WeWork names second cohort for DC Veterans in Residence program

With Veterans Day commemorated this week, WeWork named the second cohort of companies for its Veterans in Residence program in D.C. The coworking company teamed once again with Bunker Labs, a nonprofit dedicated to helping new veteran entrepreneurs start their own businesses.

In November 2017, WeWork announced a commitment to hire 1,500 veterans over the next five years. The Veterans in Residence program launched in Denver the summer of 2017, launched in 10 additional cities on Veterans Day 2017 and has grown to 14 cities across the U.S., including D.C. and Philly (heads up Tehchnical.ly Philly), with 250 current and alumni participants of the program.

To commemorate Veterans Day 2018, WeWork, Bunker Labs, current Veterans in Residence and local veteran service organizations across the U.S. hosted Opportunity Fairs in the 14 cities where the Veterans in Residence program is happening to give veterans and military service members a chance to meet and connect.

Here’s a list of the participating D.C. veterans and their companies:

• Deniz Emre, infantry and embassy duty, Marines. Emre’s company Federal Guardian was created with the goal of purchasing and operating a U.S. based small business over the long-term.
  
• Tina Claflin, machinery technician, Coast Guard. Her company Halcyon Reflections LLC offers goods and services in support of legacy preservation of military veterans.
• Jayson Browder, civil engineer, Air Force. His company Veterans in Global Leadership trains, mentors and empowers student veterans to become global leaders.
• Ksenija Pavlovic Mcateer, military spouse, Army. Mcateer created The Pavlovic Today, a nonpartisan news organization unbeholden to special or corporate interests.
• Ken Allgood, logistics, enterprise IT, systems design, Air Force. Allgood founded Resilience Labs, which provides digital transformation consultancy.
• Shah Chowdhury, field artillery officer, Army. Chowdhury’s Assault Forward supplies a stylish way to display pride of service and support for the Armed Forces.
• Joseph Donnelly, logistics, Marines: Hot Iron Branding was started by Donnelly to help build data-driven brand strategies, affordably.
• E. Sean Lanier, blackhawk pilot and multi-functional logistician, Army: With Resolve Solutions Incorporated, Lanier aims to annually help 250 to 500 students to earn college degrees with an emphasis on STEM majors with strategic languages fluency.
• Justin Mullins, supply chain, squad assault weapons, Army: Mullins’ firm Senior360 is a real estate company specifically for the senior community.
• Peter Scott, Army: His organization Fields 4 Valor Farms to provide veterans and their families a free farm share.

Here’s some stats about participants in the program in all 14 cities to date, per WeWork:

• Nearly 30 percent of participants in the program are female entrepreneurs, almost double the number of female recruits in the military today.
• Over 40 percent of the cohort is under the age of 34.
• Nearly 50 percent are first-time entrepreneurs.
• 95 percent are executives and/or sole proprietors.
• The top three industries represented by Veterans in Residence are technology, consulting and advertising/marketing/media.

On Veterans Day 2018, WeWork said the program is expanding to its 15th city, Boston. Applications are now open until Jan. 3, 2019 for the next cohort in all 15 markets beginning in February 2019.