Building With The Browers

What does it take to build one of the most respected security companies in the country, without leaning on big loans to get there?

In Episode 9 of Forged in Business, Levi and Brianna Brower sit down with Troy Skeen, U.S. Army veteran, former law enforcement officer, and the founder and CEO of GPI Defense, a private security company built on one mission: protecting the best of humanity from the worst of it.

Troy served in the Army doing field recovery on the Abrams tank. When a tank went down in battle, his team was supposed to go get it rolling again. He took an early out in the early '90s because he had wanted to be in law enforcement since he was a little kid, and he was sworn in on his 21st birthday. By his second year as a police officer, making about $7 an hour, he realized he wasn't going to make a lot of money, so he started trying his hand at business, beginning with a vending company. In 2012 he moved into security with a goal some people thought was nuts: build one of the top security companies in the country. Why not?

Today GPI Defense handles personal protection, armed and unarmed officers, 24-hour camera monitoring through its dispatch center, private investigations, and fugitive recovery, and it has touched 42 states. On the defense side, Troy is working with private clients and governments in Africa, including a West Africa facility being built on land provided by the government to train law enforcement, military, and security professionals, and to manufacture weapons and ammunition there.

He closes with what matters most: legacy. Troy opens up about losing his son to health issues, and about his three living kids, who all work in the business today. His oldest daughter, who was once too scared to answer the phone, now runs the company.

In this episode, we get into:

• Protecting the best of humanity from the worst of it

• Raising the bar in the security industry

• Physical tests and certifying officers in every tool they carry

• Why about 70% of his staff are former military or law enforcement

• Army service as an Abrams tank recovery soldier

• Going from a police officer making $7 an hour to building businesses

• Expanding into Africa and the West Africa training and manufacturing facility

• Being blunt, honest, and authentically yourself in business

• Cash flow, waiting 45 to 90 days to get paid, and making Friday payroll

• Growing without big loans and reinvesting every dollar

• Doubling every year except two, and the goal of becoming a top 25 U.S. security company

• "Don't let somebody else's mindset be yours"

• The parade everyone said the state would never allow

• Legacy, family, and handing the company to the next generation

One of the most powerful lessons from this conversation is simple:

Get back up. If you were still in the service, nobody would let you lie down on the side because you got hurt or tired, so apply those same principles to your business, your life, and your community. Don't settle. Fight the fight and take the hill. And know what your hill is, because when you break it down, it usually comes back to family and legacy.

This is what Forged in Business is all about. Not the highlight reel. Not overnight success. It's about real veterans, real entrepreneurs, and the struggles, sacrifices, and decisions behind building something meaningful.

Featured Guest:

Troy Skeen | U.S. Army Veteran & Founder and CEO of GPI Defense

Connect with GPI Defense:

Website: https://gpidefense.com

Email: [email protected]

If this conversation resonates with you, LIKE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE it with another veteran, entrepreneur, or business owner who needs to hear it.

Forged in Business | Building With The Browers

Real stories. Real struggles. Real businesses. Forged through adversity.

What happens when a Marine Corps lawyer and an elementary school teacher decide to build a tech company together?

In Episode 8 of Forged in Business, Levi and Brianna Brower sit down with Joe and Chrysa Jones, the husband-and-wife co-founders of StreamSettle, a triple-blind settlement platform built to take the posturing out of disputed claims.

Joe joined the Marine Corps in his third year of law school, went through OCS, and served as a judge advocate doing criminal defense, following in the footsteps of his dad, an enlisted Marine who was stationed at Camp Lejeune too. He calls going into the Marine Corps the best professional decision he ever made. After getting out, he became a personal injury trial lawyer, made partner at a larger firm, and eventually opened his own firm, where Chrysa, a former elementary school teacher, came on board as his firm administrator.

The idea for StreamSettle hit in October 2022, in the shower. Joe was stuck on a trucking case he knew would settle, buried in motions while the other side "went through the motions." He wondered: what if both sides could enter their real numbers, without anyone seeing them, and settle automatically if they overlapped? He yelled "I got it!" while Chrysa was in the kitchen making coffee. They were sure someone was already doing it. Nobody was.

From there, the bootstrapping began. They filed a provisional patent application, spent about a year building the platform, landed their first insurance customer in January 2024, and later secured a court mandate that made the judicial system their primary distribution channel. After pitching at the Veteran Business Battle at Rice University, investors crowded around them, and the round they set out to raise ended up oversubscribed.

