United Services Automobile Association Employee PAC - USAA Employee Pac issued the following announcement on Feb. 12.
USAA welcomed a group of nearly 50 entrepreneurs to its Austin Design Studio last weekend as part of Patriot Boot Camp’s technology startup accelerator program. This is the second year the USAA has hosted the event.
Patriot Boot Camp’s focus on fulfilling careers for veterans and military spouses aligns with USAA’s commitment to serve its military members.
“Veterans are an important part of our workforce and they are a natural fit for entrepreneurship with the skills they developed in the military,” said Adm. (ret.) John Bird, USAA senior vice president of Military Affairs. “We are proud to support Patriot Boot Camp and their efforts to help connect and grow veteran entrepreneurs.”
Patriot Boot Camp is a three-day technology entrepreneurship boot camp that provides educational training and one-on-one mentoring to startup founders. USAA employees are also tapped to serve as mentors during the weekend training.
meriah-garrett-interview-patriot-boot-camp.jpg“It’s core to USAA’s mission to put military members and their families first,” said Meriah Garrett, USAA’s chief design officer. “Hosting Patriot Boot Camp at the USAA Design Studio not only helps veterans and their spouses build and sustain successful technology businesses, it allows our employees to give back by also serving as mentors.”
James “Jimi” Threet, a former Army infantry officer and co-founder of cybersecurity firm Route Tampa, was one of the veterans who attended this year’s program.
“This is actually my second time participating in Patriot Boot Camp. I attended in Denver back in September and I knew I wasn't going to miss it,” he said. “I enjoyed it so much. The amount of information I was able to gather in such a short amount of time was incredible. I had like 9 pages of notes. You can't really put a price tag on this type of information and experience.”
Patriot Boot Camp has helped over 800 entrepreneurs start successful businesses, with alumni raising over $70M in capital and creating over 1,300 jobs during its six years of operation. Patriot Boot Camp has also helped alumni companies with successful acquisitions, including GitLinks – a San Antonio alumni – acquired by Infor this past October, and MilitaryOneClick, acquired by The Secor Group in 2015.
The relationship between USAA and Patriot Boot Camp also underscores the fact that technology is the future and the importance of providing the community with resources to further their education and knowledge in the innovation space.
“USAA was founded nearly 100 years ago, built on a legacy of superior service, with a spirit of innovation and a mission to facilitate the financial security of its members,” said Harriet Dominique, USAA’s senior vice president of Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs.
“We are humbled and proud to provide support to Patriot Boot Camp to empower the next generation of military veteran and spouse entrepreneurs, and to continue our legacy of superior service, innovation and unwavering support for our military and local communities.”
Original source can be found here.
Source:
United Services Automobile Association Employee PAC - USAA Employee Pac
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