Beyond the Uniform

Chris Antonov is the Director of Development at Morgan Creek Ventures, a boutique real estate development firm focused on leading-edge approaches to sustainability and building design. Their real estate portfolio ranges from office and mixed-use redevelopment to ground up residential and preservation communities. Chris started out in the Marine Corps, where he served for eleven years in both the active duty and reserve components. 

Why Listen: 

This episode is all about Real Estate Development. Most people on Active Duty are likely familiar with Real Estate and Real Estate Brokers, but Real Estate Development is different. Chris does an exceptional job of talking about Real Estate Development: the multi-year process of finding land, purchasing land, designing a building, constructing that building, and then leasing the office space or building. He also provides a great look at how this work is highly relevant to many of the skills we develop on Active Duty. He also talks about how his work in the Marines was largely project management, and how that is one of the key skills in his current job.

Rich Carey is a Commander in the Air Force, currently stationed in Korea. While on active duty he paid off his $280k mortgage in six years and $32k in student loans in 1 year. He flips houses and purchases rental property with cash while living overseas in the military. He currently owns 20 rental properties mortgage free. He also operates - despite a demanding schedule and frequent travel - the website RichOnMoney.com

Why Listen: 

Financial security is something that comes up frequently in my interviews. Veterans talks about how important it is to have enough time after Active Duty to be able to find your ideal job... and this may take 6-9 months. Rich is an exceptional example of someone on Active Duty who has lived below his means, and invested wisely to provide financial freedom when he leaves the military. His lessons are applicable to every career path, and whether you are on Active Duty or already transitioned to a civilian career.

Kelly Perdew is the Co-Founder and Managing General Partner of Moonshots Capital, which he founded with a fellow West Point grad, and exists to invest in exceptional entrepreneurs with world-changing ideas. He started out at West Point, after which he served in the U.S. Army as an Intelligence Officer. Since then he has worked as a Founder, Board Member, CEO, COO, CFO, as well as in Business Development, and Sales. He has raised institutional financing, grown businesses, down-sized businesses, and sold businesses for 8-figure exits. Perhaps most uniquely, he is the Season 2 Winner of The Apprentice, after which he apprentice to Donald Trump and was involved in multiple real estate projects with Donald Trump. He holds both an MBA and JD from UCLA.

Why Listen: 

Kelly has such a unique background and has had so many different aspects to his civilian career. In this interview we talk about what it is like to be an investor, and advice for Veterans wanting to pursue this path. We also talk about entrepreneurship, and advice to Veterans who want to start their own company. We talk about work life balance, recovering from failure, what those final moments were like on The Apprentice, and so much more.

Amanda Casari is a Senior Product Manager & Data Scientist with Concur Labs at SAP Concur, a company that provides on-demand employee spend management solutions that enable organizations to control their costs. Concur customers include over 70% of Fortune 100 and 500 companies. She started out at the Naval Academy, after which she served for five years and one week as a Surface Warfare Officer. She hold an MS from the University of Vermont in Electrical Engineering, is a future O'Reilly author and also volunteers with NASA as a member of the Datanauts.

Why listen:

Amanda puts me to shame in this interview, as she is so incredibly gifted at succinctly and vividly describing a variety of topics in this interview, including: her work as a Data Scientist and Product Manager, how to approach work life balance, remote working, and evaluating a company's culture. I really enjoyed talking with Amanda, and hope you enjoy this great interview.

This episode is a short update on what is going on at Beyond the Uniform. I share information about our brand new website and many new resources for the BTU community. I also talk about two books I recently released, one event coming up, as well as how the non-profit conversion is coming. Enjoy!

Daniel is the Founder & COO of Veterati, a company that provides Digital Mentorship on Demand, and is designed to empower Americans across the nation to mentor our veterans & connect them to real career opportunities. Daniel served as a Marine Security Guard and Communications Technician for five years in the US Marine Corps. Prior to Founding Veterati, he worked at Scottrade as an Branch Office Account Representative, and as a Personal Security Specialist at International Development Solutions.

Why Listen: 

Veterati is an incredible resource for Veterans. In this episode we dive into what Veterati does for Veterans, what Veterans can learn from Daniel's experience running Veterati, and also about Daniel's experience starting and growing a for-profit company.

Usually, give an intro giving you a few reason to listen... not doing that this time Just listen to it. One of my favorite episodes, can’t imagine a job more different than my own, but also can’t imgagine a single career path that wouldn’t benefit from hearing Charley’s story.

Sean Ponder is an Associate Broker at S&G Realty, where he assists home buyers, sellers, and developers in the Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC areas. He started out at the Naval Academy, after which he served as a submarine officer for five years as part of the crew of the USS Salt Lake City (SSN-716). He worked at Lockheed Martin for nine years before joining S&G Realty.

Why Listen: 

Real estate! How buying a house and binging on HGTV led to a career in Real Estate. I have been trying for the last several months to get a Veteran in real estate on the show. Sean is the first person I’ve had not the show to speak about this career path. We also talk about a lot of other topics relevant to any career path. We discuss the Pros & Cons of working with headhunters, and how this may set your salary starting point lower than if you are able to go directly to a company. We also briefly chat about Lockheed Martin, where Sean started the first nine years of his civilian career. We also touch on the Reserves.

Why to Listen: 

This is a terrific episode for any member of the Armed Forces. Rob joined Aol as their 500th employee and was there for their growth to over 10,000 employees. He went through a similar process with eTrade. But he got his foot in the door, directly out of the military, by applying to be a customer phone support person! His story is one of failing and taking risks, or being part of an internet revolution, and continuing to change his career path over time. I found his story inspiring and hope that you do as well.

Why to Listen: 

LaRue managed to find a role at one of the most profitable law firms in the United States. He talks about what it’s like to work at a law firm, the common career paths associated with this sort of roles, and advice about the interview and application process. LaRue served in the JAG Corps while in the military, so some of his advice is tailored to JAG Corps Officers. However, if you’re considering a career in law, he provides some exceptional advice.