Founder Institute Blog Veterans Build Tech Startups for the Future

The Founder Institute works with entrepreneurs from all walks of life. While some are serial entrepreneurs working on their second or third company, many enter the program having left a completely different industry or type of job. In this post, we'll introduce you to two companies started by founders who had no experience in tech nor as entrepreneurs. These founders are united by one common factor: they're veterans. As such, when they embarked on their careers as entrepreneurs, they began already equipped with many of the skills and values that would help them along the way.ProfHire, Inc. was launched in January of 2015 by Lesa Hammond, who, after earning her bachelor's degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice, entered the military, hoping to get a master's degree without incurring any debt. Self-reflection helped her realize that she wanted to do something where she was working with people and that she was not the kind of person who could just watch people suffer without doing anything. Eventually she found a job that resonated with her in Human Resources, eventually becoming the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Alliant International University. It was in this role that she discovered a place for innovation. Working at a university, she found that it was often hard to find quality part-time faculty members and would hear of people asking how to get that same type of position. ProfHire, Inc. took on this problem, innovating by connecting hiring managers to possible teaching candidates via easy to access candidate profiles, also making it easier for candidates themselves to apply. Additionally, ProHire increases the diversity within the hiring pool and provides better-vetted candidates than those available before.Hammond brought her company to the Silicon Valley chapter of the Founder Institute. Hammond says that of the many experiences she has on her resumé, those at the Founder Institute and with Uptima Business Bootcamp had the greatest impact on the current success of ProfHire.Founder Institute is a bit like Basic Training. You are pushed to stretch your comfort zone and accomplish things you didn't know you could do. With both, the pace is fast and you have to keep up. If you don't keep up you may not succeed. Because of this, I would assume that vets who attend Founder Institute have a higher success rate for completion than non-vets.ProfHire, Inc. was eventually named one of the Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America by Entrepreneur magazine and Hammond's own nature which has been described as passionate, principled, collaborative and resourceful, was likely a big part of the company's success. She has some big pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs:Meet everyone you can and follow up with them. Only take the advice of people who have been successful at what you want to do.Stretch outside their comfort zone.Also in 2015, two brothers, Carlos and Luis Romero, were taking on the challenge of innovation as well. Having served in the Marine Corps and in the Army Reserve, the Romeros launched their company, LiVi, in order to address a problem they came across when they moved from place to place. They found that it would be useful to see streaming video footage of places they might choose to live in when they weren't able to check out the possible residences in person. LiVi provides just that: streaming services by request. While it was originally imagined to investigate possible residences, today it is used by car dealerships as well as nightlight establishments who are appealing to customers in an innovative way.The Romeros' company blossomed with the nurturance that came from the Founder Institute chapter in Miami. he partnership was so successful that even after graduating from the program, Founder Institute advisors continued to advise the company. They eventually got into Vet-Tech, the leading accelerator for military veterans.Becoming an entrepreneur was challenging because when you come from a background of being told what to do and then having to make all the calls yourself, especially in business, is a big change.Carlos explains how the Founder Institute can be an asset to those who don't have the same resources and common experiences you have when you're based in Silicon Valley.Even if you aren't tech-savvy the Founder Institute can help you get through each step of growing your company. Don't be afraid to jump in with a good idea! As a veteran you might want to know what's coming, but the unknown is okay and the Founder Institute can help you.Carlos said that ultimately the Founder Institute meant saving the company money. LiVi went on to build successful partnerships.