Q&A with Derren Burrell of Veteran Ventures Capital

Veterans have a long precedence of leading businesses and disrupting technologies in the US economy. Examples include Sam Walton (Walmart), Fred Smith (Fed Ex), Jack Taylor (Enterprise), Ken Hicks (Footlocker), Richard Kinder (Kinder Morgan), Gail Linger (RE/MAX), and list goes on. Statistics show that veterans start more businesses and generate more revenue than their non-veteran counterparts. The military invests billions in developing our nation's leaders utilizing leading-edge technology and private education. The attributes developed in the military mirror the characteristics of Fortune 500 CEOs. When the veteran transition into the private sector, they have billions invested in them, and investors can leverage this investment by participating in VVC's Veteran Fund I.

Our main differentiators are people and dealflow. We have a veteran team with deep expertise at the intersection of private capital and security. Our people have an exceptional track record in private enterprise with multiple billion dollar exits. We also have decades as public servants at highest leadership levels in government (all the way to the White House). Furthermore, we have a strong expertise in garnering non-dilutive funding for our portfolio companies through our knowledge of the government procurement/grant process. Veteran Ventures has secured over $1,600,000 in non-dilutive funding on top of our equity investments in our current portfolio firms. This is a major de-risking value-add for our vetrepreneurs and investor base.

Secondly, our dealflow is quite unique: cross referencing government and quasi-government groups, military-centric partnerships, and our private network gives us a deal pipeline unlike any you'll find. Finally, the market opportunity is huge: veteran leadership has set the precedence and been the backbone of our country for 70+ years (founders like Wal-Mart, FedEx, U-Haul, Kinder Morgan, RE/MAX, GoDaddy, Enterprise, etc., the list goes on). The government invests billions in developing our military: now with greater technology, greater investment from the government, and greater educational opportunities -- this leadership is more poised than ever to take businesses to the next level. They just need the proper access to capital, as veteran businesses are 30% less likely to receive venture capital even though they outearn their non-veteran counterparts. Veteran Ventures Capital's primary mission is to give them a level playing field by providing the growth equity to scale operations and disrupt private industry.

The military embodies diversity in action, and when they transition veterans exemplify this attribute in the businesses they run. Throughout their careers, the veteran will serve under leaders without regard to gender, ethnic background, and social-economic status. The military promotes leaders based primarily on one attribute -- EXECUTION. Can you accomplish the mission? This gives us a unique double-bottom impact of supporting an underrepresented group (veterans) while potentially achieving outsized returns you can be proud of. Think for a moment: who does the nation turn to in moments of crisis? Whether a conflict, a natural disaster, or even a pandemic? The military! Think of the training, the constant poise under pressure, the dynamics of working in a time-constrained environment, the constant adapting/overcoming (business refers to this as “pivoting”) – the veteran is used to leading on the battlefield without regard to a race/gender/ethnic bias. When you invest in Veteran Ventures Capital's Veteran Fund I, we give access to this double-bottom impact.