Entrepreneurship

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BTU #439 - The future of virtual care (Dr. Laura Purdy)

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BTU #439 - The future of virtual care (Dr. Laura Purdy)

Why Listen:
Well, my guest today, Dr. Laura Purdy not only served in the US Army for 14 years as a family physician. But she's also has been a military spouse for a very long time. We talked about a lot of topics on the show that we've never talked about before.

The first obviously is her work at MD integrations and the work that she's done since she left the military about nine months ago, we talk about virtual care, which is a huge and exploding industry. We talk about why that's important, and why listeners may want to consider a career in virtual care. But we talk about a couple other things that I'm really happy we did. First of all, Laura has a very unique career right now where she works with a lot of clients. And she also is involved in many organizations. And so very often her day is meeting with people seeing what they need, and then figuring out the best way to help them with that need. And I think it's a really exciting way to think of structuring one's time and career to have a bigger impact. But we also off-road a little bit to talk about things that I'm curious to know what our audience thinks of because, you know, I view it from the vantage point of myself 1015 years ago, when I was on active duty and how I might dismiss what Laura is sharing. And then I view it through my lens now of being a civilian for 10 years, and a lot of things that are very commonplace in the civilian workforce, are still not really common in the military. And so for those of you on active duty, who might want to dismiss what Laura is talking about when it comes to maternity leave, and things like that, I'd really encourage you to be curious about her perspective. After the recording, Laura and I talked about this a bit. And I'm reminded of how there is just so much that I've become accustomed to now having been a civilian for a decade. And I'm realizing that when people transition out of the military, a lot of those things are going to seem new. And so if you know some of the things she talks about, you feel the need to dismiss, I'd encourage you to be curious and open because I find these things are things you're going to have to transition to eventually when you do leave the military if you're still in, as always at beyond the uniform.org you'll find show notes with links to everything we discussed, as well as 437 other episodes just like this. So with that, let's dive into my conversation with Laura.

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BTU #437 - Blockchain Ticketing (w/ Matt Zarracina at True Tickets)

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BTU #437 - Blockchain Ticketing (w/ Matt Zarracina at True Tickets)

Matt brings the perspective of what I'd call a midlife entrepreneur, someone who had decade in the military almost a decade of experience a couple degrees before he founded a company and I just always love hearing those stories. His company uses blockchain. So we talk about that how that impacts his business. What that industry looks like, like might be appealing to our listeners, he talks about COVID and how it actually helped him grow as a company in an unexpected way, a very atypical story. He talks about managing cash flow to the day predicting when he was going to run out of money and it's the pandemic he talks about playing Super Mario Brothers as an analogy for keeping a company alive and up leveling, I talked about over communicating in a crisis how Navy pilots are like entrepreneurs, how you figure things out and supplement your knowledge in whatever career you do. He talks about how in career in life, it's a game of at bats not batting average really great point that I'm still thinking about. And he talks about how we're migrating from in person not not migrating from in person to digital but connecting the two and really forward looking thought of where the industry is going.

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BTU #435 - How to Sell a Company (Jeff Arnold @ Rightsure)

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BTU #435 - How to Sell a Company (Jeff Arnold @ Rightsure)

Why Listen:

Jeff works in the insurance industry, which is not an industry I knew a lot about before the interview, but I can see why he chose to spend 30 years in this career path after his time in the Army. In this interview, we talk about selling companies, understanding how companies are valued, how to drive value, how to increase the value of a company, how to defer benefits in selling a company versus finding a company that pays you a good salary from the start. We talk about approaching your career in 15-year increments, three different chapters in one's career, and what matters at those points. We also talk about identity, which comes up a lot in this podcast when it comes to identity as a Veteran.

About Jeff:

Jeff Arnold is an authority in the insurance industry. With over 30 years of experience managing deals ranging from six figures to 100 million-plus, he currently serves as the president of Rightsure, where he has distilled the zeal for the discipline he learned in the Army into profitable joint ventures. He's passionate about entrepreneurship, mergers, and acquisitions, and has also written multiple best-selling books.

