Michele Markey Kauffman FastTrac presentation to TechStars Patriot Boot Camp 7.18.2012

1. The Veteran Entrepreneur:
Transitioning Military Skills to
Business Success
Michele Markey, Vice President, Kauffman FastTrac
July 18, 2012

2. “You should not choose to be a
common company. It’s your right to
be uncommon if you can. You seek
opportunity to compete. You desire
to take the calculated risk, to
dream, to build, yes, even to fail,
and to succeed.”
- Ewing Marion Kauffman
January 1993

3. E.M. Kauffman Foundation
 The United States’ largest private funder of economic research focused
on innovation
 A network of networks: a global ecosystem of
entrepreneurs, universities, angel investors, venture
capitalists, policymakers, researchers
 The objective source for information and resources regarding
innovation, economic growth and entrepreneurial ventures

4. High Growth Entrepreneurs =
Economic Recovery
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5. What Is FastTrac?
FastTrac:
 Is a business development program designed to help
entrepreneurs hone the skills needed to create,
manage and grow a successful business
 Fosters an environment that allows individuals to
pursue their dream of organizing and operating a
business, creating jobs and growing the economy

6. What Is FastTrac?
FastTrac:
 Utilizes best practices in entrepreneurial leadership and
engages participants in a facilitated, adult learning
environment
 Provides ongoing source of valuable networking and
mentoring opportunities

7. Kauffman FastTrac Sketchbook
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8. Why Jobs Matter
• Roughly 600,000 new firms are formed every year in America: about one
per minute
• New and young companies and the entrepreneurs that create them are
the engines of job creation and eventual economic recovery
• Ninety-two percent of Americans say entrepreneurs are critically
important to job creation; 75 percent think the United States cannot have
a sustained economic recovery without another burst of entrepreneurial
activity

9. The Veteran Entrepreneur
U.S military veterans own an estimated 2.4 million businesses, which accounts for 9.0
percent of all businesses nationwide
These businesses employ 5.8 million people and their payrolls total $210 billion
Veteran owned businesses generate $1.2 trillion in sales annually
Nearly one-third of Veteran owned businesses are in the professional, scientific and
technical services and construction sector
Veteran owned businesses are a growing part of the U.S. economy. In 2012,as more
and more military transition back to civilian life these numbers are certain to grow
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10. FastTrac Veterans Supplement
– FastTrac for the Veteran Entrepreneur
• Topics include Networking, Leadership, Veteran Specific
Benefits and doing Business with the Government
• Pilots in KC, San Diego, Washington, Houston, Dover, DE, Fort
Bragg as well a four online sessions.

11. How has your military background
prepared you for success as a
business owner?
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12. Coffee – Lunch – Coffee
• Networking is not an event… it is a way of life!
• Intentional networking – Leveraging your existing network/expanding to
include new contacts
• Get connected… connect others
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13. People You Know in the Community
• Create a broad list of your contacts.
• What are your current networking activities? To what
groups/organizations do you belong? What events do you attend?
• How can you increase networking opportunities in the organizations or
groups to which already belong?
• Identify groups or organizations that offer the potential to expand and
build a business network.
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14. People Who Want to Know
in the Community
• Create a list of people you want to know.
• What groups or organizations can you join to expand your professional
network and further your firm’s interests?
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15. Companies You Admire and
Want to Get to Know
• Create a list of people you want to know.
• What groups or organizations can you join to expand your professional
network and further your firm’s interests?
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16. Companies You Admire and
Want to Get to Know
• Create your company description and characteristics list.
• Which groups, organizations, or functions identified above offer the
greatest potential for you to meet and develop relationships with
individuals who can be helpful to you in growing your business?
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17. Top 20 List:
What is Most Important to You?
• “…important to me in my business…”
• “…important to me in order to generate more sales…”
• “…important to me as I look for ways to get involved in my community…”
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18. Ready, Set, NETWORK!
1. Nametag on the right 6. Stand by the food/bar
2. Restate their name 7. Think quality vs. quantity
3. Share/Get 8. Write on the business cards
4. “Questions are the creative acts 9. It’s not who you know…
of intelligence” it’s who knows you
5. The early bird catches the 10. Don’t say, “fine.”
connections
11. BONUS: The power of a hand-
written note
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19. Contact Information
Michele Markey
Vice President
Kauffman FastTrac, Inc.
4801 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110
(816) 932-1258
mmarkey@fasttrac.org
www.fasttrac.org
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