Mission Oriented

In this episode of the Mission Oriented Podcast, host Bob Louthan sits down with Mike Sherbakov — Marine veteran, venture capitalist, and Managing Partner of The Veteran Fund — to explore how service, gratitude, and purpose can shape the next generation of veteran entrepreneurs. Born in Russia, Mike immigrated to the United States at the age of five, watching his parents rebuild their lives from t...

In this milestone 200th episode of the Mission Oriented Podcast, host Bob Louthan sits down with General Darren McDew, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), to reflect on a lifetime of leadership, service, and perspective shaped by 36 years in uniform. General McDew's story begins at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), where the values of teamwork, integrity, and resilience first took root. From there, his ca...

In this episode of the Mission Oriented Podcast , host Bob Louthan sits down with Tim Jensen — Marine veteran, Chief Brand Officer at Grunt Style, and President of the Grunt Style Foundation. Tim shares his remarkable journey from enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1997, serving in Iraq with 2/24 Marines, to helping grow Grunt Style into one of the most recognizable patriotic apparel brands in Ameri...

In this episode of the Mission Oriented Podcast , host Bob Louthan sits down with Air Force veteran Chad Fulkerson , a former B-1 bomber weapons systems officer who successfully transitioned into entrepreneurship as a Firehouse Subs franchise owner in Texas. Chad shares his unique journey from growing up in a military family to joining the Air Force at age 28, earning his call sign "Henway," and n...

Paul Habenicht - Marine Veteran Applying Military Principles to Entrepreneurial Success Paul Habenicht, a U.S. Naval Academy and Darden MBA graduate successfully built and exited a veterinary services business called VetEvolve. Paul shared his journey from the Marine Corps to entrepreneurship, highlighting how his military experience shaped the culture and operations of VetEvolve. As Paul and his...

Erik DeGiorgi is a Marine veteran that is the founder and CEO of NetSpeek. Erik shared how his background as a Marine infantryman during the early days of the Afghanistan war helped prepare him for the rigors of entrepreneurship. "Endurance is probably the single most necessary trait for a founder," he said, noting that the ability to push through challenges is critical. After leaving the Marines,...

Leadership Lessons from Doug Moran: A Journey of Resilience and Empowerment Doug Moran is a seasoned executive coach, author, and former Capital One CIO. Doug shared his inspiring leadership journey, which has been shaped by his experiences in business, politics, and personal reflection. His book, If You Will Lead , distills these experiences into valuable leadership insights, with a focus on empo...

Dave Esra - Veteran Entrepreneur Tackles Maternal Health Crisis Dave Esra is the founder and CEO of Bobi Health. Dave is a veteran who served in both the Navy and Army, and he is now using his entrepreneurial skills to tackle a critical issue - the high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. Dave shared his personal connection to this problem - his wife had a high-risk pregnancy that was ultim...

Nick Smith - Navy Veteran & Partner, 37th & Moss From a young age, Nick had a desire to take to the skies, inspired by his Great Uncle's job of flying F-86s during the Korean War and his Grandfather's service in the Air Force. Opting for the Navy, he fulfilled his passion for flying as an F-18 test pilot during his active duty service. Post-military life, Nick set his sights on entrepreneurship, g...

Sherman Williams & Emily McMahan - Academy Investor Network, Helping Service Academy Graduates Invest in Venture-backed Startups Sherman Williams is a Naval Academy graduate. After serving as a Naval Intelligence Officer, he headed to Chicago's Booth School to study finance and landed himself in investment banking. While in banking he started investing and advising startups. This was a perfect seg...

David Jones - Co-Founder & General Partner at Bull City Venture Partners After attending the United States Naval Academy and graduating with a BS in Electrical Engineering, David Jones served as a Naval Aviator and a Weapons and Operations Officer.  It was his military background and experience in technology that laid the groundwork to co-found Bull City Venture Partners in 2012. Bull City Venture...

Brandon Shelton - Removing the Barriers to Capital for Veterans, TFX Capital Brandon grew up in rural Virginia. He was part of a long line of military service. This led him to utilize the ROTC program and attend the University of Richmond. After being commissioned as an Airborne Infantry Officer in the U.S Army. and serving for eight years he landed himself on Wall Street. This was the beginning o...

