Startup Junkie Promotes Veteran Innovation with Upcoming Event
by October 13, 2014 12:00 am 88 views
Startup Junkie Consulting will host Veterans to Venture Leaders Oct. 16, 3:30 p.m. at Centerspace, 1 E. Center St., Suite 270, on the Fayetteville square.
The primary goal of the workshop and networking event is to bring together veterans who have an interest in starting a business with those who have found success through entrepreneurship, said Brett Amerine, director of operations at Startup Junkie.
“Veterans have a unique skill set. They’re problem-solvers and innovators,” Amerine said. “We wanted to give them an event of their own.”
He and his father, Jeff Amerine, founding principal of Startup Junkie, are both veterans themselves, and Brett Amerine said friendships with people like Calvin Smith — a former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant whose venture history includes co-founding what became NOWDiagnostics — and James Eldridge — a former U.S. Air Force medic known for co-founding James+James furniture — inspired the creation of the event.
In addition to veterans and those transitioning out of the military, Amerine said companies interested in hiring veterans for leadership roles are invited to attend.
“Veterans have been through a lot of hurdles. If you can get through all that, it’s a good indicator that you would be an asset to a business,” he said.
The plan is for the event to be the first of many. “We’re getting smart people in the room and seeing what happens,” Amerine said. “We think it’s going to be something great.”