Lessons Learned for Vets
Lessons Learned for Vets
The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Separation Vs. Retirement with Michael Pett
Michael Pett defied conventional military career wisdom when he chose to leave active duty at the 15-year mark. His calculated decision, backed by a thorough cost-benefit analysis comparing potential civilian earnings against military retirement, launched him into remarkable opportunities at Accenture and Uber before his current leadership role at Vets in Tech.
What sets Michael's transition story apart is his foresight and preparation. While still in uniform, he co-founded a protein dispenser business with fellow veterans that earned them a spot on Shark Tank. This entrepreneurial venture expanded his network beyond military circles and developed skills that proved invaluable in corporate environments. Witnessing family members struggle with their own military transitions provided Michael with critical insights into potential pitfalls, reinforcing his commitment to meticulous preparation.
The emotional aspects of transition prove equally challenging. Michael compares the experience to stages of grief, describing the limbo between military and civilian identities where veterans can feel isolated from both communities. This insight led him to build diverse support networks including both veterans who successfully transitioned and civilians who could guide him through corporate culture. After his success building veteran programs at Accenture and Uber, Michael faced burnout and mental health challenges that forced him to prioritize his own wellbeing first before refocusing on his career achievement.
Today, as Director of Employment and Community Outreach at Vets in Tech, Michael supports veterans through the organization's three pillars: education, employment and entrepreneurship. From developing technical skills to connecting with employment opportunities at major tech companies to providing capital for veteran-founded startups, this comprehensive approach addresses the spectrum of transition needs. You can learn more about their programs at www.vetsintech.com.
His journey demonstrates that with strategic planning, openness to new experiences, and willingness to seek support, veterans can build fulfilling civilian careers that leverage their military experience in unexpected ways. You can connect with Michael on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelpett1/
Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/llforvets22
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The Lessons Learned for Vets Podcast is sponsored by Seek Now and their Drive Academy. Seek Now is the property inspection industry's leading business and they created Drive Academy DoD SkillBridge and CSP internships to teach transitioning military service members and veterans skills that prepare them for lucrative and rewarding careers in the property inspection and insurance industries. You can learn more and apply today at www.internwithdrive.com.
Welcome to the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast, your military transition debrief. I'm your host, lori Norris, and I've helped thousands of military service members successfully transition out of the military since 2005. Thanks for tuning in to hear the after action reports and real stories of your fellow veterans, who are here to help guide, educate and inform you as you navigate your own military transition. By the way, if you find value from today's episode, please share it with others, leave us a review and post about us on social media. On today's episode of the Lessons Learned from Vets podcast, I am happy to welcome Michael Pett. Michael is a US Army and Illinois Army National Guard veteran with over 21 years of service. He chose to transition from active duty after 15 years, which led him to spearhead Accenture's student veteran program, followed by a role at Uber, where he established the company's first global military veteran and partner hiring initiative. Currently, as the director of employment and community outreach at Vets in Tech, michael continues his mission to support veterans in their transition to civilian careers, so welcome. Thanks for joining me, michael.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me, laura, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:I am excited to talk to you. I know about your program and so looking forward to talking a little bit about that. But first I want to hear about you. So you shared with me when we talked that you kind of started thinking about your transition a long ways before you left the military. You even started a business on your own. I think you said you appeared on Shark Tank right, so we might have to hear about that. So tell me about kind of your preparation process, because I thought it was kind of unique, and why your military family inspired you to do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there's a few reasons right. One was money. You know, like let's money. It always comes down to money for me and I don't mean that I'm money motivated but what I did was I did a cost benefit analysis to figure out if I stayed in for five more years, got the federal retirement right Versus going and starting a civilian job right, would I be able to make up the Delta quicker? Would I be able to be making more money? And for me, based off of my educational background some of the things that I did it made more sense to leave to join the ranks of corporate America, start that new career and get that transition started as quickly as possible rather than waiting those five years. And to your point about the starting the business, that's what really kind of helped kind of grease the wheels and get me to explore beyond the military Look what's in my backyard, look what you know, kind of exciting and new and attractive, and that's kind of how it all started, yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, can you tell us about the business that you started and kind of your appearance on Shark Tank?
