Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) held our sixth annual Veteran EDGE conference in Dallas, Texas late March (20-22). There were a record 470 attendees present for three days packed with programming, networking, and opportunities curated to help participants grow and scale their businesses.
A range of sponsors and industry leaders supported the conference with workshops, keynote addresses, and more. Contributors included representatives from JPMorgan Chase Commercial Bank, Fiserv, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Veteran Small Business Coalition, and many, many others.
Attendees had a host of programming to experience and choose from. There were industry-grouped nights for networking, and subject-matter-experts available for one-on-one mentoring. There were also breakout groups discussing the tricky business of mergers, acquisitions, and exit strategies—a first for our Veteran EDGE Conference.
IVMF also partnered with Walmart for a procurement readiness workshop. Entrepreneurs in the retail and consumer goods industry can find no bigger partner when it comes to scaling their business. Shark Tank’s Brandon Andrews was on hand, offering opportunities for those interested in appearing on the show to pitch their business. There was also a government contracting program track supported by the Coalition for Veteran Owned Business.
A Conversation with IVMF’s Own Dr. Haynie and IVMF Board Co-Chair Dan D’Aniello
EDGE formally kicked off with a fireside chat between IVMF Founder, Air Force veteran and Syracuse University Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie, and Navy veteran and Carlyle Group co-founder and Syracuse University Chairman Emeritus Dan D’Aniello. Dan is also the IVMF Board Co-Chair.
Dan shared the value of his Navy experience during Vietnam and how it shaped his civilian career and success. He credits his experience as a department head in supply on an aircraft carrier in charge of 150 sailors with accelerating his own career. He also noted the prime importance of culture in business, and how in some ways culture is your business. Later, he discussed the difficulty of cutting through the noise of information and misinformation to find insights, and how much more difficult that might get as AI tools continue to mature.
The conversation was wide-ranging, but ultimately Dan had two key takeaways he wanted to impart on the audience. First, he hammered the importance of expertise, and how if you know your industry deeply and have a wealth of experience, you’ll see the opportunities others miss. The second was to work on communication and interpersonal skills. Hard skills and education are assumed but Dan believes that what often sets the most successful people in business apart from the rest is the soft skillset that enables them to communicate complex ideas with simple language—to employees and customers alike. He suggested trying to communicate through storytelling techniques to capture people’s attention.
EDGE formally kicked off with a fireside chat between IVMF Founder, Air Force veteran and Syracuse University Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie, and Navy veteran and Carlyle Group co-founder and Syracuse University Chairman Emeritus Dan D’Aniello. Dan is also the IVMF Board Co-Chair.
Dan shared the value of his Navy experience during Vietnam and how it shaped his civilian career and success. He credits his experience as a department head in supply on an aircraft carrier in charge of 150 sailors with accelerating his own career. He also noted the prime importance of culture in business, and how in some ways culture is your business. Later, he discussed the difficulty of cutting through the noise of information and misinformation to find insights, and how much more difficult that might get as AI tools continue to mature.
The conversation was wide-ranging, but ultimately Dan had two key takeaways he wanted to impart on the audience. First, he hammered the importance of expertise, and how if you know your industry deeply and have a wealth of experience, you’ll see the opportunities others miss. The second was to work on communication and interpersonal skills. Hard skills and education are assumed but Dan believes that what often sets the most successful people in business apart from the rest is the soft skillset that enables them to communicate complex ideas with simple language—to employees and customers alike. He suggested trying to communicate through storytelling techniques to capture people’s attention.
What Else You Missed
Amy Jo Martin—Renegade Thinking Keynote
Amy Jo Martin is the author of New York Times best-seller “Renegades Write the Rules” and host of the “Why Not Now?” Podcast. She has built two 7-figure companies over the past decade, and is the current founder and CEO of Renegade Global, a human innovation company that unlocks positive disruption for both individuals and corporations.
At Veteran EDGE, she shared the origins behind her brand of “positive disruption” that emerged while working for the NBA helping Shaquille O’Neal learn how to tweet. That experience led her to work with world-renowned brands such as Hilton Worldwide, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Nike, Dell and more. She provided EDGE participants with her thoughts on time management, and her “Five Renegade Rules” to turn ideas into action, and balance life goals with life living.
Frank Coppersmith—Embracing an AI Future Keynote
Frank Coppersmith is the CEO of Smarter Reality, an Inc. 5000 and Austin “Fast 50” software development company from Austin, Texas that supports entrepreneurs. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a law degree from Samford University and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from The Citadel.
Frank spoke to the Veteran EDGE audience about recent innovations in artificial intelligence that promise to be as paradigm-disrupting as the smartphone. He explained that we’re rapidly approaching a future where this technology is everywhere, in every piece of technology. While that is going to create a new world of possibility, opportunity, and convenience, it also comes with its own risks and threats, and a giant black hole of unknowns.
Vet100
This year’s Veteran EDGE Conference was jam packed with incredible content. There were informative and inspiring keynotes filled with actionable takeaways for every level of business.
Once again, IVMF has partnered with Inc. 5000 to hold their seventh annual Vet100 Awards Ceremony at the Conference. The dinner, powered by Fiserv, honored the 100 fastest-growing veteran-owned businesses, 25 of whom are IVMF program alumni.
Of particular note was Jackson Dalton of Black Box Safety, number thirteen on the Vet100, and 108 on the Inc. 5000. Jackson has attended every single Veteran EDGE Conference, and was formally recognized during the opening ceremonies as a model for how to take advantage of the opportunities to be found at EDGE. Black Box Safety recently landed a $35MM sole-source 5-year body armor contract with the state of California, ensuring business growth for years to come.
The Bunker Labs CEOcircle Program Reunion
IVMF acquired Bunker Labs this past January, which included the CEOcircle program, built for veteran and military spouse executives ready to scale their businesses. At EDGE, IVMF organized a reunion for CEOcircle program alumni, giving prior participants an opportunity to reconnect before being welcomed into the broader community of 210,000 IVMF program alumni alongside previous program participants of Bunker Labs offerings.
Don't Miss Out On Veteran EDGE 2025
If you didn’t make it to Veteran EDGE this year, the silver lining is that next year’s will be even better. Make sure you don’t miss out on this unique opportunity for your business next year and fill out our interest form below to receive all the latest updates about next year’s conference. You’ll get early access to information on registration openings, keynote speakers, and engaging workshops. Stay in the loop and be the first to know when Veteran EDGE 2025 registration opens later this year!