Scuttlebutt Podcast: Veteran Owned Business Growth

Tim Kirkpatrick is the cofounder of Condition One Media as well as the writer and director of the TV  show 'Figure It Out' which follows a recently discharged Marine's re-entry into civilian life. Tim is a former navy corpsman who, on deployment with Marines to Afghanistan, filmed his first video of dancing Marines which he used on his application to New York Film school (he got in). We talk...

Mark Harper is the former Optimus Prime Myspace page manager and the current CEO of We are the Mighty. Mark's early interest in film led him to pursuing a dual degree which landed him in the Combat Camera division of the US Air Force. Mark and his unit were in Iraq to film the 'purple fingers' which played a role in how he pitched himself to Hollywood. We discuss how media and content have evolved...

Chris' background is in trade and foreign policy, but joined the Army infantry for a profession. We talk about how he has seen foreign policy develop in the last 20 years across a civilian job on Capitol Hill and then throughout his time deployed in the Middle East. Chris talks about his stint as a speechwriter for a senior officer and the things he'd learned about how to communicate more effectiv...

The Scuttlebutt Podcast - The podcast for service members and veterans building a life outside the military. In this episode, Brock talks with Michael Pecota. Mike is former aviation at the squadron level and now works for NAVAIR doing additive manufacturing. We talk about how proximity to the mission impacts the lives of people in a unit. We compare and contrast sea duty and shore duty and how be...

The Scuttlebutt Podcast - The podcast for service members and veterans building a life outside the military. In this episode, Brock talks with Max. Max is a Veterans Readiness and Employment counselor with the VA. While in the Marine Corps, Max participated in two combat deployments which were formative in his desire to give back to the veteran community. We discuss his learnings about what vetera...

The Scuttlebutt Podcast - The podcast for service members and veterans building a life outside the military. In this episode, Brock talks with Todd Connor. Todd is the author of third shift entrepreneur, founder of Bunker Labs, and CEO of Veterans for Political Innovation. In this conversation we talk about startups, a topic Todd is an expert on. We discuss some of the programming Bunker Labs offe...

The Scuttlebutt Podcast - The podcast for service members and veterans building a life outside the military. In this episode, Brock talks with Micah Taylor.  Micah spent 20 years in the National Guard working in many positions, but heavily focused on training. In this conversation we talk about the guard as an augment to your life and the good things and bad that come with it. Micah has a pas...

The Scuttlebutt Podcast - The podcast for service members and veterans building a life outside the military. In this episode, Brock talks with David Armstrong. Dave is a former Marine Corps Officer, a private wealth manager, sits on the board of PB Abbate, and a fellow podcaster. Dave recounts the story of the details surrounding his early years leading to joining the Marine Corps and how formativ...

In this episode, Brock talks with Barrett Bogue. Barrett is a former Marine Corps reservist who developed a passion for tackling the problem of communication around veterans during his time in the service. He worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs, overseeing GI Bill implementation before going to start his own company Evocati, a PR and consulting firm helping companies communication and gro...

In this episode, Brock talks with Don Reynolds. Don is a Sergeant Major in the Marine Corps with 22 years of service under his belt and is currently working in recruiting. We discuss the past, present, and future culture of the marine corps including what makes the perfect marine. Don talks about how a dose of imposter syndrome is a good check for the chest bumping alpha culture of the military in...

In this episode, Brock talks with Josh Steinman. Josh is a former navy officer who served in a variety of roles including the chief of naval operations rapid innovation cell and the office of the secretary of the navy task force innovation. After his time in the Navy, he went on to work on the national security council advising on cyber policy, an issue he's particularly passionate about. Josh has...

In this episode, Brock talks with Will Jordan. Will is the founder of BnB Interiors, a company offering interior design services focused on the short term rental market as well as property management in San Diego. We talk through how he looks at money - he spent two years living in a van which allowed him to save enough money to go in as a limited partner on a real estate transaction with his brot...