Speaker 2:Yes, oh my gosh. So myself and two other veterans right were active duty at the time. We basically thought back to deployment experiences and working out and challenges and trials and tribulations that we'd all been through. And, long story short, we wanted to create a protein dispenser. Right, we had worked out overseas but never had a really good way of taking in that protein to refuel the body. Whether you're coming off of a mission working out, doing something arduous, you just weren't really able to get it in the timely manner that you wanted.
Speaker 2:So myself and my two pals, we put our money together, our deployment money together, and we bootstrapped everything. We got seven patents, we tooled in China and we got EasyGo Dispenser off the ground and we knew that if we were going to solve a problem for the gym goer, we could probably solve the problem for the mom or the parent, right. And we created one called Easy Go Baby. So it had all the you know, the specific measuring and metering units for all of the infant formulas that were on the market. So we went to Shark Tank and we were on the veteran special but it did not air. So for the folks that are Googling it right now. But we still receive some wonderful relationships from that experience. So it's still out there, it's still available for purchase, but my affiliation within it is now just supporting it.
Speaker 1:You're the founder, one of the founders.
Speaker 2:One of the founders.
Speaker 1:Okay, you told me about watching I think it was your father and your grandfather struggle with their transition and kind of what that drove you to do yours differently, right?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yeah, it was actually. Most males in my family served, right? I come from a very patriotic family. For me, I joined the military it wasn't because of the flag, it wasn't because somebody had served before me, and it wasn't even because my family really had served. I was smart enough to get into college but didn't have the financial means to pay for it. My love for country and flag and patriotism started and came much later in life. But to your point about the challenges yes, they're rampant. Right, my family was financially illiterate. They struggled. You know they were part of that revolving door metric that we always talk about, where it's six months roll, roll, roll. And you know I knew that. I didn't want to be a statistic in any way, shape or form. I wanted to help solve the problem as opposed to be a part of the problem. So as I identified these challenges and these common themes, I really put my thinking cap on, as I separated from active duty and wanted to be part of the solution, which is why I got into the corporate recruitment space.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And how far out before you actually made the decision at 15 years like how far did you start planning before could understand the language that I spoke. Right, because there was going to be that language barrier, because I was so institutionalized with military speak and acronyms and I really wanted to understand what organization would help with that piece. Then, additionally, I wanted to make sure that they had a veteran ecosystem somewhat already implanted and I wanted to make sure I could hitch my wagon to it so that way I felt comfortable with the community. You know, later on down the road I figured out I didn't need all these things, but that's what was important to me. But I was able to hit each one of those wickets. I had an employee referral, which is how I got into my first organization.
Speaker 2:I would not have been able to do it on my own Full stop, would not have been able to do it on my own.
Speaker 2:But luckily I had a dear, dear pal that was working at Accenture You'd mentioned it in my bio. You know was hired to build out a student veteran hiring program which really was kind of the first of its kind inside the corporate landscape, had a great team that supported me and we really did some amazing things. The first year that we were really in business we outlasted the JMO program and went far beyond it by 400%. And JMO for those that are listening as junior military officer, because there for the longest time that was the priority community to hire into the corporate space. But as I began to educate more and more internally and externally, the undergraduates were coming from your lower enlisted ranks, your NCOs, so they became part of our GMO definition. That said, you know we did great work. Student veteran program got off the ground and did very, very well, and then I was later promoted to take over the entire military recruiting team. I did that for several years.