In this episode, we get into:

• Joining the Marine Corps in the third year of law school

• Serving as a judge advocate in criminal defense

• The jump from Marine lawyer to personal injury trial attorney

• Going from elementary school teacher to law firm administrator to COO

• The October 2022 shower moment that sparked StreamSettle

• How a triple-blind settlement works and why overlap matters

• Bootstrapping a tech company and filing a provisional patent

• Landing their first insurance customer and securing a court mandate

• The Veteran Business Battle at Rice University and what happened after the pitch

• Raising money with SAFE notes and getting oversubscribed

• Why investors called a spouse co-founder a "red flag" and why they see it as a superpower

• Overcoming fear of rejection and the lessons from Crossing the Chasm

• Dividing roles with clear areas of responsibility at work and at home

• Closing loops every day and removing emotion from business decisions

• Advice for veterans and for couples building a business together

One of the most powerful lessons from this conversation is simple:

Learn how to ask for help. Veterans want to be the fire-and-forget weapon that accomplishes the whole mission alone, but there are tons of people who want to help you. Find mentors, then put in the work, because whatever amount of work you're estimating, it's going to be twice that.

This is what Forged in Business is all about. Not the highlight reel. Not overnight success. It's about real veterans, real entrepreneurs, and the struggles, sacrifices, and decisions behind building something meaningful.

Featured Guests:

Joe Jones | U.S. Marine Corps Veteran & Co-Founder and CEO of StreamSettle

Chrysa Jones | Co-Founder and COO of StreamSettle

Connect with StreamSettle:

Website: https://www.streamsettle.com

Email: [email protected]

If this conversation resonates with you, LIKE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE it with another veteran, entrepreneur, or business owner who needs to hear it.

Forged in Business | Building With The Browers

Real stories. Real struggles. Real businesses. Forged through adversity.

Who really runs your house, your money, and your business?

In this episode of Building With The Browers, Levi and Brianna sit down at the Browers Table to talk about roles. Not gender roles. The roles they've built in their marriage, their family, and their businesses, and why the way they operate is so different from what a lot of people expect.

It didn't start because something broke.

Levi's first marriage failed, and he owns that it was on him. So when he and Brianna got together, they put their non-negotiables on the table from day one. They knew love was just the tip of the iceberg.

They met in 2019. They started their own business in February 2020. Then COVID hit.

A loft apartment with no windows inside a metal shop. 5 AM wake-up calls with the crew bending metal. And a decision to use that season to set their goals instead of coasting through it.

Brianna opens up about her own story, too. She went straight into the military out of high school, served six years as a hard charger, and got out as an E5 while dealing with military sexual trauma. Real estate, entrepreneurs, and personal growth are what pulled her forward, and work became her identity.

From there, the roles kept shifting. Brianna's real estate business took off while the roofing company was still growing. Then Rox was born, and everything changed again. Daycare, a son who kept getting sick, a decision to bring him home, and Brianna stepping into the sales side of the roofing company.

They get real about money, too. Shared accounts. No "just in case" backup plan. Hard conversations about spending. And why the best time to fix how you fight is when you're not fighting.

In this episode, we get into:

• Why "it all starts at home" is the foundation for everything they build

• Setting non-negotiables at the very beginning of a relationship

• "Are you venting or do you need advice?"

• Not going to bed upset and giving your spouse space when they shut down

• Grace, accountability, and why repeat mistakes are a different conversation

• Building a business together through COVID

• How their roles reversed when Brianna's real estate career took off and after Rox was born

• Brianna's six years in the military, military sexual trauma, and finding her way forward

• Pulling their son out of daycare and what it did to their income and identity

• Why they share every account and don't operate off "just in case"

• Having the hard money conversations before they turn into fights

• Who makes the final call and what it means to lead a household

• Chef and sous chef: staying fluid in your roles at home and in business

• "To break an orbit, you have to start a new orbit"

They close by answering one question for each other: what do you see in me that I can't see in myself?

This episode isn't really about who does what. It's about two people building a life where each of them gets to grow.

If you enjoyed this episode, LIKE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE it with another couple, parent, entrepreneur, or family building a life together.

Building With The Browers

Real marriage. Real parenting. Real business. Real life.

#BuildingWithTheBrowers #BrowersTable #Marriage #Parenting #Entrepreneurship #BusinessPodcast #MarriageAdvice #MoneyAndMarriage #CouplesInBusiness #FamilyFirst #RolesInMarriage

What happens when the future you planned falls apart, and you have to build an entirely new one?

In Episode 6 of Forged in Business, Levi and Brianna Brower sit down with Jarvis Minton, Army veteran, former University of Wisconsin football player, entrepreneur, and founder of Black Label Media Group and Black Label Branding.

From growing up in a difficult environment in Irving, Texas, to earning a full-ride football scholarship at the University of Wisconsin, Jarvis was on a path toward professional football. But injuries and life's unexpected turns changed everything.

Instead of giving up, he joined the United States Army, served as an infantryman, and deployed to Iraq. His military experience would challenge his understanding of leadership, resilience, and purpose while teaching him lessons that would eventually shape his entrepreneurial journey.