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BTU #436 - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

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BTU #436 - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Why Listen:
In 3 years and 333 episodes, today’s conversation is the highlight of my time with Beyond the Uniform. More than anyone else I have witnessed, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin are doing the most to elevate the civilian world’s understanding of military Veterans and what they bring to the table. In this conversation we talk about what it is like for Jocko and Leif to work together now, out of uniform. We also talk about what it was like starting their company, Echelon Front… and it’s not as easy as I had thought it would be. We talk about their newest initiatives - EF Overwatch and EF Legion, incredible recruiting resources for the military community. We talk about career transition advice and mindsets to keep and tweak and more.

About Jocko:
Jocko Willink is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, Dichotomy of Leadership, host of the top-rated Jocko Podcast, and co-founder of Echelon Front, where he serves as Chief Executive Officer, leadership instructor, speaker and strategic advisor. Jocko spent 20 years in the SEAL Teams, starting as an enlisted SEAL and rising through the ranks to become a SEAL officer. As commander of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser during the battle of Ramadi, he orchestrated SEAL operations that helped the “Ready First” Brigade of the U.S. Army’s First Armored Division bring stability to the violent, war-torn city. Task Unit Bruiser became the most highly decorated Special Operations Unit of the Iraq War.
Jocko returned from Iraq to serve as Officer-in-Charge of training for all West Coast SEAL Teams. There, he spearheaded the development of leadership training and personally instructed and mentored the next generation of SEAL leaders who have continued to perform with great success on the battlefield. Jocko is the recipient of the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and numerous other personal and unit awards.

Upon retiring from the Navy, Jocko co-founded Echelon Front, a premier leadership consulting company, where he teaches the leadership principles he learned on the battlefield to help others lead and win. Jocko also authored the Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual, a New York Times Bestseller, and the best selling Way of the Warrior Kid children’s book series.

About Leif:
Leif Babin is a former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, co-author of #1 New York Times bestseller Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, and co-founder of Echelon Front, where he serves as President/Chief Operating Officer, leadership instructor, speaker, and strategic advisor. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Leif served thirteen years in the Navy, including nine in the SEAL Teams. As a SEAL platoon commander in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, he planned and led major combat operations in the Battle of Ramadi that helped the “Ready First” Brigade of the US Army’s 1st Armored Division achieve victory. Task Unit Bruiser became the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War.
Leif returned from combat and became the primary leadership instructor for all officers graduating from the SEAL training pipeline. There, he reshaped SEAL leadership training to better prepare the next generation of SEAL officers for the immense challenges of combat. During his last tour, Leif served as Operations Officer and Executive Officer at a SEAL Team where he again deployed to Iraq with a Special Operations Task Force. He is the recipient of the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and a Purple Heart.
Upon his departure from active duty, Leif co-founded Echelon Front, a premier leadership consulting company that helps others build their own high-performance winning teams.

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BTU #434 - The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership (Diana Chapman)

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BTU #434 - The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership (Diana Chapman)

Why Listen:

Normally on the show, I interview military veterans about what they're doing post-service. My guest today is not a military veteran, but I believe her message and perspective are a great contribution to our community.

Diana has helped a lot of veterans and is one of the authors of a book called The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, and I am so honored to have her on the show. I love this book so much that I send a copy of it to every new client that I sign up for my company, Executive Presence. In this conversation, we talk about your zone of genius and how to find a career that fits into that. We speak about limiting beliefs about ourselves, how those can cause us to rule out careers and career paths that we really shouldn't, and how to identify and overcome those limiting beliefs. We also talk about integrity. Diana's definition of integrity is slightly different from what I learned about at the Naval Academy and in the military. And I think it's very powerful. And then lastly, we speak about shifting to a life of play, how to gamify things rather than take everything seriously, and how much faster we learn when we find a way to do it through play.

About Diana:

Diana Chapman is an advisor to exceptional leaders who has worked with over 1000 organizational leaders and many of their teams, and is a founding partner at Conscious Leadership Group. She has created and implemented professional onboarding and ongoing programs—based on the comprehensive body of work she developed with CLG co-founder Jim Dethmer—with clients such as Asana and Esalen. In addition to facilitating CLG Forums in the Bay Area for founders, venture capitalists, and CEOs, Diana facilitates YPO Forums and Chapters worldwide. She also trains coaches in conscious leadership in the CLG training program she and Jim created. Diana co-authored the best-selling book, The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success, in 2015. She has been a speaker at TEDx, Mindful Leadership Summit, Wisdom 2.0, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Haas School of Business, YPO, and Kauffman Fellows.

