Bunker Labs wants to help veteran founders fit into Philly’s entrepreneurial ecosystem

Veterans are known for their persistence in getting a job done no matter the circumstances. For Neferteri Strickland, who served in the Army National Guard and is the founder of education-focused company Teachers&, this is one of the reasons why veterans make good entrepreneurs.

The Upper Merion-based founder first got involved with Bunker Labs, an entrepreneurship organization focused on veterans and military personnel, a few years ago when she joined its last Veterans in Residence (VIR) incubator, cohort 22A(lpha). The incubator serves founders across the US, with local activities happening in 38 chapters. Strickland is now one of its Philadelphia chapter ambassadors.

Part of her role is to connect founders with community resources so they can grow. Bunker has had a presence in Philly since 2015, but she wants to continue exploring where veteran founders fit in the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem, and where they can “add value.”

“It’s my goal … to create more visibility and awareness around where that activity is happening,” Strickland, a 2021 RealLIST Connectors honoree, told Technical.ly. “So we’re not reinventing the wheel — we’re simply highlighting our community or ecosystem partners and acting as a map or guide for our VIR so they can choose their own adventure.”

Veterans in Residence is a six-month incubator open to entrepreneurs who are veterans or military spouses. Program leaders seek to meet founders where they are and offer them resources such as mentorship, networking opportunities and coworking space, per Strickland. The program concludes with a pitch day, where the next Veterans in Residence cohort is invited to join. Founders may also reapply and stay for the next cohort if they feel the incubator can continue helping them grow.

Bunker Labs org just welcomed its newest Veterans in Residence cohort, including 11 founders in its Philadelphia chapter. The goal is to connect them with people and resources that will help them grow their businesses.

Bunker Labs kicked off its latest incubator cohort, 23B(ravo), earlier this summer. The Philadelphia faction includes 11 founders, plus two alumni captains who act a peer mentors for the founders.

One local(ish) 23B member is Sam Kaestner, the founder of STRETTO. He served in the Army for 20 years before retiring from that career and becoming an entrepreneur. The idea for his year-old company came from watching livestreamed performances during the pandemic, Kaestner said: He thought he could make the livestream experience better, so his company develops software that facilitates interaction between audiences and performers in real time.

Throughout the next six months, Kaestner is hoping to gain mentorship while learning how to bring in funding and become a self-sustaining company. He also looking forward to making meaningful connections with founders, investors and others in the startup ecosystem: Getting “a little bit more unvarnished advice and guidance from people that don’t necessarily have a financial skin in the game was really important to me,” he said.

Kaestner is based in North Jersey. While Bunker Labs has a chapter based in New York City, the founder said there wasn’t a cohort running in that location at this time, and Philadelphia was the next closest option. He plans to travel down to Philly as much as he can to engage with the other cohort members at in-person events.

There are plenty of opportunities to do so, as Strickland said this cohort plans to attend the Venture Café meetups at the University City Science Center monthly to connect with other startup-minded leaders. The cohort also meets occasionally at the WeWork at 1901 Market St., which is a partner of Bunker Labs. Along with virtual cohort meetings and national cohort meetings, the Philadelphia cohort plans to meet in person monthly to discuss their entrepreneurial progress, share challenges and offer resources to each other.

Strickland and her fellow ambassadors are working on an ecosystem map that shows the resources available to founders in Southeastern Pennsylvania and across the Commonwealth. The map will be organized to show what might be helpful based on what stage a company is at and what specific resources they are seeking.

“If you are an ideation phase, where’s the right partner, or program for you?” Strickland said. “And then from there, what are the recommendations as you grow? Where are the networking opportunities?”

Of course, if you’re a veteran, you already know which org she’ll recommend.

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.