Veteran Entrepreneurs

Steven Myers is a two-time Air Force Veteran and a self-described “serial entrepreneur”. He has founded no fewer than four companies and was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He became the first American to fly an aircraft into the Kamchatka Peninsula since Charles Lindbergh. That adventure and the joint venture set up through that mission is subject of his best-selling book “Crosswinds: Adventure and Entrepreneurship in the Russian Far East". Steve experienced a very rough inner-city [...]

Shadow Tier author Steve Snyder served in the White House Communications Office, worked with the Secret Service and earned his Green Beret.  Much of that experience is reflected in the pages of his first published book. While in Army basic training at Fort Ord, a group of men wearing suits and sporting non-regulation hair addressed his class asking for volunteers for a special assignment. Steve figured wearing suits sure beat crawling around in the mud. He would become a member [...]

Veteran Jennifer Marshall attended high school in a “one stoplight” town so it didn’t take much convincing from the Navy recruiter to get her to join. She never imagined that someday she would appear in several Hollywood productions, host a television series and own her own private investigations firm. Jennifer started as a logistics specialist and also served on the fire and ship security defense support teams aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. She had planned on making a career of [...]

DCM Consulting Founder Christopher “Dutch” Moyer served 31 years in the Army – 26 of those in Special Operations. He has taken part in over 1,000 successful combat assaults in classified & unclassified missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even as a child he wanted to be a soldier and at the first opportunity enlisted in the tank corps. However, he found that the Army in the 1980’s was not what he had hoped.  After a five year break, he returned. [...]

Development Group Five was founded by Glen Burton to use military approaches, themes and training techniques to help empower people to be the best that they can be. Following ten years with the British Army, Burton began a career in executive close protection and has built a reputation as one of the most highly sought after consultants in the industry. His client list includes well-known names within the entertainment and business world as well as international royalty. He has led [...]

Justin Nassiri experienced a leadership crucible moment unlike many entrepreneurs. At the age of 23 he found himself responsible for a $2 Billion submarine and the lives of 180 sailors.  One might say it was the perfect preparation for someone who would go on to the rough and tumble world of Silicon Valley technology. Jason followed his brother to the US Naval Academy and was still a midshipman when the 9/11 attacks occurred. Nassiri says the “nature of my proximity [...]

When Authentically American Founder & CEO Dean Wegner graduated from West Point over 50 percent of the apparel worn in America was made in the US. That figure is now 3 percent. Authentically American was founded to help reverse that trend. He asks every American – “Where is YOURS made?” He chose aviation upon graduation and became a helicopter pilot. Dean is unique in that he is an aviator authorized to wear the Ranger tab. He says the incredible [...]

Apex Gear Company co-founders Nick Wyatt (Marine Corps) and Drew Everett (Army) have been friends since childhood. They first partnered on an e-commerce site for Nick’s family owned company Foot Medic Insoles. One day they had a great idea – a one stop marketplace for Veteran owned retailers and Veteran brands. They assumed someone else had already filled that market gap but extensive research showed they were wrong. Apex Gear Company debuted to the public on September 11th. There are [...]

GORUCK co-founder and CEO Jason McCarthy says his path from leaving the Special Forces to building a $100 million company is a “cautionary tale”.  He even wrote a book titled “How Not to Start a Backpack Company.” Jason served with the Green Berets and his wife Emily was a CIA Case Officer deployed to West Africa. Jason put together a “go-ruck” for Emily to carry in her vehicle and home.  This planted the seeds for GORUCK, but it was a [...]

Bone Frog Cellars and Bone Frog Coffee Founder and CEO Tim Cruickshank says “giving is the reason we exist as a company.”  I bet you won’t find that mission statement on many company websites. Tim served with SEAL teams on both coasts. In addition to being the team corpsman he was also the primarily responsible for demolitions. “My kids knew nothing but me being at war the entire time. I was gone for half my son’s life at one time.” [...]