The MILCOM Founders Podcast

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 59: Building the LOD Cart with Juan Ortega Join host Rod Loges and Juan Ortega, a staff sergeant and air transportation specialist in the Air National Guard who invented a new way to safely offload heavy cargo from military aircraft when no ground equipment exists. In this episode Juan’s path from driving the latrine service truck (call sign: Fleet Five) to becomin...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 58: Building Workforce Pathways from Military Service into the Creative Economy with Fidel GomezTorres Join host Rod Loges and guest Fidel GomezTorres as they explore how a Navy Seabee veteran turned his experience in logistics and community building into the foundation for the American Veteran Arts Collective (AVAC), a nonprofit creating workforce pathways for vet...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 57: Defending the Network from the Inside Out with Greg Cullison Join host Rod Loges and guest Greg Cullison as they trace a career path from the U.S. Foreign Service through Navy Reserve intelligence, a deployment to Iraq, and into the founding of QWERX, Inc., a cybersecurity software company that authenticates every device on a network every three seconds using o...

MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 56: First Female Little Bird Pilot to AI-Powered Homeownership with Lindsey Chrismon Join host Rod Loges and guest Lindsey Chrismon as she traces a path from a childhood picnic at West Point to co-founding Oply, a venture-backed AI-powered home management platform built to give homeowners the kind of proactive guidance their cars already give them. Lindsey became...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 55: From Federal Contracting Lifer to $8 Billion in Results with Guy Timberlake Join host Rod Loges and guest Guy Timberlake as he shares nearly four decades in federal contracting, how he and his wife built The American Small Business Coalition from a membership organization into an education and training ecosystem, and why he believes government contracting is a...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 54: From Army Dive Officer to Defense Supply Chain Founder with Charles Masters Rodriguez Join host Rod Loges and guest Charles Masters Rodriguez as they trace his path from a multigenerational military family in Puerto Rico to West Point, through one of the Army's smallest and least-known specialties, and into two back-to-back ventures built around the same supply...

MILCOM Founders Podcast, Episode 53: From Special Operations to Animal Health Tech with Andy Yim Join host Rod Loges and guest Andy Yim as he shares his path from West Point graduate and Field Artillery Officer to founder and CEO of Lumora Animal Health, a company building AI-powered pet health records for owners, veterinarians, groomers, boarders, and shelters, all while completing his MBA at the...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 52: From Marine Colonel to Nonprofit CEO with Scott Jensen Join host Rod Loges and guest Scott Jensen as he shares his path from Naval Academy graduate and Marine Corps helicopter pilot to founder of Alpine Global Solutions and CEO of the National Veteran Small Business Coalition, where he grew the organization from $300,000 to over $4 million in six and a half yea...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 51: Robert E. Strong Jr., Pretty Thai Specialty Sauces & Spices Join host Rod Loges and guest Robert E. Strong Jr., a former Air Force signals intelligence analyst, founder of Pretty Thai Specialty Sauces & Spices, and co-founder of Wingman Kitchens. Pretty Thai products are sold in 900+ retail locations across eight states. Robert also runs the Palmer Nick...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 50: From Military Ministry to Mission-Driven Entrepreneurship with Theresa Irving Join host Rod Loges and guest Theresa Irving as she shares her path from Air Force chaplain assistant serving overseas in England and Japan to founding Epic Military Brands, a strategic consulting firm connecting veteran entrepreneurs with mission-aligned partners and high-impact nonp...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 49: A Family Legacy of Service and the Path to Graphic Design with Hannah Scribner Join host Rod Loges and guest Hannah Scribner as they explore what it means to grow up in a military family with deep roots spanning generations, from the Revolutionary War to today. Hannah is a first-generation college student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln pursuing graphic d...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 48: From Combat Search and Rescue to Luxurious Hard-Use Clothing with Christian Meyers Join host Rod Loges and guest Christian Meyers as they explore the journey of a 13-year Air Force veteran who transitioned from combat search and rescue operations to founding Terra Arma, a company revolutionizing military-grade base layers and apparel. Christian shares his evolu...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 47: Systems Over Hustle with Yasmin George Join host Rod Loges and guest Yasmin George as she shares how she went from military spouse and Fortune 500 marketer to founder of Trend Lab, where she helps six- and seven-figure businesses replace chaos with systems so they can scale without burning out. In this episode: How Yasmin found the military-connected entreprene...

MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 46: Nick Bradfield, Marine Corps Sergeant Turned EOS Implementer Join host Rod Loges as he sits down with Nick Bradfield, a Marine Corps infantry veteran turned fintech founder who now helps growth-stage business owners find clarity and focus as an EOS Implementer. Nick shares the real story behind building and exiting a fintech company, scaling a veteran-focused...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 45: From Police Officer to Fractional CISO with George Hyek Join host Rod Loges and guest George Hyek as he traces the path from his early days as a police officer to founding TRINSEC 7. George explains why he walked away from responding to crime to spend a career preventing it, first as an Army intelligence officer and now as a Fractional CISO+ giving small busine...

MilCom Founders Podcast — Episode 44: From Navy Aviator to AI-Powered Purpose with Pete Canalichio Join host Rod Loges and guest Pete Canalichio as he shares his journey from Naval Academy graduate and P3 Orion aircraft commander to co-founder of ThriveAlive. AI, a platform using artificial intelligence to help people find clarity on their purpose, vision, mission, and values. In this episode: How...

MilCom Founders Podcast, Episode 43: John Collins, Retired Army Sergeant Major and Author of Your Pay Join host Rod Loges as he sits down with John Collins, a retired Army Sergeant Major who spent 28 years in special operations and turned his passion for financial education into a book for service members. John shares how a 15-minute hallway conversation changed his approach to money and why he we...

MilCom Founders Podcast — Episode 42: From K-9 Handler to Capturing Stories That Matter with Michael Parks Join host Rod Loges and guest Michael Parks as he shares his journey from Air Force K-9 handler and retired Supervisory Federal Air Marshal to founder of Daystar Photography, a veteran-owned photography, videography, and drone services company serving clients nationwide. In this episode: How...

MILCOM Founders Podcast, Episode 41: From F-15 Fighter Pilot to Founder of Eagle Law Group with Michael Segal Join host Rod Loges and guest Michael Segal as he shares his path from flying F-15s in the United States Air Force to founding Eagle Law Group, P.C., a law firm in Los Angeles that serves the aerospace and defense industry. Michael also discusses building BizVets LA, a nonprofit connecting...

MILCOM Founders Podcast, Episode 40: Dr. Lori A. Smith, Founder of Acu-Elligent LLC and Sowing Our Seeds Empowerment Join host Rod Loges as he sits down with Dr. Lori A. Smith, a retired federal contracting officer, US Air Force veteran, and one of the most authoritative voices in government contracting today. Over a career spanning decades across military and federal service, Dr. Smith exercised...

MilCom Founders Podcast — Episode 39: From Special Forces to Independent Sponsor with Jary Jackson Join host Rod Loges and guest Jary Jackson as he shares his journey from Army infantry to firefighter to 22-year Special Forces career to entrepreneur acquiring and scaling lower-middle-market businesses through entrepreneurship through acquisition. In this episode: How Jary left the Army after four...

MilCom Founders Podcast – Episode 38: Ryan Patrick Hunt, Founder of Tenth Mountain Recruiting and the Veteran Social Summit Join host Rod Loges as he sits down with Ryan Patrick Hunt, founder of Tenth Mountain Recruiting and the Veteran Social Summit. Ryan is a retired U.S. Army officer who went from accidental e-commerce entrepreneur to boutique recruiting firm founder, and he's spent the last de...

MilCom Founders Podcast — Episode 37: From Army Intel to AI-Powered Marketing Strategist with Moniek James Join host Rod Loges and guest Moniek James as she shares her journey from US Army Intelligence veteran to founder of Renegade Creative Media Group, where she helps growing brands cut through marketing confusion and build trust at scale. In this episode: How a pay inequity conversation at a co...

MILCOM Founders Podcast - Episode 36: Josh Himan, Marine Veteran Helping Business Owners Know What Their Companies Are Worth Show Notes Join host Rod Loges and guest Joshua Himan as he shares his journey from Northern Virginia athlete to Marine Corps machine gunner to founding two businesses that help people regain independence and understand the true value of what they've built. In this episode:...

MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 35: Hillary Boyce, Army Veteran and Military Spouse Building a Government Contracting Powerhouse Join host Rod Loges and guest Hillary Boyce as she shares her journey from small-town North Carolina to leading BAFO Services, a firm helping over 150 clients win government contracts. In this episode: Hillary's path from Taylorsville, North Carolina (population: tiny)...