When veterans end their military career, they embark on a new journey, entering civilian life and seeking career opportunities to apply their well-honed technology skills. VetsinTech (ViT) with 20 Chapters nationwide and over fifty thousand members helps veterans transition into the private sector, assisting them both as entrepreneurs or through employment that advances their careers in technology.
Based in San Francisco the non-profit hosts an annual Veteran entrepreneur pitch competition that is supported by JPMorgan Chase. On June 23rd three of five finalists were chosen as winners. Arms Cyber Defense won the $25,000 grand prize followed by CommSafe AI with $10,000 and Wealth Stack with $5,000 in third place.
“We are honored and excited to be recognized for our innovative cybersecurity solutions. The other finalists pitching tonight were outstanding, and we’re privileged to pitch alongside best-in-class, military veteran startups. Thank you to VetsInTech and JPMorgan Chase for their ongoing support and investment in military veteran startups,” said Michael Bryant, Co-Founder and CEO of Arms Cyber.
Arms Cyber (Autonomous Resilient Management Solutions) provides a proactive defense approach to mitigate IT security risks before they happen by randomizing code to stop memory corruption zero day attacks. Second place winner CommSafe AI provides a communication analysis solution designed to help companies protect their most valuable assets – their people and their IP. Wealth Stack provides a video-based investment and financial wellness platform focused on millennial and diverse communities.
VetsinTech plays an important role in gaining recognition of the contribution that veteran entrepreneurs make to the economy. Their enterprises account for approximately $1.14 trillion dollars in annual revenues. Impressively, approximately 9.1% of U.S. businesses are veteran-owned and employ more than 5 million people. The non-profit helps veterans with mentoring, skill building and networking.
According to the Kauffman Foundation veteran entrepreneurship has steadily declined from 49% at the time of WWII to just 5% today. This decline is attributed to a range of factors from lack of availability of business tools and resources to challenges in finding a mentor and accessing capital. Gaining financial resources is particularly difficult for those coming out of the military and seeking to move into entrepreneurship.
“Many don’t realize that an entrepreneurial spirit is implicit in military service—both for the service members and their spouses. Military life involves constant flexibility, organization, gaining trust in new settings, which are all critical skills for building a business,” says Mark Elliott, Managing Director and Global Head of Military and Veterans Affairs for JPMorgan Chase & Co. “We are thrilled for these winning companies and what they can bring to their industries, and we look forward to continuing to support them on the road ahead.”
Veteran entrepreneurs seeking to participate in future competitions must be either a veteran-founded business or one founded by a military spouse. Their business should focus on tech solutions relevant to financial services, including cybersecurity, AI and machine learning. A company’s diversity, equity and inclusion as well as social impact efforts are also strongly considered in the judging criteria.
Read about Rider’s Veterans Entrepreneurship Training Program returning for its Eighth Year