Brendan Aronson - USMC Veteran, Co-Founder & CEO The Military Veteran Brendan attended the United States Naval Academy for his undergraduate degree and commissioned as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. He served for six years before starting his entrepreneurial journey. He is the co-founder and CEO of The Military Veteran and has a passion to help transitioning veterans. He is...

Ryan Micheletti - The Veteran Fund & Founder Institute  Ryan Micheletti served in the California State Military Reserve for six years. He would tell you that he learned leadership, resilience and the value of a team during his time in service. This laid the foundation for his journey as an entrepreneur.   He began by starting a security company with his brother. This grew from just the two of them...

Derren Burrell - Air Force Veteran, Founder Veteran Ventures Capital Derren is back on the Mission Oriented podcast sharing an update on Veteran Ventures Capital, his advice for entrepreneurs in the current economy and about his excitement connect with others at the upcoming MilVet Startup Conference next month.  Derren Burrell's father was a Citadel graduate of 1964. It was an indoctrination that...

Matthew Carter - Navy Rear Admiral (Ret.), Chairman of NOVA Vets Matthew Carter a retired Navy Rear Admiral, who spent 34 years serving in the military continues his service as the recently elected chair of the board for the Northern Virginia Veterans Association (NOVA Veterans). Carter previously served as a board member. While he served in the Navy, Carter flew the P-3C Orion maritime patrol and...

Gregg F. Martin - Army Major General (Ret.), Author, Bipolar Survivor & Thriver Gregg Martin is a retired major general and a distinguished 36-year Army combat veteran who has left an indelible mark on the military. Throughout his illustrious career, he commanded various military units, including an engineer company, battalion, and the 130th Engineer Brigade in combat. Beyond the battlefield, he h...

Brendan Duebner - Army Veteran, Founder & CEO of Life Skills for Soldiers "We know that when service members are more financially secure, there's less issues at home, there's less issues with food insecurity, stress, there's less security clearance revocations, less missed work time. There's more productivity, there's more retention, there's just more readiness."   This is the driving force for Li...

Brent Bowers - Teaching Real Estate Investors How to Buy & Sell Vacant Land With over 8 years of service as an Army Officer, Brent Bowers realized he needed a change to spend more time with his family. His interest in real estate, sparked by his first home purchase in 2007, led him to explore real estate investing as a way to support his family and be present for them. Quickly expanding his busine...

David Cain - President & CEO of Heroes Home Advantage David Cain, an individual with a passion for giving back and empowering our everyday heroes. As the President and CEO of Heroes Home Advantage, David leads a network of realtors, lenders, attorneys, and more who are dedicated to supporting those who protect, serve, and care for our communities. For over 12 years, Heroes Home Advantage has provi...

Originally episode 43 Recon Marine and Navy Seal Mike Sarraille talks Leadership and The Talent War on today's podcast. Mike Sarraille is co-author of The Talent War and founder of Talent War Group.  "Talent War Group is a leadership development and executive search firm focused on helping our clients optimize the people side of their businesses." Mike Sarraille is a talented speaker and author wh...

Brandon Shelton - Removing the Barrier to Capital for Veterans, TFX Capital Brandon grew up in rural Virginia. He was part of a long line of military service. This led him to utilize the ROTC program and attend the University of Richmond. After being commissioned as an Airborne Infantry Officer in the U.S Army. and serving for eight years he landed himself on Wall Street. This was the beginning of...

France Hoang - Army Veteran & Entrepreneur, Helping Afghan Allies France and his family were evacuated from Vietnam when he was just a child. That experience has impacted every area of his life. He wanted to payback the opportunities he was given. He chose to go to West Point and serve in the United States Army. His service continued as he worked in the White House and was eventually called to go...

Robert Williscroft, Navy Veteran & Author of "Operation White Out" Robert has been a guest on the podcast before, but this time is talking about his latest book, Operation White Out . Tom Clancy might have said; "The only way to do all the things you'd like to do is to read" but he never met Robert Williscroft. Robert has spent a lifetime taking adventures most to us only read about. Have you spen...

Daniel Gade - Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services  Daniel Gade, a veteran and retired Army lieutenant colonel, currently serves as the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services for the state of Virginia. Gade dedicates his career to serving his country, both in the military and in his civilian life. He advocates for veterans' rights and works to ensure that all v...