Speaker 1:Okay, and we'll talk more about that. You know how you got recruited into those roles too, but I you know I think that you mentioned it earlier you said that at 15 years you did a cost benefit analysis. Right, I think that's how you said it. So can you kind of walk us through that process? Because you know, I think that my goal is for this show to be in the ear of every active duty service member, right? And maybe some of them are like you know, what should I do? Should I stay in and do my 20s? Should I get out and pursue opportunities? So can you take us through the decision-making process, that analysis process that you use to make the decision that you did?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So basically what I did was I looked at the probably the career level I'd be landing at right, and tried to figure out what baseline starting compensation is Right. And what we don't think about because we don't receive it in the military, is an annual bonus or restricted stock units or some additional forms of compensation that come into it. And I knew I wasn't going to get BAH. I knew I wasn't going to get BAS, right, and a lot of folks listening in need to be aware of that. They're not going to pay you a housing stipend, right.
Speaker 2:So what I did was I took my E7 at 15-year base pay and I compared it to what the starting salary would be at these companies within the respective function I wanted to be at. I looked at what year-over-year growth is. I did a 3% increase each year. And then I looked at target, basically promotions that should be coming in there, and the corporate ranks will always far pay more than what we got paid in the military. And I looked at that as I thought about oh gosh, I can do this for 15 more years, you know, and still be fairly young. I'll be making far more than what my $2,400, after taxes, 20-year federal retirement would be paying. So that's where I figured all right, the juice is worth the squeeze. You can leave now. With enough cushion right, providing that you have an offer in hand, you will be able to go out and make it. That's exactly what I did.
Speaker 1:And they came to you with the opportunity while you were still serving, and that's kind of when you had to do that analysis, right?
Speaker 2:Exactly, you're spot on, because I had an interview while I was serving Right and you need to be transparent about it. Right Because you got to take a day off here and there and, you know, take military leave. But I did all those things Right. I absolutely interviewed and was accepted right around the time my contract was ended.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you had an offer in hand and that helps right For you to know, like here's what what they're offering, and here are the benefits packages and you know you, you also could go and look at your military pay and retirement and all of that, and so, um, yeah, and then they they made financial sense for you to do that, um, and so I, so I love that. You took a very analytical approach to it and you know, some people will say but you were only five years away from the pension, right? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:But it goes back to your earlier point, laurie. When you see people failing around you and listen, it wasn't because of you know or intentions, right, they just didn't know what they didn't know. You know. Those are lessons that you need to add to your tool belts, right, if dad didn't make it, grandpa didn't make it, brother didn't make it, uncles didn't make it, well, what are they doing wrong? Right? And then, as you you know, detract that from those stories. Make sure that you don't fall, you know, into those you know. I mean, I know most people would love to walk in those footsteps sometimes, but if it's going to lead you to those, then no, you've got to choose a different path.
Speaker 1:And you know, I think that I don't. I don't believe in any way you're sitting here advocating for everyone to get out at 15 years, and you know it. Just, it worked for you and the situation that you found yourself in also, you know, being a business owner. That probably helped to help you make that decision as well.
Speaker 2:Right, give me a lot more latitude right to be more involved and more hands-on, whereas the military and it's, you know, very erratic scheduling right can cause conflicts with those things. You wouldn't be able to travel to Culver City to get on, you know Shark Tank. You know you wouldn't be out in New York pitching or in Vegas at a trade show. You couldn't do those things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know, it's one of the things I always say like there is no such thing as a transition expert, a military transition expert, because everybody only does it once, once, right. So? And and they do it once with their own situation and their own factors and their own variables. And so I like to give I you know options and ideas to people and I think you've got to do it what works for you and your situation, your variables and you know, I think for you had a great situation lined up. Not everybody's going to have that, but why not sit down and look at it and run the numbers?
Speaker 2:really do an analysis, right and to your point. Yes, you only transition once, but it never stops, right, and I know we're going to dive deeper into that in a minute. But you know that's something that folks need to be prepared for. Just because you land that first roll post, you know, the uniform doesn't mean that the whole thing is done. The ground's still going to shake, right.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's not a checkbox item, you are right. So you know, I think it's funny because, you know, when I say that I guess I mean like there's nobody who's an expert in your transition, and I guess I mean like there's nobody who's an expert in your transition, right, you have to do it your own way and like what works for you, the people in your life, the situation that you find yourself in. So, yeah, so okay. So we talked about it a little bit earlier. You got recruited for Accenture and for Uber. Right, you were recruited for both of those roles. So, I mean, you said full stop, I wouldn't have been able to do it if I hadn't had an inside person. So, what do you think was the key for you getting recruited for both of those roles? Like, was it networking? Was it LinkedIn? Was it an amazing resume? What was it? What do you say?
