Service Academy Business Mastermind

Zach Peyton (USMA '04) is the Co-Founder of Superior Fence & Rail, the nation's only fencing franchise.  Superior Fence & Rail currently has 19 locations across the country that fabricate and install fence products.  After graduating from West Point and serving as an Army intelligence officer, Zach was searching for his purpose in corporate America and a phone call from a West Point classmate led...

Jimmy Vreeland (USMA '03 ) is the principal of Vreeland Capital and the Co-Founder of Cash Flow Tactics . After graduating from West Point where he played football for the Black Knights, Jimmy spent five years serving in the Army through three deployments with his last as a Captain with the Ranger Regiment.  He worked in medical sales for eight years following the Army before starting a turnkey re...

Jeff Zeunik (USMA '95) is a B2B CFO® Partner who helps the owners of privately-held businesses reach their goals, both personal and business.  He provides consulting services on an as-needed long-term basis. This helps privately-held businesses benefit from a CFO, without the fully loaded cost of hiring a full-time employee. In this episode, we discuss: How he helps busy business owners improve th...

The fund described is open to "accredited investors" only, through an offering made in accordance with Regulation D, Rule 506(c) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. In purchasing securities through a 506(c) offering, we are obligated to verify any participating investor's status as an "accredited investor" in accordance with Rule 501 of Regulation D. Investors should consider the investment...

Today we welcome Marissa Limsiaco (USMA '05) back to the podcast.  We first talked in 2018 and she joins us now to share how her entrepreneurial journey has developed.  Marissa is the President and Co-founder of Otso , an online platform that guarantees financial security to landlords while eliminating the need for cash from tenants in commercial leases.  Otso is an offshoot of Marissa's other com...

Mark Mhley started Re4ormed after almost 22 years as a Naval Aviator.  Re4ormed is a place for veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs to connect to a community and find high-quality business services bundled at lower prices.  In 2019 Mark was selected to participate in The Global Good Fund's veteran fellowship program and credits the leadership coaching and executive mentorship with Re4ormed's...

Buddy Rushing (USNA '04) is the founder of White Feather Investments and the leader of the Real Estate Accelerator , a six-month course for Service Academy graduates and military veterans who want to achieve financial freedom through real estate investing.  Since his first appearance on the podcast in 2018, Buddy has built multiple businesses and will be transitioning out of the Marine Corps in a...

On today's podcast episode, I am excited to announce the launch of our new program called 10X Vets .  10X Vets is a business mastermind group for military veterans who want to grow their businesses to a new level through new learning, collaboration and connections. The program has been underway for a couple of months and we are already up to 40 members. In this episode, we discuss: The 10X Vets Ca...

Jesse Iwuji (USNA '10) is an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a professional NASCAR driver.   He is currently the only driver in all of NASCAR at the national levels to serve in the military.  Jesse was also a free safety on the Navy football team and is the founder of The Red List Group , a trucking and logistics company based in Southern California. In this episode, Jesse and I discuss: His...

Lionel Hines (USNA '94) is a partner with Payment Lock , an all-in-one solution for both in-store retail transactions and online payments.  Their platform is designed for speed and built on military-grade encryption. I am also joined by Ryan Smith, the founder of Payment Lock and a former professional football player. In this episode, we discuss: Their payment processing platform that saves busine...

Tim Mobley (USMA '93) is the Founder of Connext Global Solutions , a staffing company that provides companies with talented offshore professionals, work tools, and operating facilities that support their profitable growth. In this episode, Tim and I discuss: The most popular tasks that companies outsource to them Their capability to build out entire teams for their clients How they are different f...

Thomas Schwab (USNA '87 ) is the Founder of Interview Valet , a company that helps business owners turn listeners into leads and leads into customers by talking directly to ideal customers with Podcast Interview Marketing. In this age of Social Distancing, the most effective way to market your business is through Podcast Interview Marketing where you're interviewed as the expert guest on podcasts...

