Service Academy Business Mastermind

"There's so much more that goes into financial planning, especially when you're talking business planning, than pie charts and spreadsheets. More often than not, it's just clearing the way for the business owner to be able to work on the business instead of being sucked in to work in the business on a day-to-day basis." - Donald Pearson (USNA '16)

Donald Pearson (USNA '16) is a Wealth Management Advisor at WestPac Wealth Partners and a Registered Representative (RR) & Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) of Park Avenue Securities. Upon graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 2016, Donald commissioned into the United States Marine Corps. He served as a Financial Manager responsible for all resources allocated in support of Marine Corps activities in Central and South America before joining WestPac. In his work, Donald most enjoys working with energetic, passionate, loving families and business owners that are growing and dedicated to making sound financial decisions to set their families and businesses up for long-term success.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why the Marine Corps accelerated Donald's career as a financial advisor
• How the military veteran network helped power Donald's successful transition
• Tips on how to become a successful financial advisor and build a good reputation
• Why WestPac Wealth Partners focuses on working with clients who are business owners
• How WestPac Wealth Partners helps business owners organize and coordinate their financial team

Donald also shares why exit and contingency plans should be the top priority for every business owner and how a financial advisor can help business owners significantly increase the value of their companies. We also discuss why building authentic relationships is the key to being successful in life and in business and enjoyed listening to Donald's most important goals, which include hiring 10 Service Academy grad financial advisors, building out the largest Service Academy grad wealth management team in the US, and building a Service Academy curriculum to teach people about money before active duty. We're inspired by Donald's early success and can't wait to see how his future unfolds.

Connect with Donald:

• LinkedIn
• Westpac Wealth Partners

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• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Donald for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"For me, it's about creating as much value as you can and sharing it amongst as many people as you can. The bigger the community, the bigger the opportunity…I get a lot of joy from being around other people and working with other people. "– Joshua Awad (USNA '02)

Navy Veteran, Joshua Awad is the Co-Founder of OnePet, a portfolio of digitally native companies in the veterinary and pet care space. He is also a Partner at eGateway Capital, a late-stage venture capital firm that invests in high-growth technology companies and operates as an M&A advisory practice that enables the future of eCommerce. Josh served as a Surface Warfare Officer from 2002-2008 after graduating from the Naval Academy and also holds master's degrees from Oklahoma University and Harvard Business School.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Josh got started in eCommerce after serving in the Navy
• The stories behind Josh's different eCommerce business ventures
• How eGateway Capital functions as an eCommerce ecosystem and who it's for
• The thriving community eGateway Capital is building through its investment fund
• Why Veterans make great business partners

Josh also shares some of eGateway Capital's short-term and long-term goals, including plans to build the company into a $1 billion platform over the next 10 years. We enjoyed hearing the story of how Josh transitioned from the military into eCommerce, learning about the first products he sold online and hearing some of his eCommerce war stories. We love that Josh is building a supportive community through his businesses and can't wait to see how it continues to grow and thrive.

Connect with Josh:

• LinkedIn
• Email
• eGateway Capital
• OnePet

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Josh for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"The whole idea is to create something that provides lifelong memories that Veterans can share with their friends and family."- Toby Prudhomme (USMA '96)

Toby Prudhomme (USMA '96) is President of Extreme Adventures, a 501(c)(19) non-profit organization that provides outdoor experiences for Veterans and their families. His goal is to enhance the lives of America's Veterans through recreational and social opportunities that reengage them with the activities they love and unite them with people who share similar backgrounds and experiences. Toby grew up hunting and fishing in Louisiana. He's a retired U.S. Army officer and completed over five combat deployments.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Toby founded a non-profit outdoor adventure company for Veterans
• How outdoor adventures build camaraderie and help military Veterans process difficult experiences
• What a typical adventure with Toby and the team looks like
• How Extreme Adventures fund their outdoor experiences, making them free for Veterans to join

Toby also shares his goal to plan 6-10 fully funded trips for 2023 and how the company is working to minimize expenses and establish long-term relationships with donors and other funding sources. We also discuss why the outdoors in particular facilitates healing by eliminating unhelpful distractions. The work Tony is doing at Extreme Adventures is so important. We can't wait to see how his company continues to grow and look forward to hearing more stories from his outdoor adventures.

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Toby for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"The big vision is how can we bring order to the mess that is the ocean transportation industry on the bulk side? $1.3 trillion is being spent to transport commodities annually…this is an international business and every ship is filled to the brim. The smallest shipment we've done is 50,000 metric tons. What that looks like is two and a half football fields long and seven stories high….you're talking about a very big business for the building blocks of the world and we're trying to bring order to that." - John Hahn (USMMA '04)

John Hahn is a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy grad and the CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Freight Exchange, a company he started in 2015 to optimize the global supply chain and make shipping simple by connecting ship owners and charters via their data-centric AI platform, like Uber for the freight industry. The company's platform enables brokers to become super-brokers, save over 3 hours of time every day, and generate over 4X revenue plus a 5X bonus. They ship everything from grain, fertilizer, and metallic ore to sugar, construction materials, coal, road salt and more across the world in dry bulk, oil tanker and gas freight vessels. They currently work with 28 people in 7 countries.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why the technology developed by Ocean Freight Exchange is so groundbreaking
• How Ocean Freight Exchange is solving the biggest problems in the global ocean transportation industry
• When and how John's business idea for Ocean Freight Exchange came to fruition
• Tips on raising capital and best practices for establishing relationships with investors
• Why execution is an essential part of every successful business

John also shares the story of his first sale and why his team members are as important to him as his clients. John also discusses recent wins, what he's looking forward to in 2023 and how his experiences at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are helping him in his business today. We loved learning how John's company is making the ocean freight industry more efficient and can't wait to see how he continues to transform the industry on an international scale.

