Service Academy Business Mastermind

“It starts foundationally with planning and understanding how your money is coming in… and then building a long-term plan on how to more efficiently conduct your taxes for this year and moving forward. It really depends on the individual.” -Paul Munch, USNA ‘10 Paul Munch runs his own office through Trust Point Capital Partners, a family office consultancy and investment fund that specializes in tax mitigation strategy. TPC was founded to bring the model of a family office that is typically only accessible to the ultra-high-net-worth to high-net-worth individuals. Through TPC, Paul provides all of the services of a typical family office without the high operating costs. TPC creates its own products to aid in tax mitigation and offers both an active income product and a passive income product. Paul is a 2010 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and received his MBA in Finance and Data Analytics from NYU Stern School of Business. In this episode, we discuss: How Trust Point Capital Partners was created

“The more I worked with different organizations, the more I just saw this need for strategic support. Being able to embed with the leadership team and walk them through that journey…I love it. I was born a planner…so it’s a really good opportunity to wrap that into the work that I do.” - Susan Maly (USAFA ‘03) Susan Maly (USAFA ‘03) is the Founder and CEO of Maly Strategies where she helps small to medium-sized businesses scale and grow as a fractional Chief Strategy Officer. As a seasoned leader serving clients across industries, Susan loves helping people and her passion is transforming ideas into impact. After serving in the U.S. Air Force as an F-16 maintenance officer and speechwriter, Susan spent over a decade at a large Fortune 500 management consulting firm with leadership roles across government and commercial businesses, as well as corporate headquarters.  In this episode, we discuss: What a fractional Chief Strategy Officer does and how Susan became one Why time, focus, and follow-through are the

“We help people act on their dream of starting a nonprofit. With our experience, we guide that dream to reality. For those who have already started a nonprofit, we’ve had success helping people become more compliant, which leads to better fundraising, which leads to growth.” - Vince Lindenmeyer (USMA ‘91) Dr. Vince Lindenmeyer (USMA ‘91) is a retired Army Colonel and currently a Principal of Beacon 4sight Group a registered trade name of CFOUR Foundation LLC, which creates economic growth for equality and justice. Vince served in the Army for 26 years with overseas tours to Korea, Egypt, Qatar, and Iraq earning the Bronze Star Medal. As an educator, Vince has taught face-to-face and distance learning over the past 20 years. He earned a BS in Systems Engineering from West Point, master’s degrees in Logistics Management, Education, and Strategic Studies, and a PhD in Education. Vince actively supports women, veterans, minorities, persons with disabilities, and the formerly incarcerated in starting businesses an

“EveryDoor is our B2B brand where we are coming alongside those large delivery providers and retailers so we can help them…grow their revenue and serve these customers in hard-to-reach markets. EveryDoor is an extension of our company where we take what we do best and we put it in the hands of delivery providers and retailers to make them successful.”  -Todd Waldemar, USNA ‘89 Todd Waldemar is the founder of ChowCall, a 3rd party food delivery business that delivers to military bases and other hard-to-reach markets. He is now scaling his business with the launch of EveryDoor, a B2B brand that partners with large delivery providers and retailers to help serve hard-to-reach customers. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy and serving as a Marine Corps Officer, Todd opened up a restaurant and delivered almost one million orders to military bases over the span of 15 years. This experience led to the creation of ChowCall and EveryDoor. Todd holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

“We are automating one of the more complex problems out there called prior authorization which, up until now, has not really been touched that much by technology… We’re in a good spot at a good time and having a measurable impact on providers that just want to get care to patients.”  -Ron Wince, USNA ‘88 Ron Wince is the founder and CEO of Myndshft, a prior authorization software company that reduces manual work, eliminates duplication of effort, and shortens preauthorization cycle times so healthcare providers and payers can focus on their patients. A United States Naval Academy graduate and an experienced strategic consultant, Ron’s leadership and industry expertise are helping to fuel the growth of his third startup.  In this episode, we discuss: How prior authorization works in healthcare and where Myndshft comes into play What it was like bringing the software to market and the initial feedback from customers The key drivers that have led to Myndshft’s growth The importance of being hyper-focused on the

