Guest Blog by Patriot Boot Camp.

Since 2012, Patriot Boot Camp (PBC) has been on a mission to assemble and activate an inclusive community that advances military members, veterans, and military spouses in their mission to become the creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs leading our economy. In 2013, 21.4M men and women, or nine percent of the civilian population aged 18 and over, were veterans. Historically, veterans have struggled to find jobs. The veteran unemployment rate is several points higher than their non-veteran counterparts. Entrepreneurship is a viable, sustainable path for veterans. However, there are only a few nonprofits that support veteran entrepreneurs, and even less that specifically target technology startups. PBC’s program serves the underserved on multiple levels. We offer education, resources, professional networking and community support to underserved individuals within that community. Additionally, our program participants come from diverse backgrounds and walks of life. Our program alumni are represented by 22% female founders, 19.4% African American founders and 59% service-connect disability.

Patriot Boot Camp exists to provide service members, veterans, and military spouses with access to mentors, educational programs, and a robust community of experts to help them innovate and build impactful businesses.

Patriot Boot Camp Stats

• Sixteen (16) in-person boot camp programs hosted in twelve (12) U.S. cities since 2012 and two virtual 2-day programs
• 990+ active duty military, veteran & military spouse entrepreneur alumni worldwide
• 276 world-class mentors
• Alumni demographics
  • 59% service-connect disability
  • 18% women
  • 26% ethnically diverse
  • 19% African American
  • 5% Asian
  • 2% American Indian or Alaskan Native
• 10 successful alumni company exits via acquisition
• 4 alumni appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank reality show. 3 alumni received offers including 1 offer of $1.5M offer from Mark Cuban.

Patriot Boot Camp provides members of the military community with critical access to training and education, mentoring from workforce professionals, and a thriving community of experts that empowers and equips them with the necessary skills and resources to succeed as entrepreneurs. We were able to pivot during COVID-19 from a 3 day in-person program to a 2-day virtual program. This has definitely met the evolving needs of our population. Our virtual programs leverage technology to provide impactful programming that empowers our entrepreneurs to launch their innovative startups.