For two years, Bunker Labs’ Transition Podcast has been demystifying the entrepreneurial journey for veteran and military spouse founders. Thanks to generous support from the MetLife Foundation, host “Iron” Mike can reach out to real entrepreneurs and talk about their triumphs, tragedies, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re looking back at some of Mike’s favorite interviews with Latinx entrepreneurs.

Anthony Garcia
Army Veteran & Founder & CEO of Purepost, Inc.

Listen Today: Finding Customers You Enjoy Serving

Purepost is a cloud-based software company that translates military experience into civilian skills and job titles. Learn more about this team’s mission to advance veterans’ careers, and help make it easier for companies to hire and incorporate veteran talent into their workforce.

Francisco Cortes
Army Veteran & Founder of Setroc Group 

Listen Now: The Truth About Starting Your Own Business

Francisco Cortes is Founder of The Setroc Group and speaks to his experience running an award-winning multicultural marketing and public relations agency, and how to create integrated marketing and communications tools to keep your messaging consistent across multiple channels. Beyond his own business, Francisco also serves the entrepreneurial community as President of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, and as an Advisory Board Member to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Marco Fiallo
Marine Corps Veteran & CEO of Community Travel Group 

Listen Now: Finding the Next Step

Marco Fiallo runs an all-inclusive travel company based in Ecuador that includes a hostel, food, adventure, and walking tours. Despite having no local entrepreneur incubator or accelerator support, Marco fought through self-doubt to build Community Travel Group into a successful enterprise.

Plan your dream cultural-immersion trip to Ecuador on Community Travel Group’s page here.

Reggie Ordonez
Marine Corps Veteran & Bunker Labs Chief Marketing Officer

Listen now: Common Trends & Mistakes of Main Street Veterans and Military Spouse Business Owners

Reggie Ordonez has worked with veteran entrepreneurs for years, and is also the founder of the Embrace Process After School Program, a Nashville-based nonprofit in the that uses Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to equip underserved youth with the community, purpose, and grit needed to succeed in life. Reggie shares some of the mistakes he sees entrepreneurs make most often, as well as some insights on how to avoid falling victim to the same pitfalls.

Brian Mohika
Army Veteran & Founder Cathwear 

Listen Today: From Being a Registered Nurse to Building a Medical Device Company

Follow the journey of Air Force veteran Brian Mohika, who went from registered nurse to Founder building Cathwear. His medical device company produces medical undergarments for catheter-using patients wearing leg bags to improve their quality of life. On the show, he opens up about his fallout with business partners, why he employs his family and local community, and why he never gave up, no matter how bad things seemed.

Marty Martinez
Army Veteran & Founder of Joint Task Force – 214, LLC 

Listen Now: From the Battlefield to the Boardroom – Transferring Skill Sets

Marty “The Moak” Martinez is a TV show host, entrepreneur, and veteran whose JTF214 consultancy helps veterans market themselves and their business. On the show, Marty discusses sales and marketing, and the importance of communicating effectively with your prospective customers.

Watch Marty’s Lounge With Legends show and celebrate veteran successes!

About The Transition Podcast 

Demystifying Entrepreneurship & Small Business Ownership 

“Iron” Mike Steadman interviews veterans and military spouses with businesses and startups from all industries and stages. Listen each week to dive deep into their stories and lessons learned. New episodes drop on Thursday. Sign up for the newsletter and never miss an episode.

Breaking Barriers in Entrepreneurship: Bunker Labs Workshop

Representation matters, especially in the entrepreneurial world. Through the power of community and connection, we aim to break the barriers that our society has created for entrepreneurs of historically underserved communities.

Learn how to support the Hispanic and Latinx-led companies participating in the current Breaking Barriers in Entrepreneurship cohort today. You can also learn about our previous cohort here.

Bunker Labs is Now Part of IVMF

As of January 2024, Bunker Labs is now a part of Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF). In addition to ongoing Bunker Labs programming, we’d encourage you to browse IVMF’s deep wealth of entrepreneurship programming, much of it available virtually or at locations across the country. Find the program to help your business take the next step today!