In this episode, Brock talks with Maureen Elias. Maureen is former Army counterintelligence before receiving a medical discharge back in 2006. From there, Maureen stayed home to raise her three kids before receiving the call to go back to school. While pursuing her undergraduate and masters degrees, Maureen was involved in a variety of veterans organizations including Student Veterans of America,...

In this episode, Brock talks with Ben Kohlman. Ben is a former F18 pilot turned startup CEO after a few years working for Mckinsey. Ben led the Chief of Naval Operations Rapid Innovation Cell and is also the cofounder of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum. In this episode we discuss the military from a startup lense and talk through some of the barriers to bringing innovation to today's battlefields....

In this episode, Brock talks with Allison Jaslow. Allison is former Army captain with a love for all things politics. She gets into the similarities between service and working in politics, on a campaign or otherwise. We discuss the need for more veteran representation in office due to lacking "skin in the game" as well as how service members can pursue helping out on a campaign or running themsel...

In this episode, Brock talks with Michael Madrid. Michael is an entrepreneur fueled by his love of space. He's currently working at a venture backed startup, Starfish Space , a company working to solve the satellite servicing problem. He's also the cofounder of Project Buna , a specialty coffee company focused around community. Michael talks about the mindsets entrepreneurs enter the world with an...

In this episode, Brock talks with Sarah Morgan Sarah Morgan is a multimedia journalist and a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army reserve. She's formerly worked at local news stations and the Associated Press. In this conversation we talk about what it takes to make it as a journalist including the deep expertise it requires to balance multiple inputs into one cohesive story. We talk about the question "Why...

In this episode, Brock talks with Tom Sietsema. Tom is a former marine who had an early interest in finance as well as M&A. We talk about his time at Columbia after his exit, why it's a great school for veterans particularly those interested in finance, and the importance of networking outside the veteran circle while at college. The finance industry has incredibly high barriers to entry and w...

In this episode, Brock talks with William Toti. Bill, after a brief stint of enlisted time, attended the Naval Academy and graduated with his undergraduate degree in physics in 1979. Bill was nominated for the Navy's astronaut program, was in the pentagon on 9/11, was the commanding officer of the USS Indianapolis submarine, and held several executive positions at defense companies after his time...

In this episode, Brock talks with Bailey Ader. Bailey starts with talking about her love of running and how an early injury left her with a permanent medical running profile during her time at the 82nd. After her time as an active duty officer, Bailey transitioned to becoming a real estate agent while still maintaining her guard status. She's building a military focused real estate team called...

In this episode, Brock talks with Susannah Stokes.  We talk through her position in the Marine Corps as a uniformed victim advocate as part of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program. Susannah has some fantastic insight to the problems people who experience sexual assault, harassment, and thoughts of suicide experience and how best to combat those problems. We talk about her time at Fac...

In this episode, Brock talks with Lisa Jaster Lisa Jaster graduated from the military academy in 2000, followed by multiple tours overseas during her time on active duty. After her exit, she worked as an engineer with Shell oil before feeling the call back to service and joining the reserves. We talk about how taking small actions daily are often more impactful than periodic, more meaningful actio...

In this episode, Brock talks with Rich Jordan. Rich is a former marine infantry officer and now runs the holding company Strongpoint which is centered around real estate and small business ownership. We talk through how good financial habits while he was in the marines allowed him to purchase an 18 unit apartment building while still on active duty. Since then, he's purchased a plumbing compan...

In this episode, Brock talks with John Spencer. John is considered to be the worlds leading expert on urban warfare. He's written about the subject extensively in publications, a book, and his podcast, The Urban Warfare Project. John talks through some points in his mini manual which serves as a field guide for implementing strategies and tactics in a simple and easy to understand way. We disc...

In this episode, Tim and Brock talk with Angie Holbrook. Angie is a retired Army Colonel and now working in a consultant role, advising to both DoD and government roles. We speak with Angie about a person's tribe and the different factors that influence who we hang around both in and out of the service. She also talks through how her transition out of the service was different than she had ant...