“It creates a stickiness and a partnership between our clients and their customers. That’s really what complete offers are there to do: make it easy to sell, make it easy to adopt, and create stickiness with the two businesses that ends up being a longstanding partnership for both companies… that’s the value of a complete offer. It creates the stickiness that you actually need.”  -Shaun McAndrew, USNA ‘93 Shaun McAndrew is the Vice President of Business Development at The Service Design Group, a consultancy specializing in a service design approach to help product groups and service teams build complete offers and harden service packages. She also leads the Women’s Circle at 10X Vets. Before working in business development, Shaun graduated from the United States Naval Academy and had a successful military career that spanned 27 years. She served in numerous leadership capacities during her Navy tenure, including commanding a helicopter squadron, HSM-41, and serving as Commanding Officer of a Navy ROTC unit wh

“We were able to take the technology associated with blockchain and cryptocurrency and use that as a fundraising mechanism, initially, to help support cannabis operators.”  -Greg Anderson, USMA ‘92 Both 1992 graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Greg Anderson and Charlie Uchill came together to create CeresCoin, a financial services company for the highly regulated legal cannabis industry. Ceres is a blockchain compliance and transparency solution that provides a peer-to-peer methodology for conducting secure, auditable, financial transactions. As CEO, Greg brings leadership experience from his time in the military and over 20 years in the real estate development industry. With a background in alternative structured finance, Charlie brings his industry expertise to the Ceres team as COO. In this episode, we discuss: The development of a financial services platform that bridges the gap between two highly regulated spaces—cannabis and blockchain How Greg and Charlie worked with the SEC

“I wanted to build my business from the ground up… having the power to choose the clients you work with, figure out how you want to build your business strategically and for the long-term. It’s been exciting… doing it all from scratch.”  -Matthew Wang, USMA ‘06 After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point and serving as an active-duty military intelligence officer in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Matthew Wang transitioned into finance. Matthew completed the Bank of America Veterans Associate Program and then continued on to work with Bank of America's Global Markets institutional clients. He now works as a Private Wealth Manager with Merrill Private Wealth Management and is currently building out his team of financial advisors at The Wang Group. In this episode, we discuss: Matt’s path from getting out of the Army to becoming a private wealth advisor Oh Six Answers—the Podcast Matt is launching that is focused on reconnecting his USMA ‘06 classmates ahead of their 20-year r

“It’s not a question of whether you can or can’t do it…it’s about mindset.”   -Brett Hadley (USAFA ‘05) Brett Hadley is an Air Force veteran and the Managing Partner of BAB Investments, which he founded in 2019 with his brother JJ. Using their combined knowledge and ambition, the two brothers founded BAB Investments with the hope of providing friends, veterans, and other investors the opportunity to reach their financial goals through the prospect of passive income. Mindset is the driving force behind Brett’s success in life and in business. In today’s episode, Brett shares what having an abundance mindset looks like for him on a day-to-day basis. In this episode, we discuss: The value of resiliency and cultivating an abundance mindset Why authenticity can 10X your business and your life  How Brett built his real estate business through the military veteran network Brett’s experience of implementing EOS  Why you don’t need to be an expert in everything to be successful Brett also shares why he recently paid

“If you align incentives in purchasing a home… you create value for the resident of the home who wants to share on the upside and you create a tremendous amount of value for the investors who want a resident who cares about the home and wants to take care of it.” -Kent Keirsey, USMA ‘03 USMA alumni Kent Keirsey and Peter Crawford are co-founders of Acre Homes, an innovative real estate company that provides consumers with a better way to purchase and live in a home they love. After serving as an Infantry Officer, Kent has spent his post-military career building businesses in both the real estate and healthcare spaces. Peter, a former Infantry and Special Forces Officer, has worked in management consulting and operations.  In this episode, we discuss: Kent and Peter’s inspiration to improve the model for buying a home in the U.S. How Acre works from the homebuyer’s perspective Acre’s unique offerings that differ from a typical mortgage Kent and Peter’s short-term and long-term goals for Acre The strength that

“Some people say, ‘I am cancer’ or ‘I am bipolar,’ but it’s important to note that it’s just a health problem. They have a disorder…‘I have bipolar’ or ‘I’ve had cancer.’ I think that’s an important thing to note….My hope is that I can help impact the lives of folks that are struggling with a mental health challenge.” - Charlie Eadie (USMA ‘07) After serving in the U.S Army for ten years and overcoming significant challenges, Charlie Eadie pivoted to small business leadership and growth functions where he currently thrives. Charlie's latest ventures include serving as the Senior Vice President of Channel Growth for the Demex Group, a venture-backed post-Series A startup that provides climate insurtech solutions.  He is also the co-founder and General Partner of CMD Capital, a venture capital firm that invests where innovation commands capital. He and his partners are focused on investing in the following sectors: National Security, Infrastructure, Mental Health and Social Impact.   In this episode, we discuss