After leaving the military, Jarvis found himself searching for direction. He worked multiple jobs, battled depression, and eventually discovered a passion for photography and videography that would change his life.

What started with a camera, YouTube tutorials, and a willingness to walk into businesses and ask for an opportunity grew into multiple businesses built around creativity, relationships, and helping others succeed.

In this episode, we get into:

• Growing up in adversity and earning a college football scholarship

• The injuries and challenges that ended his NFL ambitions

• Serving in the Army and experiencing combat in Iraq

• The difference between good leadership and bad leadership

• The difficult transition from military service to civilian life

• Overcoming depression and finding a new purpose

• Building a photography business from the ground up

• Turning creative skills into Black Label Media Group and Black Label Branding

• Why relationships can open doors that money cannot

• Surviving the pandemic by learning new skills

• Raising children with discipline, accountability, and an entrepreneurial mindset

• Why faith without action won't move you forward

• Learning to recognize your worth as a business owner

• Why doing the hard things separates you from everyone else

• The power of helping others without expecting anything in return

One of the most powerful lessons from this conversation is simple:

Do the hard thing.

The easy opportunities won't separate you from the crowd. The difficult decisions, the uncomfortable conversations, the willingness to learn, and the courage to keep showing up when nothing is guaranteed are what build something lasting.

Jarvis also shares how his faith has shaped his approach to business, why he believes God opens doors when we're willing to move, and how relationships have created opportunities he never could have planned.

His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Help the people you want to be like.

Find people who have achieved what you're working toward. Serve them. Learn from them. Build genuine relationships. Sometimes the greatest opportunities begin when you stop asking what someone can do for you and start asking how you can help them.

This is what Forged in Business is all about. Not the highlight reel. Not overnight success. It's about real veterans, real entrepreneurs, and the struggles, sacrifices, and decisions behind building something meaningful.

Featured Guest:

Jarvis Minton | U.S. Army Veteran, Entrepreneur & Founder

Black Label Media Group | Black Label Branding

Connect with Jarvis and Black Label:

Website: https://blacklabelbrandingco.com

Social Media: Black Label Branding Co. | Black Label Media Group

If this conversation resonates with you, LIKE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE it with another veteran, entrepreneur, or business owner who needs to hear it.

Forged in Business | Building With The Browers

Real stories. Real struggles. Real businesses. Forged through adversity.

What happens when you load three kids, two dogs, two parents, and way too much stuff into a Volkswagen Atlas and hit the road for 37 days?

In this episode of Building With The Browers, Levi and Brianna look back at the road trip that tested their patience, strengthened their family, and ultimately helped shape the direction they're heading today.

What started as a way to spend more time with the boys quickly became something much bigger. With wrestling camps and tournaments cutting their normal summer together down to only a few weeks, they made a decision: instead of accepting less time together, they would get on the road and make the time count.

No RV. No perfectly planned itinerary. Two dogs, three kids, Airbnbs booked along the way, a Volkswagen Atlas packed to its absolute limit, and 37 days of figuring it out together.

They talk about the incredible moments, the arguments, sickness, travel-day stress, last-minute pivots, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Sun Valley, unexpected encounters, and the family lessons that came from being together nearly 24/7.

But this episode isn't really about a road trip.

It's about learning to be flexible when the plan changes. It's about understanding intention instead of getting hung up on imperfect delivery. It's about allowing kids to be kids while still teaching them accountability. It's about showing your children what restraint, communication, forgiveness, and leadership actually look like instead of simply telling them.

Levi and Brianna also share one of the biggest lessons they carried home: stop waiting for everything to be perfect before you start.

Whether it's traveling, building a business, creating content, raising a family, or chasing an idea, eventually planning has to become execution.

The pictures may show the beautiful moments, but the good, the bad, and the ugly are what made those moments worth remembering.

This is Building With The Browers: real marriage, real parenting, real business, and the lessons learned while building a life together.

Finding Purpose After Service | Chris Abbott & Sean Gregory of ALPHA Roofing & Construction

What happens when the uniform comes off, the structure disappears, and you're left trying to figure out what's next?

In this episode of **Forged in Business**, Levi and Brianna Brower sit down with **Chris Abbott**, Army veteran and co-owner of ALPHA Roofing & Construction, and his business partner **Sean Gregory** for a conversation about military transition, entrepreneurship, family, faith, and finding purpose on the other side of service.

Chris opens up about serving in the Army, including a 13-month deployment to Iraq, and the difficult transition that followed. He talks candidly about losing the camaraderie and structure of military life, struggling with alcohol, and eventually reaching the moment when he looked in the mirror and realized something had to change.

Years later, Chris and Sean found themselves traveling thousands of miles a week working in the roofing and construction industry. They were making a living, but they were sacrificing the very thing they were working for: **their families.**

So they made a decision.

They came home and built ALPHA Roofing & Construction.