Connect with John:

• LinkedIn
• Ocean Freight Exchange
• Venture Deals by Brad Field and Jason Mendelson

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to John for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"Ingram Capital builds community through real estate…we buy dilapidated, abandoned homes, fix them up, and turn them into safe, single-family homes as long-term rentals." - Wil Ingram (USNA '11)

Wil Ingram is a U.S. Navy veteran on a mission to build community through real estate. His interest in real estate began while serving as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy. After spending three out of his six years in uniform at sea, he decided it was time for a career change so he could spend more time with his growing family and founded Ingram Capital, LLC with his brother. Ingram Capital, LLC operates out of Dayton, Ohio and specializes in single-family long-term rental properties. Wil and his brother are passionate about buying semi-distressed or abandoned homes, fixing them up and making them useful for the community again.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What Ingram Capital does and why Wil recently acquired a cabinet and flooring company
• What made it possible for Wil to transition into real estate full time
• Wil's best practices for managing and scaling a real estate investing business
• How Wil is meeting his goal to double the number of properties he owns this year
• Why it's important to find a mentor and identify what motivates your goals

Wil also shares what it's like to work with his brother every day, how they maintain a strong personal and professional relationship and some of the biggest lessons they learned from mistakes made early on in the business. We enjoyed learning what makes Dayton, Ohio a unique real estate market and listening to how Wil is managing rising interest rates. Wil also discusses how Ingram Capital finances investment properties and elaborates on the benefits of real estate investing. We've loved getting to know Wil and have no doubt he'll not only meet but exceed his goal of 3500 properties under management by 2030.

Connect with Wil:

• LinkedIn

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Wil for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"You have to be very selective about what you do and how you maintain your property as well as how you're going to get income…this is a whole new arena." - Gary Klaben (USMA '79)

Gary Klaben is the President of Coyle Financial Counsel, an innovative wealth management firm dedicated to helping families preserve and grow their wealth so they can have complete confidence in their financial legacy. This is Gary's second guest appearance on the SABM Podcast and we're delighted to welcome him back. In this episode, Gary dives into some great topics related to the benefits of multigenerational living and building a family estate. Gary is the author of Changing the Conversation, The Wealth Sanctuary and co-author of The Business Battlefield. He's also a coach at Strategic Coach, the #1 business coaching program in the world for entrepreneurs.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The benefits of creating a family estate and how it can help everyone realize a vision and pursue a purpose
• Why vision boards are a great starting point for making big family decisions
• The basics and benefits of running a family estate and why regular communication is key
• Why creating a family estate is more complex than running a company
• What a functioning family estate looks like and how to make it run smoothly

Gary also shares why he decided to create an estate for his family and when he realized it was the right decision. He also discusses why you don't need to be wealthy in order to have a family estate and opens up about the complexities and rewards of owning and running his family property. We enjoyed hearing what some of Gary's favorite memories are since he started living on his family estate and hope this episode inspires you to create an exciting vision for your family's future.

Connect with Gary:

• LinkedIn
• Email
• Coyle Financial Counsel
• Strategic Coach

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Gary for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"We really believe that we're going to change the global workforce by taking the best of military chaplaincy and pivoting that toward the corporate world…our commitment is to impact the company bottom line by increasing employee resiliency, engagement, performance and retention through chaplaincy." - Alan "Blues" Baker (USNA '78)

Alan "Blues" Baker is the Founder & CEO of ChaplainCare, which serves people and strengthens organizations by providing the benefits of military chaplaincy to civilian workplaces. Alan has over 34 years of experience in college, corporate, and military chaplaincy and now trains supervises, and endorses prospective and current chaplains in a variety of settings. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Baker rose to the rank of rear admiral. He currently teaches at Fuller, Gordon-Conwell, and Wesley seminaries. Alan is passionate about workforce chaplaincy and sees it as the most exciting and fastest-growing segment of soul care.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What ChaplainCare is and why Alan started it
• Why faith, leadership and learning are central to ChaplainCare's operations
• What chaplaincy care for corporations looks like
• How companies can roll out and build awareness around chaplaincy care
• Why developing friendships and demonstrating care for people can transform a workplace

Alan also shares why chaplains make excellent personal advisors and how ChaplainCare operates within companies, including helping businesses implement diversity, equity and inclusion practices. We enjoyed listening to Alan tell stories from his experience as a chaplain at the Naval Academy and discussing how Alan uses Gallup's CliftonStrengths Assessment and Q12 Employee Engagement Survey to inform his chaplaincy work. It's not only the support Alan provides but also his dynamic approach to chaplaincy that helps companies excel.

