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The Journey is back for another season!Season 8 focuses on the stories of veterans-turned-entrepreneurs. We’ll dive into the backgrounds of men and women who chose to dedicate themselves to service to their country, and then took on another difficult role when they re-entered civilian life and became entrepreneurs, business owners, and CEOs. Episode 1 of Season 8 drops on Veteran’s Day, November 11, with a new episode releasing every Wednesday thereafter. Subscribe and enjoy!

Season 8: The Inspiring Stories of Veterans-Turned-Entrepreneurs

The founding story for any company is comparable to that of a great sports story: It typically features inspiring mentors, classic fumbles and recoveries, and of course, a team that has your back through it all.That’s why today’s episode of The Journey is a little bit different. Rather than showcase the success of one small business entrepreneur... you’ll hear from three:<ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinebperez/">Kate Perez</a>, Merivis Co-Founder & Executive Director</li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectorperezjr/">Hector Perez</a>, Merivis Founder & Past Board Chair</li><li>And <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joehcastrojr/">Joe Castro</a>, Merivis Co-Founder & Current Board Chair</li></ul>Kate, Hector, and Joe are the founding team of Merivis, a nonprofit veteran service organization that trains veterans and military spouses for competitive careers in tech.The trio has always been determined to build something that makes an impact, but there’s one thing they could have never predicted: That Merivis would be the catalyst for building a community almost as close as family.--Learn more about The Journey at <a href="http://bit.ly/2Sytqsv">mission.org/thejourney</a>.The Journey is sponsored by our friends at Salesforce Essentials. We use Salesforce Essentials every day and it’s part of our own business journey. Essentials combines sales and service tools in a single app to help small businesses win customers and keep them happy. See how Salesforce Essentials can help you be your best business at <a href="https://sforce.co/2PIGlFf">salesforce.com/thejourney</a>.

It Takes an Ohana: A Conversation with the Founding Team of Merivis

Imagine this. You’ve been working your way up inside an organization for 20 years. Your kids go to school on the company campus. Your spouse works on campus. You go shopping, get gas, grab coffee, walk your dog, and essentially live, work, and play all on campus.And then, imagine, 2 decades in, leaving behind that “campus,” your career, and the entire community you are familiar with. That’s the shocking reality thousands of military families face every year. And while transitioning back into the civilian world can be an exciting time, the stress of finding a new career path is almost unavoidable.“Traditional sourcing tools were fundamentally not designed for non-traditional talent. They make non-traditional talent invisible. They make people with non-traditional backgrounds confusing to understand because you have to piece together their story.”That’s Mike Slagh, a Navy veteran and founder and CEO of Shfit.org.Mike’s all too familiar with the hardships that come with transitioning from military to civilian life... he’s both done it himself and helped hundreds of others find their footing through the process. And it’s because he’s seen it first hand so many times that he knows that that process is long past due for an upgrade.--Learn more about The Journey at <a href="http://bit.ly/2Sytqsv">mission.org/thejourney</a>.The Journey is sponsored by our friends at Salesforce Essentials. We use Salesforce Essentials every day and it’s part of our own business journey. Essentials combines sales and service tools in a single app to help small businesses win customers and keep them happy. See how Salesforce Essentials can help you be your best business at <a href="https://sforce.co/2PIGlFf">salesforce.com/thejourney</a>.

Mike Slagh

Navy Veteran & Founder of Shift.org

Reinventing Yourself with Mike Slagh, CEO of Shift.org

What if business can, at its core, be philanthropic? What if everything a business does is entirely derived from the motivation to do good?"We separate this idea of business and doing good in the world as two things that cannot be compatible with each other, but I think ... they can both exist. They should both exist together. You don't have to separate them. You shouldn't separate them. You can think about them as one. "That’s Jesse Grothaus, an Army Veteran and the founder and CEO of Cloud Pathfinder Consulting.Jesse has spent the last three years building a company that brings to life the idea that doing business and doing good do not — and should not — exist apart from one another. As he’s built his business, he has found that his philanthropic mission has helped guide him through many of the problems entrepreneurs typically face — from hiring, to retention, to securing the next contract.--Learn more about The Journey at <a href="http://bit.ly/2Sytqsv">mission.org/thejourney</a>.The Journey is sponsored by our friends at Salesforce Essentials. We use Salesforce Essentials every day and it’s part of our own business journey. Essentials combines sales and service tools in a single app to help small businesses win customers and keep them happy. See how Salesforce Essentials can help you be your best business at <a href="https://sforce.co/2PIGlFf">salesforce.com/thejourney</a>.