Speaker 2:Well, my resume was probably less than ideal at first, but no, I think honestly, it's the ability to be open-minded right, the ability to be hungry for more information, learning right, and not relying on the people that were still wearing the uniform, right, you know, as you develop these relationships when you're wearing the uniform, you really trust your leadership, right, and, like those are your. You know, what they preach is the gospel, right, but they haven't transitioned yet. So I needed to be exploratory and really begin to kind of opening up my network to people that may have already served but have transitioned since, or people that have nothing to do with the military, right, because there's so many amazing, wonderful civilians that care about those that have served, but they're doing their amazing things in their own journey, right. So I relied on a heavy civilian population. I relied on internal resources.
Speaker 2:At Uber, I was recruited. I was more like poached on internal resources At Uber, I was recruited. I was more like poached. I was stolen from Accenture, and not in a bad way, but because we'd done so many amazing things, I created a name within tech for myself to where people said that that's the person we want to work for us. And that was really, that was a really cool feeling.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you had some pretty cool things at Uber, which you know. We can talk about it in a bit. But I think that you said being open, right, being hungry and putting yourself out there, which I think is hard for people Like I don't. Yeah, I just want to stay in the shadows. I don't want to, I don't want to make a big deal of it. You know. I think that that is the best way to get exposure is to put yourself out there, and I know that's not easy for everybody. How?
Speaker 1:did you go about doing it? Was it just like talking to people and letting them know you were open, or how did you do that?
Speaker 2:Well there's. There's a few things I had to do. One I had to put my listening ears on right and I had to swallow some pride and I eat humble pie and I do a lot because, you know, there there were certain expectations that I had of myself in my next role, um, while I was wearing the uniform, and some of those were achieved and some of them were not right, and that was because I didn't know. What I didn't know.
Speaker 2:Now that all being said, is that as I began to explore these different positions, I really once again relied solely on my civilian network to help me better understand the language, the systems, the platforms, the processes. Understanding what right looks like by having examples to compare it against right Versus using what I did in the military. Understanding what right looks like by having examples to compare it against right versus using what I did in the military, which was, you know, borrowing a lot of resources and training materials from folks and repurposing them. I needed to learn how to build all of that stuff on my own, because eventually these people weren't going to be there. So I think those are the things that really kind of helped get me really aligned for the role, set realistic expectations and create a runway that I could start kind of dropping little benchmark goals into along the way and then realizing what my trajectory would look like.
Speaker 1:I think that you know the military's goal is to hold on to you, Right? I mean, that makes the most sense, and so I really like that. You said I had to like be willing to look outside of the military.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Right. You know it's like in the morning your alarm goes off and your bed's really comfy and you want to stay there because it's a comfy place, that you're cozy and warm and comfortable and so, but if you want to get out and accomplish things, you got to get out of that bed.
Speaker 2:You know you're spot on, lori, you're absolutely right. And as you think about the bed, right, we can talk about the VSOs that are out there, like HOH, like Commit, like Four Block. None of these organizations were really around or had the weight that they do now, so when transitioned it was, it was a very scary place to kind of step out in there.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, it was even that much more challenging yep, and I think you know you are gonna have to step out of your comfort zone at some point, right? Because you know everybody has to transition, nobody gets to serve forever, and so it is at some point going to happen. So you might as well start at least dipping your toe in that discomfort to start off right so okay, um, when we talked, you compared your military transition to stages of grief, right? Can you tell me about that?
