As Crystal Turman considered her next step with her business, Wellspring Counseling Services in Satellite Beach, she caught wind of an accelerator program in Orlando that hit all the right notes.
The Veterans Entrepreneurship Initiative’s SPEAR Accelerator would bring her alongside other veterans, all at different stages of their business life cycle.
It was a chance for her to be vulnerable with little risk because she knew her cohort would be supportive.
The timing was perfect.
“It was what I needed at just the right time,” said Turman, who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at 17 years old. “To be with other veterans, it just felt like a safe environment. I was able to get to the meat and potatoes of the program quicker.”
VEI launched SPEAR this year with a cohort of nine veteran-led businesses navigating the program.
On Wednesday, they will attend the group’s Demo Day in a daylong event at GuideWell Innovation Center, one day before VEI’s annual summit.
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Turman said she looks forward to the chance to share more and to reconnect with her cohort.
“Even if we weren’t in the same town, I was able to feel that sense of camaraderie again,” she said.
That was the point of the SPEAR Accelerator, VEI cofounder Ricardo Garcia said.
By bringing veterans together, it would create an immediate support system for the entrepreneurs.
“They lift each other up,” he said. “They want to help each other succeed so they were open with sharing resources, facilitating introductions to other networks and providing actionable feedback.”
The program, itself, followed a similar structure to other accelerator programs.
It included meetings with mentors, regular discussions with thought leaders and regular feedback.
But one unique element was the mentors’ respect for the mentees – several paused during presentations to thank the entrepreneurs for their service.
Bill Howe of IFGA Labs said the mentors were an invaluable resource for the cohort.
“It’s not that they give you the answers,” he said. “But they help you work through issues that maybe they have seen before.”
That’s the benefit of accelerators that include a robust mentor group.
It can illustrate to entrepreneurs experiencing obstacles they may have thought was unique to them that others have dealt with it, while also potentially providing a solution to navigate the obstacles.
In addition, assessment of a startup through an experienced lens can change the business in an effort of making it more sustainable.
For instance, U.S. Navy veteran Jim St. Clair of MyLigo drilled down tighter on his intended market thanks to the advice of mentors.
“You can only go so far without all of the information,” he said. “Sometimes you need a little extra advice and a sounding board.”
U.S. Navy veteran Sean Freitag said taking lessons from others and learning from shared experiences helped the SPEAR Accelerator stand out.
“Launching a startup is really hard,” said Freitag, CEO of Signum Technologies. “It takes a team to get through it. The fact that it was an all-veteran cohort differentiated it from a lot of other programs I’ve been through. There was this support, understanding and just a desire for everyone to succeed.”
For SPEAR leaders, it’s also about putting its startups in front of potential investors.
Garcia said he wants to see health industry leaders show up to give the businesses a shot at continuing their journey with new mentors and potentially new resources. Collaborator Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design at the Johns Hopkins University will be there.
“A key part of this whole thing is getting them connected and plugged into the ecosystem,” he said.