Connect with Alan:

• Chaplain Care
• Email
• Gallup's Q12 Employee Engagement Survey
• Gallup's CliftonStrengths Assessment
• First Break All the Rules by Curt Coffman and Marcus Buckingham

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Alan for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"Look at the example of continuous performance feedback. We take it for granted that part of being a leader is providing regular, consistent feedback, both critical and complimentary. If you're in the platform, and it says, hey, it's time for you to provide feedback, you start developing that habit early and often." - Scott Taylor (USMA '01)

Scott Taylor (USMA '01) is the Founder of Startwise, a SaaS platform that is transforming the way employers lead and employees grow within companies while addressing the fact that businesses nationwide face a trillion-dollar annual loss due to employee churn. The mission of Startwise is to reimagine the employee experience and the future of work by building software products using learning sciences and distributed leadership to accelerate human skills development. The company's JobOS platform helps leaders build, develop and retain top-performing teams.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What it takes to build a SaaS platform and how Startwise works
• How Startwise uses customer feedback to enhance the platform
• Why learning sciences and leadership are key to employee retention
• How Startwise measures employee performance metrics through self-reporting
• Why regular feedback and communication are essential to thriving professional relationships

Scott also shares how Startwise is already helping companies reduce the time it takes to onboard new employees after just six months of operation and why companies that have teams of five people and over are a perfect fit for the platform. We also discuss why Startwise is a particularly valuable tool for growing successful sales teams and enjoyed hearing why the values Scott learned at West Point form the foundational values of his company. We wish Scott continued success as he helps companies transform the way they work for the better.

Connect with Scott:

• LinkedIn
• Email
• Startwise

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Scott for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"Our theme is having partners who are experts at what they do. One of the founding principles behind Blue Flag is we really want to do things that we're great at. We're not interested in faking it until we make it. We're interested in doing what we've had decades to get good at."- Christian Jensen (USAFA '96)

Christian Jensen (USAFA '96) is a Managing Partner at Blue Flag, an LLP, or partnership between experts with diverse skills, much like a medical practice, that helps businesses reach their full potential through project management and talent solutions. While many technology and consulting companies are created to serve a core industry or have a unique specialization, Blue Flag's structure allows the company to bring on co-owners and build a practice with depth in new areas very quickly. Chris and his team serve both the private and public sectors. Working with large government and private clients has given Blue Flag a foundation of proven solutions while working with startups infuses their everyday work with energy and innovation.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How an LLP functions
• Who the experts behind Blue Flag are and what they do
• What agile project management is and why it's transforming the way teams work
• Expert tips on how to manage and overcome the challenges of office politics
• How to overcome the fear of saying "yes" to new opportunities

Chris also dives into the founding principles of Blue Flag, including why the company values people over processes. He also offers some excellent, practical tips on how individuals and teams can implement an agile methodology for work and life. We enjoyed hearing why Christ decided to start his own company and why he believes failure is a good learning opportunity and why preparation is the key to success. We learned a lot from Chris's golden nuggets of workplace wisdom and hope this episode inspires you wherever you are in your professional journey.

Connect with Christian:

• LinkedIn
• Blue Flag

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Chris for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01

"Academy grads have a special kind of independence and willingness to do things that are really difficult and see things through in the long term…I think that hardens your character and makes you push through…We really want to emphasize some of these core values: to present good opportunities to our team members and do operations in a way that's honest and in a way that's not only good for our customers but also benefits the greater good. The Academy has provided really strong values for executing those missions."- Zachary Adams (USAFA '13)

Zach Adams is a former F-15E Strike Eagle pilot in the U.S. Air Force and Co-Founder of Pitch Aeronautics (Pitch Aero), an unmanned aircraft startup company commercializing cyclorotor propulsion technology to save money and save lives. Zach is applying his doctoral research experience to develop and enable drones to physically interact with surfaces. Their drone prototype, "Astria" can perform up-close, touch, and robotic tasks that can replace expensive rope, crane, and helicopter access inspections, which are among the most dangerous jobs in America.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Pitch Aero is developing a drone to carry out industrial inspections and how the idea was born
• How Pitch Aero's drone services concrete infrastructure and aids powerline installation
• Why engineering is Zach's passion
• Lessons learned from raising capital for the first time
• Why Zach and his fellow Academy grad co-founder make a great team

Zach also shares how he and the Pitch Aero team are working to achieve a product market fit and eventually become the industry leader in robotic drone technology. He also discusses specific ways their seed round of funding will help them continue to grow and reflects on the benefits of being an Academy grad in a startup venture. Pitch Aero's drone technology is amazing and we wish Zach and his team continued success as they work to save lives and money through their innovative technologies.

Connect with Zachary:

• Email
• LinkedIn
• Pitch Aeronautics

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague. If you are a Service Academy graduate and want to take your business to the next level, you can join our supportive community and get started today.

Subscribe and help out the show:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify & Stitcher
• Leave us a 5-star review!

Special thanks to Zach for joining me this week. Until next time!

-Scott Mackes, USNA '01