Chris Hsu (USMA '92) is is the CEO and Co-Founder of Zibo , a digital financial services platform that provides individual landlords banking, insurance, and payment services solutions.  Zibo helps landlords save time and hassle by automating monthly rent collection and accepting multiple forms of payment from tenants, including debit card, credit card, and ACH bank transfers. Prior to starting Zib...

Raymond Bednar (USMA '84) is the President and Founder of Hyperion Marketing Returns where he optimizes strategies for investments in marketing channels with an emphasis on return on investment (ROI) and return on business objectives (ROO or ROBO).  His sub-specialty within marketing departments is sports sponsorships where he has extensive relationships at the top sponsorship entities in the worl...

Russell Long (USAFA '12) is the Founder of Long Capture , a team of Military Veterans and Spouses who support small businesses with exciting new technology ideas by helping them find and capture contracts through the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Program and other funding opportunities. In this episode, Russ and I discuss: How he has helped companies win 90M+ in SBIR awards The competi...

Trevor Benitone (USAFA '95) and Joe Ruzicka (USNA '96) are leaders at Adams Keegan , a national and privately held HR services firm based in Memphis, TN.   Their services include payroll, HR management, benefits administration, compliance support, and recruiting.  James Keegan (USMA graduate) was an early investor in Adams Keegan and currently serves on the Board of Directors. In this episode, we...

Jason Schwab (USMA '05) is the co-founder of Glove Box , an e-commerce company that curates and distributes premium car care products to automotive enthusiasts across the United States and Canada. They launched in 2018 and have shipped over 20,000 products to date. In this episode, we discuss: Their path from 0 to 20,000+ products sold How they source products and their value proposition to their...

Dean Wegner (USMA '93) is the founder of Authentically American , an iconic American brand that sells products that are truly American Made. His expertise in the apparel industry, coupled with his passion for America, provided all the incentive he needed to create a brand that aims to set the universally accepted standard for premium American made merchandise while delivering a significant impact...

Jason Van Camp (USMA '01) is the Founder of Mission 6 Zero , a leadership assessment and development company created by United States Special Forces Operators (Green Berets, Delta Force, Navy SEALs, CIA, FBI), refined through scientifically proven methods developed by their human performance and sports psychologist PhDs, and reinforced through their cadre of wounded warriors. In this episode, Jaso...

Larry Gast (USAFA '85) is the founder of LEG Ventures , a company that supplies capital and services to business and commercial real estate firms.  His firm recently created a private group purchasing organization (GPO) with select strategic partner firms for qualifying businesses. His GPO can save businesses $1,000 to $100,000+ annually plus they'll receive better service through their negotiated...

Sean Cleveland (USMA '92) is a founding partner at nxtU , a company that offers concierge and workshop-level training, support, mentorship, and coaching to help high students and transitioning military members achieve their professional goals and aspirations. Sean's work with nxtU draws upon 28 years of leadership experience and 16 years in different capacities in higher education. He has served a...

Joshua Emison (USNA '14) is the owner of Tracer Consulting , a company that specializes in helping military veterans find the right franchise opportunity.  As a Franchise Consultant, Josh assists those in a career transition to decide if franchising is right for them.   His free services will teach you what franchising is, help you discover your funding options, and ultimately help you find the ri...

John Graham (USMA '87) is the CEO at Campfire Capital , an investment banking team that has nearly a century of collective strategic advisory and financial services experience.  In today's episode, we discuss their efforts to build out ThayerGate. Ai , a Business Accelerator program located outside the gates of West Point.  ThayerGate. Ai provides below-market occupancy costs, workforce training,...

Stuart Grazier (USNA '02) is an active-duty Navy pilot who has served 17 years in the military. Over the last 11 years, he has purchased approximately $600,000 in performing mortgage notes, 4 single-family rental properties, an RV park, is a part-owner in an apartment complex and mobile home park syndication, and has recently started a turnkey real estate company with his best friend and USNA room...

Paul Huszar (USMA '90) is the President and CEO of VetCor , a restoration company that solves water and mold damage problems and provides other related services to commercial and residential property owners. VetCor is staffed by military veterans and is currently seeking new franchisees as they expand across the U.S. In this episode, Paul and I discuss: His goal to become the #1 private employer o...