Reborn, reunited and refueled First DAV Patriot Boot Camp event welcomes back alumni bonded by business and service By Elizabeth DePompei
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s the co-founder and CEO of a tech startup, Air Force veteran Robert Thelen knows what it means to work long, hard days. He’s heard no more often than yes, and while he’s had plenty of successes, he’s familiar with failure, too. “It’s easy to get really, really low on fumes,” said Thelen, whose company, Rownd, helps businesses register and retain more users through frictionless sign-in across their websites and apps. But for Thelen and hundreds of entrepreneurs in the military and veteran community, there’s one place they know they can always go to refuel: DAV Patriot Boot Camp. “This is our recharge. It’s our topping off of the tank,” Thelen said during the first boot camp of its kind at DAV National Headquarters in Erlanger, Kentucky. “You top the tank off with the fellowship, with the mentorship, with this ability to be around other entrepreneurs, to be around amazing speakers that just inspire you to get back out there and do it again.” Founded in 2012, Patriot Boot Camp provides training, networking and mentorship for current and future business owners in the military and veteran community. More than 1,000 alumni have raised
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over $150 million in venture capital and employ over 1,900 people. DAV acquired the charity in January, significantly expanding the organization’s mission to help veterans build meaningful, fulfilling lives after service. In July, 13 alumni reunited for the first-ever DAV Patriot Boot Camp event. Over the course of two days, participants were connected with investors, subject matter experts and mentors. The boot camp ended with a pitch contest. Some alumni, including Thelen, returned in different capacities, serving as speakers, panelists and mentors. That spirit of coming back to give back is ingrained in the program’s culture and part of its mantra: “Pitch, ask, give.” Participants are bonded by sharing their ventures, telling others in their cohort where they need help and sharing what they may be able to do to assist one another. “What that means is that everyone embraces sharing of their network and their resources when someone else asks for help—without an expectation of something in return,” said Taylor McLemore, one of the original founders of Patriot Boot Camp and co-chair of DAV’s National Veterans Entrepreneurship Council. “And the beautiful thing that happens is that when everyone does this, what you feel that you've