The Commander's Brief

I started the year with rules for myself:

1. Have fun

2. Build cool stuff

3. Get the pebble out of my shoe

The last one means “If something is annoying you regularly, do something about it.”

Examples:

• I got sick of paying for my calendar scheduling app (Calendly) and found a new one- TidyCal. It was a one-time cost of $39. Done.

• I get contacted all the time by recruiters wanting to find veterans. I am saying no to everybody to fully support two that I care about and are actually good, Shift Group and my friend Christian who runs Uncommon Elite.

• I decided Wednesdays and Sundays are my day to trim my beard. If I miss it, I just wait until the next.

Here is a project I am building I am really excited about: Tech Stacks.

It’s a way for founders, digital entrepreneurs, and online creators to share the software that they use to run their businesses. It’s a way to create trust and transparency with their users. I make money on affiliate sales of the tech they share.

It’s not ready yet, but you can join the waitlist here.

Veteran Business of the Week: Folla Capital

Folla Capital is run by John Panaccione. He is an army veteran who has started a few companies and co-founded VettoCEO (one of my favorite organizations for veterans interested in entrepreneurship).

You can find my podcast with John here.

What does Folla Capital do?

“Folla Capital helps small businesses raise capital and provides general investment banking advisory services for startups, active businesses, and those involved in mergers and acquisitions.”

My recent podcast, which just dropped yesterday, features a pair of guys who are both combat veterans, and veterans of the video game industry. They are starting a video game studio to bring their experiences from the military into video games in more authentic ways. Not in a lame, “see the guy salute on camera” kind of way, but “how can we incorporate effective supporting fire to better enhance a flanking element’s maneuver?” kid of way.

Right now, they are actually fundraising via Folla Capital, which is really cool. You can learn more about buying a piece of their company here.

This is where I need to say that I am not a registered investment advisor and this is only for informational purposes. Don’t be an idiot- I’m just a guy on the internet.

Resource of The Week: Shift Group

Ok, I have mentioned these guys a few times already and recently used them as a resource, so I am cheating a bit here.

Here is why I bring them up again:

In the last week or so, I have been contacted by a number of veterans who were laid off because of the job cuts in the federal government.

Despite making up 6% of the overall population, veterans are 30% of the federal workforce, so these cuts are disproportionately hitting veterans.

This isn’t political commentary, this is a fact.

Right now a lot of veterans are scrambling to figure out what they are going to do for work and I think Shift is one of the best groups out there.

• 1,000+ veterans and athletes placed

• 300+ hiring partners

• 9 months average time to promotion for new placements, compared to an average of 18 months

And the stat that sealed this for me, they have <5% attrition compared to an industry average of 35%.

They are just REALLY good at placing people in the right job.

So if you are affected by these layoffs or know someone who is, send them to Shift.

Business Idea: Fractional Investor Relations

I’ve done a tiny amount of startup investing and it has always blown me away how easily someone will take your investment and then never communicate with you again.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it was a scam or they are stealing from you, it mainly just means that they are really freaking busy trying to build whatever you invested in.

Here’s the other problem: a lot of founders and fund managers suck at writing. They are coders or finance nerds, not writers.

And everyone loses here. Investors WANT to help. They WANT to know what is going on so they can assist. They invested in this and want to be a part of it. So by keeping them out of the loop, no one wins.

So my solution: a paid service where people hire you to write monthly or quarterly updates for their investors.

Here is how I would do it:

1. Get read-only access to their accounting software so you can analyze financials. You do not need to be a CPA, just measure revenue, expenses, MoM (month over month) growth, and profit.

2. Once a month or quarter, schedule a 45-minute phone call with the founder or fund manager. Use a note-taking app and interview them about how the last month went. Take the transcript and turn it into a professional update to send to their investors.

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Go crush it,

Mark

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Disclaimer: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All averages presented are based on historical data and may not reflect individual outcomes. Actual results may vary based on specific circumstances. There are affiliate links here.