Speaker 2:yeah, so. So, even though, listen, I'm speaking now from a place of privilege because I've worked at some amazing organizations. I work at an amazing organization, but prior to that, you know, it's kind of like, you know, I'm going to throw up two fingers, I'm never going to wear my uniform, I'm never going to look at that, I'm going to run, you know, at the first chance I get. You know, a lot of us have made those statements before, just because you know, when you do something for so long, it gets a little old and tiring but you're missing your, your friendship circle. You're missing those, you know, people you could confide in, because you're missing your purpose, right.
Speaker 2:So I went through elements of anger and grief, right, I went through a morning where I didn't have, you know, some of my brothers and sisters to rely on. I was working on building new relationships, building trust with them and trying to create a new platoon, right, or a new company that I could be a part of. So a lot of those you know it's kind of like, then, to make matters even more problematic, because you know it's kind of like then make matters even more problematic, you don't have much to talk to your old veteran buddies, your old military buddies, anymore, because you're so trying to learn and gobble up all this new information that's not really relatable because maybe they're not in the right mindset you're in. So those relationships become strained and it just becomes this series of challenges along the way that you have to, you have to deal with right Cause it's not gonna, you can't outrun your problems, they'll always find you. So, that being said, it was very much like grief right and you just you'll never. Grief never goes away away.
Speaker 1:You just learn how to allow it in your daily life yeah, I can see it like as almost a limbo, right like you're living in this limbo where you can't relate to your former military, you know tribe, and you haven't really figured out yet how you fit into the civilian world, and it can be very isolating and lonely, and so I will encourage everybody to broaden your horizons of who you're connected with and who you call. You know a member of your community, if you will, and because it can be very lonely, can it?
Speaker 1:absolutely and grief feels very lonely. You know, when you lose someone who is like your world and then, like you walk outside and everyone's carrying on as though life is normal for them and for you, you're devastated. You know, and I think of it, I think that's a really great parallel, right, the stages of grief being like you know anger and denial, and you know like acceptance and you know bargaining, and all of those different stages, like I feel like you really do go through all of those and just like grief, I think it's individual right. How long do you spend in each stage? We don't know, and so, but just know that it's there and have a support system in place to help you through it right.
Speaker 2:You're getting a coach, getting a mentor, getting a sponsor, getting somebody that can you know, that can champion you, that can advocate for you, but also getting another person that you can confide in and normalize these thoughts and behaviors, but then also someone that can help you understand what you need to grow and learn. I think that's what helped the mourning process, the really the sad periods, is being excited about the work that I was engaged in and part of because that helped me kind of get through some of those emotional hurdles so don't do it alone first of all, right, like, and I think that and and be willing to be open about it and talk about it with somebody, right it's.
Speaker 1:You know, I'm not saying you have to tell everybody you meet, but, like, don't try to navigate this process by yourself and you're already feeling isolated. So, you know, make sure you have that system set up in place so that you're ready for it, right? So, okay, yeah, I thought that was a really interesting way of looking at it and I wanted to talk about that. So you told me that when you left Uber like this is a global program, so it's not just US military, it is global military recruiting you said you were pretty burnt out. You said you faced some pretty challenging mental health issues, and so what were some of the keys to you getting through those difficulties and, kind of, how are you using that experience now?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean there's a lot. You know, I reached out to a dear friend of mine and I'm going to do a shameless plug for her because she's a dual author, right. She wrote these amazing books at ease and feel tested. Emily King Graninetta, dear friend of mine that worked at Accenture, she's a social, you know, a behavioral health scientist, I mean she's got all the things. But what she did was she'd written books on transitioning before I'd even gotten to Accenture. She already knew that that was a problem. So she's one of the first people I reached out to and she helped me understand a little bit about where I was on kind of the self-awareness spectrum, right, and if I was, you know, taking on too much responsibility or throwing the responsibility on too many people, kind of helped understand where the challenges I was going from.
