonfiction Creative Writing.

After visiting with two of his best friends at a wine tasting event, and a lot of wine, the trio of veterans decided to start their own winemaking business.  Now, Dauntless Wine Company is making their third vintage, and are well on their way to having a complete winemaking operation from land to vine to bottle.  You’ll hear the passion for wine throughout the interview.

Currently, the Dauntless Wine Company is raising $10,000 and is less than $1,500 away from their goal.  If you’d like to lend them a few bucks, check out their Kiva loan page here.  Unlike GoFundMe, or Kickstarter, you don’t pledge money for a prize, but get your money back on a monthly repayment schedule.

 

Other links from the show:

Team Rubicon

Farmer Veteran Coalition

Veteranology #20 – Jeremy Starr

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Jeremy Starr always knew he wanted to serve his community and during high school he made the decision to join the ranks of the United States Marines.  He wanted to help in the Global War on Terrorism and ended up serving two tours in Iraq with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, as a mortarman within the Weapons Company.

His active duty service would not be his only call to duty.  After leaving the Marine Corps he decided to pursue a career as a firefighter, eventually starting his career in Milwaukee, his hometown.  Now, he’s recently been promoted to lieutenant of Special Teams, where he trains for urban rescue operations.  On top of that, he’s still serving in the Marine Corps reserves, which he joined two years after leaving the active service.

In this episode Jeremy and I discuss the important of finding your “why,” not just in life, but in your everyday decisions.  We tackle the challenges of feeling like the old guy amongst younger peers, and the loss of the “I’ve got your 6” mentality that is bred into your as a Marine.

Here are some links to important topics we discuss on the show:

The book The Tribe, by Sebastian Junger.

The MEPS Triangle (Mental, Emotional, Physical, Spiritual).  I couldn’t actually find a solid lead on this concept but I did find an amazing speaker, Andrew Wittman, who speaks with retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. John Folchetti about the concept.

The Paddy Brown Program which “provides support and financial assistance to post-9/11 veterans ensuring they have the resources needed to transition into civilian life.”

Looking for top notch t-shirts made specifically for veterans by veterans?  Visit Inkfidel now and get your hands one some great looking and fitting clothing. www.inkfidel.com

Last but not least, if you have a moment, please let me know what you think about the Veteranology podcast!

Veteranology #19 – Liam Fuller

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In this episode of Veteranology Marine Corps infantry veteran Liam Fuller shares his story of leaving the Corps, finding his next path, and building a business that not just benefits him, but the lives of his employees as well.

Liam has built Blackguard Customs LLC, a custom metal & wood fabrication shop that specializes in functional works of art.  Under his leadership and with the help and guidance of many friends, family members, and mentors the company grown into a great success. He didn’t start off with the goal of building this business, and he didn’t know it’d become as big as it is now when he got started.

Here’s some of my favorite pieces from the Blackguard Customs website:

Top quote from the episode:

“It’s not about the dollar at the end of the day, it’s about the quality of life for my staff and my family.”