Jesse Grothaus

Army Veteran & CEO of Cloud Pathfinder Consulting

Impact-Driven Business with Jesse Grothaus, CEO of Cloud Pathfinder Consulting

You have a great idea for a product. It’s revolutionary, and it’s a project you need to bring to life. So, how do you build it?Unless you plan to handcraft every product, your next step is to perfect the design and then find a manufacturer to mass-produce it for you.But even when you find that “perfect” manufacturing partner, you still might want to hold your breath. All it takes is one bad shipment for you to be out of cash, out of product, and back at the drawing board.“We went to reorder more product.. and I don't know why they even sent what they sent, but the products were mangled. On the outside, it looked fine, but if you looked inside, the pouches were sideways and upside down [and] completely ridiculously unsellable.”That’s Robert Patton, an Army veteran and the founder of SHEATH Underwear. He has faced one manufacturing misstep after another. And while each stumble was tough to swallow — financially and personally — he’s persevered through the hard times, learned from failure, perfected his processes, and built a business that is growing every day.--Learn more about The Journey at <a href="http://bit.ly/2Sytqsv">mission.org/thejourney</a>.The Journey is sponsored by our friends at Salesforce Essentials. We use Salesforce Essentials every day and it’s part of our own business journey. Essentials combines sales and service tools in a single app to help small businesses win customers and keep them happy. See how Salesforce Essentials can help you be your best business at <a href="https://sforce.co/2PIGlFf">salesforce.com/thejourney</a>.

Robert Patton

Army Veteran & Founder of SHEATH Underwear

Getting to Market with Robert Patton, Founder of Sheath Underwear

It’s no hidden truth that the lifestyle of an entrepreneur is in most ways a gamble. You’re risking finances, personal relationships, and often your own mental well-being. Yet it’s this BIG bet that so many smart, driven people are willing to make -- and it’s a gamble that today’s guest was willing to make more than once.“There was doubt of being like, can I handle two products? And if I look back at my life, that was probably one of the best decisions… Listen to the market. What is the market telling you? Because I assure you, whatever you assume is not going to be right in some way, shape, or form.”That’s Marissa Limsiaco, first the President and Co-Founder of Tenavox, and second the President and Co-Founder of Otso. She’s a West Point graduate and an Army veteran. And now, as an entrepreneur, Marissa has spent years in the weeds of product development, finding market fit, growing sales, and planning for expansion. She’s no novice to business and no stranger to hard work. But she will be the first to tell you that there’s absolutely no fighting the market. No amount of work will turn passion into dollars if the business model isn’t there. But on the flip side, when the market is telling you there is a need, your potential success can be limitless.--Learn more about The Journey at <a href="http://bit.ly/2Sytqsv">mission.org/thejourney</a>.The Journey is sponsored by our friends at Salesforce Essentials. We use Salesforce Essentials every day and it’s part of our own business journey. Essentials combines sales and service tools in a single app to help small businesses win customers and keep them happy. See how Salesforce Essentials can help you be your best business at <a href="https://sforce.co/2PIGlFf">salesforce.com/thejourney</a>.

Marissa Limsiaco

West Point Grad & Army Veteran

Taking the Pulse of the Market with Marissa Limsiaco, Co-founder and President of Otso

When building a business, it is easy to be blinded by the big, flashy measures of success. And when your heart and mind are set on acquiring more customers, getting more investors, hiring more people, and scaling the business as fast as possible… you can quickly lose sight of the daily wins that lead to lasting growth with higher impact."Defining successes is fairly simple for us. The first step of that is number one, we have to operate safely. If we're not operating safely, we will not have customers. ... The next thing we have to do is make sure that people are happy. How do we make sure that people are happy? Listen to them, understand their needs, be compassionate, and empathetic to what's going on in their world, and make sure to be there."That’s Glenn Gonzales, an Air Force Academy graduate, a Lt Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, and the founder and CEO of Jet It, a hybrid ownership program that provides customers with access to round-the-clock private travel.In Glenn’s 40 years of aviation experience, he’s learned that finding long-term success isn’t about scaling and scaling fast, it’s about staying true to your core values and focusing on delivering an amazing customer experience, one plane ride at a time.

Glenn Gonzales

Founder of Jet It

Success, One Customer at a Time with Glenn Gonzales, Founder and CEO of Jet It

It only takes one idea or one story to change the whole trajectory of your life, career, and work. In each episode of The Journey, we talk to entrepreneurs of all stripes, so you can prime yourself with the knowledge and mindset you need for your own journey.

Season 8: The Inspiring Stories of Veterans-Turned-Entrepreneurs

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