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BTU #432 - Taking Action (Aaron Hale)

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BTU #432 - Taking Action (Aaron Hale)

Why Listen:

There are no words to introduce this interview. Aaron was left blind after an injury in Afghanistan. He overcame that and went on to do incredible things. Instead of allowing himself to become a victim, Aaron sees his injury as an example of divine direction. Shortly after that, he contracted bacterial meningitis and became fully deaf in both ears. He has since then gotten implants so he can hear. But Aaron overcame that as well. Living the "Challenge Accepted!" mindset and not letting any obstacles deter him from his goals, he now runs a company with his wife, McKayla, called Extra Ordinary Delights. If you're looking for a story of determination, overcoming obstacles, and always taking action, you are in the right spot.

About Aaron:

Aaron Hale is the CEO and Founder of Extra Ordinary Delights. On December 8, 2011, Army Staff Sergeant Aaron Hale was severely injured in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated. Hale, of the 760th EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), served a tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. The December explosion left Aaron completely blind. Aaron pressed on and became very involved with organizations who help wounded and disabled veterans get out and be active. Through these organizations, Aaron was able to climb mountains, white water kayak, and run 5 marathons throughout 2015 including Boston Marathon. In August 2015, Aaron contracted bacterial meningitis. This devastating illness left Aaron completely deaf in both ears. Since the illness, Aaron has regained his love for cooking and began creating in the kitchen again. With his wife, McKayla, at his side, the two combine their love for cooking and business experience to bring Extra Ordinary Delights to your door.

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BTU #430 - The Unexpected Entrepreneur (Chris Anthony @ TeamWorx Security)

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BTU #430 - The Unexpected Entrepreneur (Chris Anthony @ TeamWorx Security)

Why Listen:

Despite your career intentions, today is a great episode with a lot to learn from Chris. This is one of the first stories where the entrepreneur I interviewed didn't set out to be an entrepreneur; they were pulled into it. We start talking about his unexpected departure from the Army he'd planned on 20 years and due to an injury left at the 11-year point, and how he started his own company. We speak about the mentoring work he does with veterans every Wednesday. He has got a lot of great transitioning advice. We also talk about being willing to try new things and fall on your face, and a lot more.

About Chris:

Chris Anthony is an Army Veteran and CEO of TeamWorx Security, an enterprise-tech company that helps technical and non-technical people collaborate better. Chris’s career spans 26 years in cyber and information security-related technologies. He is a graduate of Norwich University and teaches Advanced Cyber Intelligence at the University of South Florida. He is a staunch military, military spouse, and Veteran advocate and continues to contribute to local and national charities each year.

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BTU #429 - Atomic Habits (Book Review)

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BTU #429 - Atomic Habits (Book Review)

In this episode I provide a book review of Atomic Habits by James Clear. This is a FANTASTIC habit relevant to any career path (as well as your personal life). It efficiently explains incredible tactics to employ to build habits that will get you where you want to go, and destroy the habits that keep you from getting there.

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BTU #428 - Your Moments, Hand-Painted (Brendan Aronson @ Paintru)

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BTU #428 - Your Moments, Hand-Painted (Brendan Aronson @ Paintru)

Why Listen:

My guest today, Brendan, started a company called Paintru, which he co-founded with two other Naval Academy graduates. What I think is so fascinating about Brendan's story is that he is a Naval Academy grad, served in the Marine Corps, earned his MBA from hardcore finance school Wharton, worked at a hardcore finance company, Goldman Sachs, and then started, of all things, a startup that focuses on art. It's such an unexpected twist in someone's story.

About Brendan:

Brendan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Paintru, which makes it simple to commission fine artwork from incredible global artists. He started out at the Naval Academy, served in the Marine Corps for nearly six years, and earned his MBA from Wharton, where he interned at Goldman Sachs. He founded Paintru in February of 2020.

