Good morning, Vetrepreneur!

Happy Independence Day.

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In the crosshairs: Jeffrey Jones​

Sometimes, you need a 'wake-up' moment to get your life on track.

Jeff grew up in Southern California, living the good life in Manhattan Beach. Despite coming from a strong military background, he had little interest in joining the service. He had a good thing going and laughed at the idea when the option came up.

That is, until he got kicked off the college tennis team.

And then flunked out of college.

When he came home for Christmas and asked his dad, "What are we going to do?", his dad's response was "there is no 'we'. You're 20 years old". But he did offer a solution.

The next morning at promptly 7:59am, after making Jeff a homemade breakfast of bacon, eggs, and fresh squeezed orange juice, his dad dropped him off in front of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps recruiting station.

"Pick one".

Typical military – you just wind us up and point us, and we just go do it.

Jeff served four years and two deployments with SEAL Team One in the '80s. What stood out the most from that experience was the mentorship and creativity of the operators. These guys simply figured things out and taught others how.

Like when he first learned about fast roping.

Team One had a former SEAL Team Six Master Chief. One day he brought everyone to the parachute loft, threw some mattresses on the floor, and hung a 1.5in rope from the rafters. "This is the way of the future", he said. They spent the day rehearsing in the loft before doing it live from a CH-53 (not pictured above) the next day.

Jeff has carried that innovative spirit with him his entire post-military career.

And it's been a very unorthodox career for a veteran, especially for a SEAL. After a short stint with the State Department, which would have led him to a quick divorce with the expected deployment cycle, he was told Abbott Laboratories had a new program focused on hiring veterans.

A brief interview with a former Army Major later, he found himself in a career in biotech.

To be clear, while SEALs are trained in a variety of disciplines to be successful on the battlefield, there is zero training in Molecular Diagnostics. Yet, this is where his new path led him. It was again because of mentors and being an innovative individual that he not only survived, but thrived.

From 1992-2019, Jeff built a noteworthy career in the rapidly expanding biotech industry, taking him all over the country and a couple brief stints to the Netherlands and Italy. He rose from a diagnostics specialist all the way to Chief Commercial Officer before another pivoting moment happened in his life.

In 2019, just before COVID threw the world a curveball, Jeff's position - along with the entire C-suite - was wiped out when the company restructured. This left him searching for a new role at a time when there was a good amount of uncertainty in the industry. Finding something was becoming increasingly difficult.

He noticed he kept getting asked to consult on different projects, product developments, and COVID tests.

Instead of fighting against the friction he was facing, he took advantage of the opportunity. He went into this idea with zero entrepreneurial experience, armed only with a figure-it-out mentality.

A company asked him to send over his COI. He Googled "COI" - certificate of insurance - and quickly got business insurance before sending his policy over.

Another business asked for his corporate status, so he turned to his accountant who applied for his business to become an S-Corp.

A potential client asked to see his website to show their CEO. He burned through the weekend building a website on GoDaddy.

Then business picked up and he needed other consultants to support his services. This required him to get payroll through ADP.

And before long, he realized he had a functioning business: The Deerborne Group. This wasn't a planned venture, perfectly executed. This was an accidental opportunity he was able to capitalize on by being creative, innovative, and willing to take calculated risk.

SEALs and other special operators aren't successful because they have all the information and execute a perfect plan. They're successful because they have strong foundational knowledge and are comfortable reading and reacting to the situations when they arrive.

This is exactly what Jeff did with his company.

1. He understood the industry.
2. He knew what other successful companies had done before.
3. He saw an opportunity to provide value in a rapidly changing industry.
4. He formed the different business functions and scaled his team as he went.

This is the epitome of being an entrepreneur. You're not going into business with all your problems solved. You often don't even know what all your problems are.

You go into it with the mentality that no matter what, you'll figure things out.

His final piece of advice to veterans getting into business is on building the right team:

Being adaptable, finding creative solutions, and building the right team.

With these, any problem that arises can be solved.

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Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs): Embracing Failure

Embracing failure is not an easy task.

It goes against our instincts to avoid failure at all costs.

But in the realm of entrepreneurship, failure is not the end—it's a valuable stepping stone toward success. And for military veterans transitioning into the business world, embracing your failures takes on a special significance.

Your unique experiences and skills make you well-equipped to navigate the unpredictable terrain of entrepreneurship.

Let's explore three key themes where military veterans can draw valuable lessons from their encounters with failure.

Theme 1: Resilience and Adaptability

In the military, resilience and adaptability are paramount. You have faced challenging situations that demand quick thinking, mental toughness, and the ability to bounce back from setbacks.

• Complex ambushes
• Unexpected weather
• Follow-on target assignments

These qualities are equally crucial in entrepreneurship.

When faced with failure, you can draw on your trained ability to regroup, reassess your strategy, and pivot in a new direction. You have the mental fortitude to embrace change and adapt your approaches until you find the winning formula.

Theme 2: Problem-solving and Decision-making Skills

Military training instills a powerful set of problem-solving and decision-making skills in you. In the face of adversity, you've learned to remain calm, analyze complex situations, and make critical decisions under pressure.

This ability to navigate high-stakes environments translates seamlessly into the world of entrepreneurship.

When confronted with failure, you can leverage your problem-solving skills to:

• identify the root causes
• devise innovative solutions
• steer your business towards success

Your knack for making informed decisions in challenging circumstances sets you apart in the business world.

Theme 3: Learning from Failure: Adapting and Innovating

Failure is not the end of the road for you—it's a catalyst for growth and innovation. Your experiences have taught you that setbacks are not permanent roadblocks but valuable opportunities to learn, adapt, and innovate.

By embracing failure, you can harness your entrepreneurial spirit to transform setbacks into stepping stones.

You have a unique ability to pivot your strategies, think outside the box, and leverage your knowledge gained from failures to fuel innovation.

In the face of adversity, you will rise to the challenge, armed with the valuable lessons learned from your encounters with failure.

Embracing failure is a mindset that empowers you in your entrepreneurial pursuits. Resilience, adaptability, problem-solving skills, and the ability to learn from failure are invaluable traits that you bring to the business world.

By drawing upon your unique experiences, you can transform failures into growth opportunities.

So, fellow veteran, remember that failure is not something to be feared—it's a stepping stone on the path to success. Embrace it, learn from it, and let it propel you forward.

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If you enjoyed this and you need help starting or growing your business, there are a few ways I can help.

​​Business Plan Development Guide:​ Starting a company without a business plan is like constructing a house without a blueprint - you won't know what you're building or where you're going. Use this step-by-step guide to make sure you have a deep understanding of your environment and how you'll succeed.

​​Business Pre-Flight Checklist:​ Having a checklist to walk you through each step of the entrepreneurial process will turn the daunting idea of starting a business into a series of manageable tasks.

​​One-on-One Coaching:​ Accountability, experience, and honest guidance. If you're needing help getting started or your growth has stalled, please schedule a free introductory call to see how I can best support your goals.