DAV Patriot Boot Camp

Empowering veterans to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams! 💥 DAV Patriot Boot Camp provides the tools, resources, and community to help veterans turn their ideas into reality. From business planning to pitching, our program equips veterans with the skills and confidence they need to succeed. #DAVPatriotBootCamp #veteranentrepreneurs #empowerment #veteranownedbusiness

Jay Taylor is an Army veteran, DAV Patriot Boot Camp alum, and the founder of Pip and Snickle. With an impressive career working various roles within banking, telecommunications, startups and IT, Jay’s latest venture, Pip and Snickle Cookie Shoppe, offers fresh baked cookie delivery based on fictional characters from a children’s book. The book tells of the adventure of Pip and Snickle as they work to create the signature cookie. It teaches life lessons about friendship, work ethic, courage and more. Jay attended #DAVPatriotBootCamp earlier this year to gain the knowledge needed to launch his book in retail stores soon. #FounderFriday #vetrepreneur #veterans

Navy veteran Claretta Webb is this week’s #FounderFriday spotlight. Claretta is a senior operating and management executive with strong domestic management experience, having founded multiple ventures in her career. This past May, she attended #DAVPatriotBootCamp to connect with mentors and network with other vetrepreneurs. The skills and experiences from that week will help her grow her latest venture, SmartOffice Corporation, a nationwide supplier of office supplies, furniture, personal protective equipment, computers and professional courses. #vetrepreneur #veterans

Introducing the #DAVPatriotBootCampFall24 cohort! To all of the participants: We hope you are motivated and enthusiastic about bringing the knowledge, skills, and ideas you’ve gained over the past week with you into your entrepreneurial endeavors. A huge thank you to all of our participants, mentors, speakers and our hosts, Cooley LLP!

It's hard to believe that the #DAVPatriotBootCampFall24 has come to a close. We are excited to witness our patriotic founders succeeding as they utilize the knowledge gained this week on their entrepreneurial endeavors. On the final day of this boot camp, participants engaged in a live pitch competition where each participant was given 2 minutes to present their pitch and 2 minutes to address questions from a panel of judges. Three finalists were selected to compete in the upcoming DAV Patriot Pitch competition, which will be broadcasted virtually on our social media platforms in the coming weeks.

Vetrepreneur and Hurricane Helene victim attends DAV Patriot Boot Camp Frederick Griffin is a veteran business owner from Augusta, Georgia. When Hurricane Helene hit his community, he was without power for eight days. After connecting with DAV, he received a relief check that allowed him to replace spoiled food in his home and purchase other supplies. It even saved him from missing out on attending DAV Patriot Boot Camp this week. To make a direct donation to DAV’s disaster relief efforts, please visit https://dav.la/3XERr0s.

Today is the day where all of the knowledge and advice our #DAVPatriotBootCampFall24 cohort has gained over the past few days comes together! We still have half a day of programming before sending our founders back to their communities to apply what they’ve learned. Day 3 consists of entrepreneurs learning more about DAV and preparing to compete for prizes in a live pitch competition, where they will give a 2 minute pitch to a panel of judges. Three chosen finalists will go on to compete in DAV Patriot’s Pitch, hosted via social networks to win cash prizes. 8:00 – Welcome to the DAV Community w/ Dan Clare (DAV, Chief Communications and Outreach Officer) 9:15 – Pitch Contest 11:00 – Where To Go From Here panel discussion w/ moderator Ray Antonino (Permits.com, CEO) 11:45 – Program Wrap-Up 12:00 – Lunch 12:45 – Class Dismissed!

As our patriotic founders continue to network and connect with each other at our DAV Patriot Boot Camp event this week, we are reminded of the valuable collaborations that take place during these events. Not only are participants sharing their past successes and lessons learned, but they are also forging connections that will benefit both themselves and the communities they serve as entrepreneurs. Tonight, our cohort will be attending a community networking event at DAV’s National Legislative Headquarters where they can continue to collaborate on ideas and strategies before returning for our final day tomorrow. #DAVPatriotBootCampFall24

Sponsor Spotlight: Welcome back to DAV Patriot Boot Camp’s Fall 2024 event! Today we’re joined by Dewie Vieira, Director of Military and Government Sales at CaptionCall by Sorenson, who is sponsoring part of the event this week. During the interview, Dewie and DAV’s Chief Communications and Outreach Officer Dan Clare discuss why captioning services are important to the veteran community, Sorenson’s Sound Off Project, and why they support the DAV Patriot Boot Camp program.

With Day 1 of #DAVPatriotBootCampFall24 under our belts, our vetrepreneurs have another exciting day packed with pitch workshops and rehearsal, as well as mentor sessions. Check out today’s agenda: 8:00 – Welcome 8:15 – Ramp Up To Procurement w/ Anthony Closson (Colossal Contracting LLC, CEO) Pitch, Ask, Give w/ Nick Brophy (DAV Patriot Boot Camp, Director) 10:00 – Mentor Matching Kickoff 10:30 – One on One Mentor Sessions 12:30 – Lunch 1: 30 – One on One Mentor Sessions 3:30 – Group Photo 4:00 – Pitch, Ask, Give 6:00 – Community Networking Event at DAV Washington, D.C. Headquarters