Bunker Labs is flying its Ambassador Corps to the Military Influencer Conference in Las Vegas from October 26-29. Ambassadors will undergo specialized training to better serve the veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs in their region. They will learn vital skills to serving in their role, including how to map and grow their local entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how to help veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs connect with key contacts to take their business to the next level.
During the conference, Fiserv is hosting a pitch competition, where five Bunker Labs Ambassadors will compete for a share of $30,000 in prize money. While Ambassadors spend most of their time at Fly-In events focused on how to help other Bunker Labs entrepreneurs, this pitch competition is a unique chance for them to focus on raising capital for their own business.
Need Help Honing Your Pitch?
Pitching under ideal circumstances is difficult, but pitching for a competition is even more intense. Take another look at your pitch with Bunker Labs How-To Pitch Your Business blog series!
The Competitors
Judges will hear business pitches from five Bunker Labs entrepreneurs.
Liseth Velez, Air Force, Boston Ambassador
Founder and CEO, LJV Development
LJV Development is a solution-based construction management firm located in Everett, MA primarily servicing the New England area. We are proud of our tech-enabled processes as they help us stay nimble and build more efficiently. Our unique approach offers a collaborative effort where our trade partners are set up for success from preconstruction to closeout. LJV is rooted in flexibility which allows us to provide optimal value. We focus our approach and execution on program concept development (layout, initial budgeting, conceptual schedule, project approach), process and facilities design integration, trade partner procurement, facility construction management, process installation management, and commissioning/validation. We consider ourselves management partners ‘from concept to operations’.
Brittney Linville, Army, Seattle Ambassador
Co-Founder and CEO, Team Linville
Team Linville wants to make custom swag orders easier, cheaper, and more accessible to teams and businesses. Through our private shopping pages, we establish a bespoke team swag store where teams can shop online for the items they want. We only produce what you need, with no order minimums. Team members shop, pay, and ship directly to themselves, which eliminates the hassle of bulk orders, stocking, and overstock. From orders of 1 to over 1,000, we can support orders of any size.
Reda Hicks, Army Spouse, Houston Ambassador
Founder, Got Spot Inc.
GotSpot is an Airbnb-style platform for sharing all kinds of commercial space. We’re where businesses that have space, and business that only occasionally need space find one another. With GotSpot, Main Street businesses become a resource for entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs are a new source of revenue for local businesses. We’re leveraging technology to unlock the value of the built environments to grow local businesses and build community resilience.
Joey Mac Dizon, Marine Corps, Newark Ambassador
Co-Founder, The Mobile Cigar Lounge
From this experience he co-founded the Mobile Cigar Lounge helps couples select the best cigar experience for their weddings in less than 15 minutes, so that everyone in attendance can have unforgettable memories together. Our vision is to become the must-have cigar and whisk(e)y experience for any occasion. Our clients are indulged in a professional, world-class experience from start to finish. The cigars are specifically curated to satisfy new smokers and cigar aficionados alike. We employ only veterans, first-responders, and those connected for our events.
Lindsay Helm, Army, Virtual Ambassador
Founder and CEO, EmpowerEmploy
EmpowerEmploy is a veteran and military spouse owned consulting service focusing on refining veteran hiring processes. We translate military experience and skills for hiring managers to better understand the capabilities and skills of veterans and military spouses, strengthen military employee resource groups, and help organizations increase military employee engagement to retain quality employees.
The Judges
It is up to the judges to select their three favorite pitches of the day, and award each winner $10,000 dollars in prize money.
Reggie Ordonez, Head of Marketing, Bunker Labs
Reggie Ordonez is the Chief Marketing Officer of Bunker Labs, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans and military spouses navigate entrepreneurship. Reggie served in the Marine Corps from 2004-2016, with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti. He earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Arizona and holds certifications from Strategyzer for business modeling and mastering value propositions. When Reggie isn’t in front of his laptop, he is planning his next outdoor excursion, honing jiu jitsu skills, or spending time with his family.
Charlynda Scales, Founder of Mutt’s Sauce LLC
Charlynda Scales is a serial entrepreneur: She serves as founder of Mutt’s Sauce LLC, a line of award-winning specialty sauces, and OH Taste LLC, which created Sharpen the Axe, a business financial literacy program for food companies. She’s the Executive Director of the OH Taste Foundation (501c3), which is building the 6888 Kitchen Incubator, a $5M state-of-the-art commercial kitchen in the historic Dayton Arcade; and finally, the creator of The Empower Collection, an e-commerce apparel company focused on celebrating the strength of the modern professional woman. She is a sought-after motivational speaker and business coach. Her military career spans over 15 years, and she continues to serve as an Air Force Reservist at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Her proudest title, though, is Mom to her 2-year-old son, David.
Meg Hendricks, VP & Head of Military and Veteran Affairs, Fiserv
Meg Hendricks is a Vice President and Head of Military and Veteran Affairs at Fiserv. Her leadership of the Fiserv Salutes program has resulted in Fiserv being ranked in the top 5 on the Military Times “Best for Vets Employers” list for the last five years, being named an SVA partner of the year, named a “5 Star Employer” by VETS Indexes, and more.
In addition to her experience with Fiserv, she served in the United States Army as a human resources officer and has had the pleasure of partnering with organizations in the manufacturing and human capital management space in the civilian sector. Meg holds a master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Northcentral University, a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The Colorado College, and the PHR certification. Meg is the president of her local PTA, on the advisory committee for a program at the University of Richmond, and volunteers for other local organizations whenever possible. She is married to an Army Veteran and they have one daughter.
Best of Luck to the Ambassadors!
Good luck to all the competitors, and best wishes to our Ambassadors that their time at MIC is fun, productive, and educational! Think you have what it takes to be a Bunker Labs Ambassador, to map your local entrepreneurial ecosystem and help veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs realize their dreams? Fill out an interest form and get notified when applications go live for the next cohort!