Speaker 2:You know, as you get to certain levels of career fame as I like to kind of look at it, levels of career fame as I like to kind of look at it and I'm not trying to sound egotistical here, but it's just. You know, I shot up through corporate ranks kind of like a meteor. You know was doing a really wonderful thing, helping out our brothers and sisters that have served and sacrificed and when you can't do that anymore, your purpose just explodes in front of your face. You can't do that anymore. Your purpose just explodes in front of your face. And you know, luckily, from my time at Accenture and Uber, I was in a position where I could take time off and work on myself, which I'm forever grateful for. But you know we don't come with. You know you know how to guides right.
Speaker 2:So I didn't know exactly how long this was going on. So I did all the things that you're supposed to do. I went, got back into therapy, I went back and started working at the VA again and doing all the things that I needed to do, and I began to really kind of pros and cons. What's important to me and ultimately what I came up with is I still want to continue to work with the armed forces community, because that's a community I identify with the most. I know unemployment and underemployment are still tremendous challenges that we all face.
Speaker 2:But I didn't want to work company-centric anymore. I didn't want to think what are the values, the culture, right, and how is my work going to be directly tied to that? Is everything going to be? You know what the Uber way was what the Accenture way was what the organization that I was building a program for was, or is it going to be more? Hey, let's just help the community, right, because that's all that really matters in the long run, and that's why I'm now at Vets in Tech, because, you know, catherine Webster is, you know, driving an amazing organization that I'm just so grateful to be a part of, and because she'd reached out to me when I was in a true time of despair.
Speaker 2:I thought back I'm like you know what? I've had my wagon hitched to yours the entire time I was at Accenture, the entire time I was at Uber. I'm like this just makes so much sense that I get to help your employment partners now build programs that hire from our community. It seemed very kismet, right. So you know that to me did the old T-square, and I threw that away and I knew exactly where I was going to next.
Speaker 1:And again, it's like that willingness to be open-minded right, Because this is, it's doing it in a different way, definitely with what you're doing now. And if you hadn't been open-minded and also self-aware to know like, okay, I need to take a step back and I need to look at what's going on, you know.
Speaker 2:I think, really what I did I'm sorry to interrupt you One thing that I definitely did was I gave great advice, gave great advice and I've helped out a lot of folks, but the one person that I was not helping throughout the entire time was myself. I thought I just needed to achieve certain levels of corporate success, financial success, and I had it made, and unbeknownst to me, big ding dong. That I am okay. I did not think about how I was feeling emotionally.
Speaker 1:I was thinking spiritually, all these other things that were so, so important to being able to continue with this mission yeah, and and if you could see me right now and the people listening, you would see a very guilty smile on my face, because I am really good at telling other people to give themselves grace, and telling other people to take care of themselves, and telling other people all kinds of things that I did not do in my past. I think that you know to your point, if you've always been known as the person who takes care of others, as the person who is the strong one, like you, you still need support, and if you know somebody like that, that kind of, as we just described ourselves, that you Don't forget them Right, don't don't think that, oh, they're good, they're going to be fine, right, it's like people like us are probably the ones that that maybe need a little more support than others, because we're not very good at it.
Speaker 1:We're not very good at asking for it. I had some friends including my good friend, chris, who is editing this podcast that came to my aid and said I am helping you. There is no, maybe right. So, yeah, I think that sometimes you have to be forceful for those of us that are known to be the ones that carry the stuff on our shoulders, right and so. But yeah, we get burned out too, maybe more so than others. Even, I feel like sometimes our crash is a little more the meteoric, meteoric in the other direction it sure is, yeah, so yeah, the one that crashes and burns and leaves a giant hole in the earth.
Speaker 1:So there you go, okay. Well, we've talked a little bit about um bets in tech yeah and, but I've never had anybody from the organization on, so I'm excited to have you here. So you are the Director of Employment and Community Outreach, so can you give us a quick glimpse into what you're doing for the organization? But also, what does the organization do for the veteran community?