“Culture really drives a lot of where people go. When you can create a family or team environment, that seems to attract a lot of folks from our community…our ultimate goal is to be able to serve everybody under the Special Operations umbrella who wants to come through our program.” - Matthew Stevens (USNA ‘91) Matt Stevens is CEO of The Honor Foundation (THF), a non-profit organization whose virtual and in-person professional development programs effectively translate elite military service to the private sector and are helping to create the next generation of corporate and community leaders. Prior to his role at The Honor Foundation, Matt gained significant experience as a senior Special Operations executive leading high-performing teams conducting our nation’s most sensitive missions, cultivating interagency relationships, and executing plans in dynamic environments. In this episode, we discuss: How The Honor Foundation helps U.S. Special Officers transition into civilian life Specific tools and strategie

“I feel like I’m at the leading edge while also taking care of my team…they have ambitions and goals and dreams and so the fact that we win together and solution together, that’s the most exciting part for me…it’s the build up and the big presentation for the deal.”- Lance Kallman (USAFA ‘04) Lance Kallman is the President and Co-Founder of DataPrime, a company focused on building machine learning engines for artificial intelligence solutions to solve business problems. DataPrime makes access to machine learning engines much easier and faster than traditional big-package software. DataPrime operates by using data to train and build artificial intelligence and is working toward building its own data marketplace, which allows everyone other than big tech to push in trade data and do it in a secure anonymous way. DataPrime even has an edge over technologies including Chat GPT and its solutions are already having a significant impact across all industries and sectors including everything from healthcare to travel

“In a partnership, you need to have trust and friendship…commitment to the people and systems that go is what I get really excited about.”- Josh Kristoff (USNA ‘07) In 2021, Navy veteran Josh Kristoff and his wife Kassandra (also a Navy veteran) joined longtime friends and Army veterans Jered and Carly DaCosta, to form Nomad Capital Ventures LLC, a vertically integrated group of real estate businesses that started with short-term rental properties in Jacksonville, Florida. Over the last two years, the company has grown to include in-house property management, a real estate brokerage, and a construction and design company that delivers a full-service experience for real estate investors. Today, Nomad Capital Ventures LLC has over $60M in assets under management…and they’re just getting started! In this episode, we discuss: How Josh transitioned from Surface Warfare Officer to real estate professional What Nomad Capital Ventures does and how the company is structured How to maintain healthy relationships when

“The continuous development of future leaders is something we’re big on. That’s a piece where we set ourselves apart from other companies. We spend a lot of time recruiting and finding the right resources, but when we bring you on our team we don’t care if you’ve been with us for a couple of days or a few months. If you have the right solution, we’re putting you in front of the customer…instilling that into the culture has been critical.” - Ryan Waguespack (USNA '03) Ryan Waguespack is the President and Founder of Iberia Advisory, a company he launched during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a fascinating story! Iberia Advisory is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business committed to helping federal agencies address financial management challenges. Following his military career as a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy, Ryan supported the Federal government as a financial management consultant. He has led numerous project teams and assisted organizations in attaining their goals in audit readin

“We are an outdoor furniture company that is on a mission to help people spend more time outdoors. My co-founder and I think there is something special about spending time outdoors with the ones you love. From personal experience, those are the most special memories whether it’s dining outdoors or sitting around a fire pit or even watching college football on a Saturday. If you’re doing it in an outdoor area, it just feels different.” - Alex Duncan (USMA ‘13) Alex Duncan is an Army Veteran and the Co-Founder of Outmore Living, a company on a mission to encourage people to spend more time outdoors through innovative and timeless furniture design that utlizes experience-enhancing technology to make spending time outside more comfortable and enjoyable. Founded and based in Austin, Texas, the company is on a mission to foster deeper connections between family and friends, enrich experiences through innovation, and highlight the direct relationship between outdoor spaces and well-being. In this episode, we discuss

“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

“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 th

“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

“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, fertili