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Page4 • 2016 FALL TRANSITION GUIDE •

PUTTING VETS ON THE PATH TO "We help people develop skills

to excel in technical careers; but paying tuition isn't easy for every­one:' said Casimir. "The Post-9/11 GI Bill helps veterans and their families access our program and join the tech industry:' ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Colorado-based program aims to help transitioning military members land on their feet and find careers in technology

Casimir shares that the GI Bill provides access to military spouses while their partners are on deploy­ment. "We know that transition back to civilian life can be tough, but if your spouse is learning to code while you're away, and lands a great job, that can help an entire family become more established and secure. Veterans can then re­turn to a household that's uplifted and productive:'

By Gordon Bronson, Sewald Hanfling Public Affairs Director of Strategic Communications,

and Gigi Sukin, Colorado Biz Magazine Editor

Readjusting to civilian life tors with the resources they need:' comes with inevitable twists and turns. An unswerving challenge that servicemembers returning to American soil frequently reflect upon is that private sector hiring managers struggle to fully grasp the skills developed in the military and how they relate to expecta­tions in a civilian-led company. As a result, new community-led initiatives are springing up around the country, aimed at aiding this process and connecting the vet­eran community across disciplines to provide tools to get them back in the economy.

Banded in a new mission to help veterans seeking jobs in tech or to launch companies, a group in Colorado decided to develop a new community resource. Part­nered with the Downtown Denver Partnership, leaders from startups including Hyprloco, accelerated learning programs such as Skill Distillery and the Turing School of Software & Design, as well as veteran-focused accelerator Patriot Boot Camp, they piloted an unprecedented veterans resource. Dubbed the Colorado Alliance of Veteran Entrepreneurs (CAVE), the group is building a coalition to provide veterans with critical tools to make transition into the civilian workforce easier.

With the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by six active military bases, Colorado is home to one of the highest concentrations of veterans in the country. Countless soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines complete their tours of duty and exit the military, returning to the state each month. In all, nearly half a million veterans reside in Colo­rado, scattered across the state. These servicemembers have launched scores of new businesses and found their ways to leader­ship roles in many prominent local companies.

Kate Barton, of DDP and the Commons on Champa - the local public campus for entrepreneurs - is leading the effort to growCAVE and assist local veterans."We are thrilled to support thisinitiative to help create viablepaths for veterans to gain accessto resources and continue theirjourney toward economic viabilitythrough the lens of entrepreneur­ship;' Barton said. "We believe in democratizing entrepreneurshipand understand that throughprograms like CAVE we can helpachieve our mission of connectingour diverse community of innova-

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

As technology continues to infiltrate every element of the economy, accelerated training programs have popped up to in­struct individuals, propelling them into high-skilled jobs. Recognizing the large veteran population and a need to employ these individu­als, boot camp-style programs have popped up and targeted former military members, recruit­ing this subset of the population into fast-tracked tech-education courses and jump-starting their new careers. With nearly 100 boot camps across the U.S. and nearly a dozen in Colorado today, the VA has approved a handful of Front Range-based programs to accept GI Bill benefits.

With the financial incentive, these programs offer a multitude of coding languages that lend themselves to work in high-tech jobs.

UNCOVERING AND SUPPORTING

A NICHE AND A NEED

"For us, the decision was simple;' explained Cole Frock, school direc­tor at Greenwood Village-based Skill Distillery. "We have been training people to obtain IT skills for more than two decades. Cor­porations usually pay for that kind of training, but when we launched a public-facing, Java-intensive boot camp, we could invite a more diverse group of students to take advantage of this opportunity if we could offer financial tools. The GI Bill has brought some of our most outstanding graduates through the program:'

In an attempt to uncover and support specific industry needs, Frock discovered that individuals in possession of security clearance were in high demand, given the extensive defense and security­related infrastructure in the state.

"We have found that Java train­ing, plus a clearance, is a combi­nation that opens a lot of doors:' Frock said. Skill Distillery was approved to accept the GI Bill in early 2015, and has been actively involved in supporting the veteran community, hosting events and meetups for those working in cor­porations and startups alike.

Jeff Casimir, founder of Denver­based Turing School, was no stranger to teaching veterans to become coders. Former mili-tary members had already been

�AVE Colorado Alliance for veteran Entrepreneurship

presented by:

COMMONS

through their seven-month computer programming school, paying full tuition before Turing gained access to the GI Bill.

STARTING UP VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS

Patriot Boot Camp - a Tech­stars-affiliated nonprofit on a mis­sion to equip active-duty military

Members of the Colorado Alliance for Veteran Entrepreneurship participate in a forum at Denver Startup week. From left are Gordon Bronson, mod­erator, Cole Frock, Skill Distillery, Erik Thompson, Zayo Group, George Hudson, Turing School Alumni, and Nie Gray, Hyprloco. (Photo courtesy of Colorado Alliance for Veteran Entrepreneurship)

WWW.UNOH.EDU 419.998.3120 LIMA, OH

Thursday, November 17, 2016

members, vets and their spouses with education, resources and community to become successful tech entrepreneurs - has, since launching in 2012, provided a sizable concentration of mentors, sponsors and supporters.

"Denver has provided fertile ground for what is most important to Patriot Boot Camp: a culture of opportunity, resilience, inventive­ness, respect, and a deep passion for business-building;' said Josh Anderson, PBC Development Director and one of CAVE's found­ing members. "When we made the strategic decision to pivot away from the program-as-a-roadshow, and put down roots in a communi­ty as our operating and curricular hub, it was not a difficult decision: Denver was the natural choice:'

Anderson continued by say-ing that there is much work to be achieved and CAVE provides a set of tools to ensure Denver becomes the best place in America for veter­ans to build their businesses.

With that in mind, Nie Gray, a founding member of CAVE, an Army veteran, and the CEO of Hy­prloco, says the lack of resources and reinforcement has left this population largely underserved. However, he maintains hope.

"The VA can't be the only option to help vets figure out a successful transition:' Gray said.

"My path was rocky, to say the least, and it took me a long time to figure out how to navigate life after the service. The most critical time for a veteran is the first year to 18 months, and our mission with CAVE is to offer critical sup­port and access to resources in that time and beyond:'