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BTU #426 - Building a Community on LinkedIn (Justin & Jennifer Welsh)

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BTU #426 - Building a Community on LinkedIn (Justin & Jennifer Welsh)

Why Listen:

Normally on the show, I interview military veterans about what they're doing post-service. My guests today are not military veterans, but I believe their message and perspective are a great contribution to our community.

This is a great episode for anyone. Whether you're a job seeker, an entrepreneur, or an executive, LinkedIn is such a powerful platform. We talk about it all the time on the show. Today, we're going deep on tactics for how to use LinkedIn to grow an audience, sell products, find your next job, or build your brand. There are so many different things that you can do with it.

About Justin & Jennifer:

Justin Welsh is a solopreneur building a portfolio of one-person businesses to $5M+ in revenue. As a "diversified entrepreneur," he splits his time between investing in early B2B SaaS companies, advising early-stage SMB SaaS companies in the healthcare technology vertical, building digital products, running a paid community for creators, and coaching entrepreneurs. Prior to his work as an entrepreneur, he spent a decade as an operator helping build two $50M+ ARR companies and raise over $300M in venture capital.

After a decade managing global office operations for high-growth startups, Jennifer pivoted to pursue her passion for personal finance. She's on a mission to share financial literacy and help people get started investing in the stock market. You can read all of her best tips on LinkedIn, where she's amassed over 50,000 followers in the last 12 months.

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BTU#425 - WHO not HOW (Book Review)

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BTU#425 - WHO not HOW (Book Review)

In this episode, I provide my key takeaways from a book a recent guest recommended to me; WHO not HOW. It is a book all about the fact that, when presented with a problem, we often think: how can I solve this? Instead, the book talks about shifting to a "who can help me solve this" mindset. By finding a WHO who has a network and area of expertise to solve your problem, you free yourself up instead to operate in your own particular zone of genius.

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BTU #424 - Growing a Business through Acquisitions (Mike Maynard @ Napier)

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BTU #424 - Growing a Business through Acquisitions (Mike Maynard @ Napier)

Why Listen:

Normally on the show, I interview military veterans about what they're doing post-service. My guest today is not a military veteran, but I believe his message and perspective are a great contribution to our community.

Today's guest, Mike, has a unique career transition story that I haven't heard before and thought would benefit our audience. We talked about Mike's career transition of going from someone on the tech side to someone on the marketing side as an owner and operator, but also the process of acquiring other businesses.

About Mike:

Mike Maynard is the Managing Director of the Napier Group, a 7 million PR and marketing agency for B2B technology companies. He was awarded a Master's Degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from the University of Surrey and an MBA from Kingston University. He acquired Napier in 2001. Since that time, Mike has directed major PR and marketing programs for a wide range of global technology clients reaching over 30 European countries. He is actively involved in developing the PR and marketing industries, is Chair of the PRCA B2B Group, and is a Visiting Lecturer in PR at Southampton Solent University.

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BTU #420 - An Overview of the Space Ecosystem (Shelli Brunswick @ Space Foundation)

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BTU #420 - An Overview of the Space Ecosystem (Shelli Brunswick @ Space Foundation)

Why Listen:

Shelli is doing incredible work at Space Foundation, a nonprofit helping expand the space ecosystem and helping job seekers just like you find a job in the space industry. There are a lot of opportunities here. Shelli is one of the rare ones I've interviewed in 420 episodes where it is so clear that she found a good fit for herself in this organization. After 29 years in the Air Force, she is motivated by helping others and giving back. She desires to be inclusive with this industry and pay forward to the next generation. It's always refreshing to speak with someone that has found a calling, not just a career.

As always at beyondtheuniform.org you'll find show notes with links to everything we discussed, as well as 419 other episodes just like this one.

About Shelli:

Shelli Brunswick is the Chief Operating Officer at Space Foundation, the world's premier organization to inspire, educate, connect, and advocate on behalf of the global space community. Her career includes work as a space acquisition and program management leader and congressional liaison for the U.S. Air Force to her current role, including overseeing Center for Innovation and Education, Symposium 365, and Global Alliance.