Speaker 2:Sure. So Vets in Tech focuses on the three E's education, employment and entrepreneurship right. So from an education perspective right, when you're serving one of the 159 MOSs that are out there or you know whatever branch, you're a part of the thing that there's not a whole lot of technical aptitude. Right, there's not. I mean, you need to be sharp, you need to be smart, you need to be good at what you do, but we're not out there building products, we're not coding, we're not doing any really backend engineering. Right, we have our cyber folks. So I would argue that folks get scared of tech, right. So what we do is we help educate them and demystify it. We provide them with educational training so that way, if they look to pivot out and want to come into the tech field, they absolutely can do that. We know that they've got amazing leadership and other skills, so that couple with tech makes them a value add to any organization.
Speaker 2:On the employment side, which is where I come in, I work with all of the major players within tech, right, whether it be their talent acquisition team, corporate social responsibility. Right. We try and get them to become employment partners at Vets in Tech because we want to plant amazing talent into their organizations so that way they can have more from the armed forces community there, right. But then we also go out into the communities. So I'm here in Chicago, we can go out and start a chapter. We'll get all of the great VSOs, the amazing employment partners, and we'll come do actual in-person activities so that way we can educate the masses on the amazing stuff that we're all doing as a collective, right? Okay, almost like a coalition or a consortium, if you will.
Speaker 2:And then on the 30, the entrepreneurship piece if you've got a tech-based startup and you're from the community, we can provide you with capital to get your organization off the ground. We can send you down to the founder circle or CEO circle so that way you can understand how to build a business plan. Right, I'd probably get aired on Shark Tank instead of not getting aired on Shark Tank. But, honestly, you're getting mentored and sponsored by so many amazing folks that are out there, right, whether JP Morgan Chase is involved or Wells Fargo or some other venture capital firm, right, we are going to give you access and exposure to that. So Vets in Tech really takes you across the horizon, from demystifying roles to find your way into a tech organization, to educating you on maybe some skills you might be missing, to potentially getting that tech startup off the ground. So we try and do kind of end-to-end servicing with that.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Yeah, I had no idea about the entrepreneurship connection that you did. I know much about your education and employment services. Didn't even know that you supported entrepreneurs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's pretty exciting. It really really is. And then Craig Newmark, one of our founders. You all might know him as Craigslist Craig. And then Craig Newmark, one of our founders. You all might know him as Craigslist Craig. Ok, he has a vested interest. He gives so much money through his philanthropic arm to help pay for a lot of our educational seats, but he also wants to make sure that these tech startups get off the ground too.
Speaker 1:So just a lot of amazing actors that are involved in this. What are some of the education programs that people can find through your organization and where can they go to learn more?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so they can go to vetsintechco right, co. I promise it'll get you to the website, okay, but you can click on the education tab and it'll give you our full list. But we've got everything from cybersecurity, project management, ai, machine learning, data science, software engineering. We really do have an amazing menu of options for folks to participate in. Through that you'll be able to participate in our mentorship program. So we have mentors that have signed up through our employment partners that want to work with the service-connected individual, whether it be a male spouse, somebody serving or somebody who's served right To give them that guidance, the stuff that I didn't have completely right Help aid in that transition process and figure out if you're on the right, if you're on the right step to get to where you want to be.
Speaker 1:Okay, great, yeah, so that's in techco. No, and we'll put that link in the show notes as well, as well as connect them to your LinkedIn. So well, michael, I really appreciate you joining me today on the show and just sharing your story and telling us a little bit about what you're doing now at Vets in Tech, and I think that you know, I think it's an interesting way of looking at the transition and I definitely want to discuss that because I think that that is important. There are different stages of it and it is ongoing, and you're so right that grief doesn't go away. You just learn how to integrate it into your life, and I think the same thing can be said with military transition.
Speaker 2:So absolutely, absolutely. Lori, thank you for having me. I really appreciate it living Absolutely, lori.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Thanks for listening to today's episode. My goal is to give you actionable strategies to help you learn to market your military skills and smooth your transition to the next phase of your career. If you learned something valuable today, share it. Subscribe to our podcast and our YouTube channel, leave us a review and write a post on social media about the lessons that helped you today from this episode.