The Veteran (Semi) Professional

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Commentary on business and politics to help you in post-military life. 

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Paul has a career going all over the place.  He bounced around from job to job after the Marines until he found his niche.  

• Founder, Empire Headhunters 
• Founder, Reciprocity ROI
• Venture Partner, The Robotics Hub
• Board Advisor, Spine Nation
• CPO, Fornux Corporation

He's also got a great story of his time in the Marines when he hustled and a leader saw his potential and gave him a chance. 

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Topics Discussed:

• 11th Airborne Division gets started in Alaska
• Forty McFort Face > Fort Liberty
• Stock market update
• Black Rifle Coffee gets sued by investor
• Elon shuffles new Twitter deal
• Buying refurbished tech (see also Tech for Troops)

Check out Google Vet Net Career Week where Mark will be talking!

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Roy is a former Israeli Navy SEAL and founder of SetSchedule, which makes software for real estate professionals. 

Here is his official bio:

"Roy Dekel is CEO and Co-Founder of SetSchedule. Preceding SetSchedule, Roy sold billions in financial products and prior to trends, institutionalized the buy and hold residential lifestyle model managing a lofty residential portfolio. Before moving to California, Dekel grew up in Israel, a child of Romanian refugees. He served as a first lieutenant in the Israeli Defense Forces of the Navy Seals. Inspired by his childhood, Roy helps charities that focus on the quality of life and education of children. Roy’s long-standing dedication as a donor, activist, and member of so many charitable organizations has earned Dekel the deserved reputation as a trusted and selfless community leader."

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Topics Discussed:

• You motorboating SOB
• Get pumped for the new Top Gun
• Crypto takes a dive
• Can Elon walk away from Twitter?
• PA GOP Senate race
• Offshore drilling leases
• Housing market cools

Check out fieldseats.com to purchase your Field Reviews and use VETPRO to get 10% off. 

Fieldseats.com is an e-commerce federally licensed firearms dealer. They provide virtual reviews on brand new firearms and at the end of the review they give away the firearm being reviewed for free to an attendee. 

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Joel is a Navy veteran who now helps connect people with the right franchise opportunity for them. 

We also discuss some health challenges Joel had after the Navy and how he was able to overcome them and get himself back on his feet (literally).

You can find his books here:
Franchise Due Diligence: Navigating the Franchise Purchase Process
Franchising Unlocked: The 7 Secret Keys to Franchise Ownership

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This episode is a bit different as we don't talk many veteran topics. 

Jared runs Thrifty Traveler and knows how to travel the world without breaking the budget.  

I always try and encourage people to plan some serious time off after the military and Jared can give you the tools to do it.

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This episode is unique in that I recorded it at Darden.  

There have been a few episodes published about buying your own business and Barker is the first who talks about doing it without investors.  

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Topics Discussed:

• Training Ukrainians on Javelins
• New Air Force bomb sinks ship in seconds
• Interest rates go up
• Trump back former Marine J.D. Vance
• Downsides to an MBA
• How an overturn of Roe v. Wade might affect businesses
• Theories on the leaked SCOTUS opinion

 
Check out fieldseats.com to purchase your Field Reviews and use VETPRO to get 10% off. 

Fieldseats.com is an e-commerce federally licensed firearms dealer. They provide virtual reviews on brand new firearms and at the end of the review they give away the firearm being reviewed for free to an attendee. 

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First- this episode is intense.  It is easily the most powerful episode of the show.

Nick openly shares his intense combat experiences from his time in the 75th Ranger Regiment and how they shaped his ability to be empathetic. 

Realizing he was sitting on a precipice, he sought help.  A mentor pointed him in the direction of psychedelics, which started him down a path of healing.  He shares what his experiences were like and to say that it is powerful is a dramatic understatement.  

Nick is now working on a Neuroscience degree at Harvard to take his knowledge and experiences to help other veterans.

Fun fact: Nick and I served in 1-505th, 82nd ABN for a few years together before we moved onto our next assignments. 

Resources mentioned:
Heroic Hearts Project (also check out Ep. 12 their founder Jesse Gould)
MAPS psychedelic research center
Live American Yogi (Nick brought LAY up without me prompting, but the founder, Phil, and I went through SERE together and were Team Leaders in the same company)
Hunter 7 Foundation
Next Step Inbound (Interview with their team on Ep. 17)
Warrior-Scholar Program (Hear my interview with CEO Ryan Pavel on Ep. 37)