You don't need to try and start or grow your business on your own. There are a number of online, virtual, and in-person programs and courses available nationwide and often locally too. Florida has some great programs that many veterans and military spouses do not know about or do not understand how/when to leverage. During this Town Hall, we'll introduce you to Action Zone, Bunker Labs, and the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship.

Our Executive Director, Barron Mills, will moderate a discussion with these great guests: Rosie Lee, Valerie Lavin, Lindsey Boomer, and Nicolette Hoffman. These ladies are extremely knowledgeable in the entrepreneur and small business arena and will provide great personal insights as well as overviews of the programs and resources provided by their separate organizations.

Rosie is the President and Executive Director of Action Zone, Inc. an entrepreneur support organization (ESO) exclusively serving military community entrepreneurs. Fueled by her passion for the military and entrepreneurship, she founded Action Zone with the vision of an ESO designed as the model program to help launch viable businesses that bring financial stability with positive impact to the local economy. Rosie is a willing collaborator, noting that only by working together can the most good be achieved. She is an accomplished entrepreneur, author, military daughter, military spouse, military mom, and valued FAVOB member.

Valerie is a retired Army First Sergeant, the CEO of Luminary Global and FAVOB member, co-founder (with Rosie) of Action Zone, and a City Leader for Bunker Labs Tampa. Bunker Labs is a national not-for-profit organization helping veterans, active duty service members, and their spouses start and grow businesses. Bunker Labs supports military veterans throughout the journey of starting a business: from the idea stage—where active-duty service members are thinking about what to do post-service—to the growth stage of successful companies looking to hire, raise capital, and expand into new markets.

The mission of the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship is to cultivate, train and inspire entrepreneurial leaders through world-class executive education, applied training, public recognition and leading-edge research. As the Manager of National Programs, Lindsey has a birds eye view of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and she is very aware of many of the challenges and opportunities for veterans and military spouses.

Nicolette serves as the Events and Marketing Coordinator at the Jim Moran Institute and this role puts her in the middle of connecting institutions, corporations, entrepreneurs, and those searching for answers. She is very active in raising awareness for the various IVMF Entrepreneur Programs that the Jim Moran Institute hosts. Those include EBV Accelerate, EBV Families, and R.I.S.E.

Please use this link to register for this Zoom meeting.