In this episode, we get into:

• Chris's journey from the Army to civilian life

• The struggle to find purpose after leaving the military

• The moment Chris realized he had to change his life

• Faith, family, accountability, and overcoming alcohol

• How Chris and Sean met and decided to build ALPHA

• Walking away from money when it conflicts with your values

• Building a business around family instead of sacrificing family for business

• The veteran and civilian dynamic behind their partnership

• Why failure isn't the opposite of success, quitting is

• Building trust through transparency and communication

• The real struggles behind starting and growing a construction company

• Why relationships and community matter in business

• Their vision for the future of ALPHA Roofing & Construction

One of the biggest lessons from this conversation is simple:

**There is life after service, but finding your next mission requires action.**

As Chris puts it, there will never be a perfect time to start. Your ducks will never all be in a row. You have to take the leap, have faith, work, learn from failure, and keep moving forward.

This is exactly what **Forged in Business** is about. Not the highlight reel. Not the cars, watches, or overnight-success stories.

It's about the struggle behind the success, the lessons learned the hard way, and the veterans and entrepreneurs who are building businesses, creating opportunities, strengthening their families, and impacting their communities.

**Featured Guests:**

Chris Abbott | Army Veteran & Co-Owner

Sean Gregory | Co-Owner

ALPHA Roofing & Construction

**Connect with ALPHA Roofing & Construction:**

Website: [www.roofsbyalpha.com](http://www.roofsbyalpha.com)

Email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

If this conversation resonates with you, **LIKE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE** it with another veteran, entrepreneur, or business owner who needs to hear it.

**Forged in Business | Building With The Browers**

#ForgedInBusiness #BuildingWithTheBrowers #VeteranEntrepreneur #VeteranOwned #Entrepreneurship #BusinessPodcast #Leadership #ArmyVeteran #Roofing #Construction

After months away, we're finally back—and this episode marks the beginning of a completely new chapter.

We're making the biggest announcement we've ever shared.

We're leaving Houston, relocating to Alaska, and taking Building With The Browers nationwide.

This isn't just about moving. It's about choosing family over comfort, purpose over predictability, and building a life that aligns with the vision we've been chasing for years. The episode explains why they're relocating to be closer to Levi's sons, how they're evolving their business, and their plan to travel the country connecting with veteran-owned businesses and communities.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why we're leaving Houston

• The decision to relocate to Alaska

• Choosing family over convenience

• Launching our nationwide journey

• The future of Building With The Browers

• Forged In Business and our Veteran Entrepreneur Spotlight Series

• Building an ecosystem instead of chasing transactions

• How networking changed our business

• Marriage, business, faith, and difficult decisions

• Why sometimes your biggest opportunity requires your biggest leap

This isn't the end of a chapter.

It's the beginning of something much bigger.

If you've ever felt called to make a difficult decision, pivot your business, or choose purpose over comfort, this episode is for you.

Like the video

Leave a comment—we'd love to hear what resonated with you.

Subscribe and follow along as we travel across America highlighting veteran entrepreneurs, building relationships, and documenting the journey.

Success isn't built in comfort. It's forged through adversity.

In this episode of Forged in Business, Levi and Brianna Brower sit down with Nora, better known as "The Chicken Man," a Marine Corps veteran, entrepreneur, and community leader whose journey is a powerful example of resilience, leadership, and service.

After fleeing Cambodia as a child, Nora's family came to America with nothing. He later enlisted in the United States Marine Corps before becoming an American citizen and went on to build one of Houston's most respected community-centered businesses.

Together, they discuss:

• The American Dream through the eyes of an immigrant

• Military leadership and the lessons that translate into business

• The realities of entrepreneurship and overcoming setbacks

• Why community always outweighs transactions

• Building a business that creates impact beyond profit

• Leadership, mentorship, and learning to delegate

• Family, legacy, and defining true success

• The power of surrounding yourself with the right people

Whether you're a veteran, entrepreneur, business owner, or someone striving to build something meaningful, this episode offers practical insights and timeless wisdom that will challenge and inspire you.

Follow Building With The Browers for more conversations with entrepreneurs, veterans, and leaders who are forging businesses—and lives—that leave a lasting impact.

Levi and Bea announce the launch of "Forged in Business," a new spotlight series dedicated to veteran entrepreneurs. The initiative consists of three main pillars: high-level conversations with successful veterans, editorial distribution through Dockline Magazine to reach 250,000 readers, and curated in-person networking events across the nation. The presenters discuss the inspiration behind the series, rooted in their experience hosting networking mixers for the Houston Regional Veterans Chamber, and their desire to provide a platform that highlights the successes and challenges of the veteran business community. They emphasize that the series aims to provide actionable lessons and connect "vetpreneurs" with necessary resources and capital. The hosts invite listeners to nominate exceptional veteran entrepreneurs for future episodes and note that the series will travel nationally starting in June.