MILCOM Founders Podcast - Episode 33: Building a One-Stop Resource Hub for Military Families with Kristen Ferullo

Join host Rod Loges and guest Kristen Ferullo as she shares her journey from special educator to military school liaison to founding Partners In Purpose, an organization dedicated to curating accurate, timely resources for military and veteran families.

In this episode:

• Kristen's nearly 12 years as a military school liaison helping families navigate K-12 education across moves
• The origin story of Partners In Purpose and its scholarship database with over 1,000 opportunities
• Why military families move 6-9 times during their children's educational careers and how that creates unique challenges
• The growing importance of trade schools and CTE programs as alternatives to traditional college
• How early leadership training shaped Kristen's purpose-driven approach to serving others

Key takeaways:

• Old, outdated information at the top of Google searches creates real problems for military families trying to plan moves and education
• Purpose-driven work requires partners who share that purpose. You don't get there alone.
• Every day you have a positive impact on one family is a success. Figure out the business part later.
• Listening to respond versus listening to understand is a critical difference in communication
• Knowing your "why" is the foundation of everything you do

Guest: Kristen Ferullo, Co-Founder of Partners In Purpose, Military School Liaison (nearly 12 years)

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-ferullo/
• Business Website: https://partners-in-purpose.com/

Kristen Ferullo is the Co-Founder of Partners In Purpose, an organization focused on curating accurate and timely resources for military and veteran families. As a Military School Liaison in a geographically dispersed area for nearly 12 years Kristen has become acutely aware and deeply passionate in serving the needs of the military community.

Kristen brings years of valuable diversified experience to her organizational leadership style. As a former Special Educator, a Navy Fleet & Family virtual Leadership Professional, 2025 Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Leadership Community Team Lead, and Technical High School Advisory Committee Chair, and student mentor, Kristen has shown her ability to work with any audience. In her personal time, Kristen is an educational programming and opportunity advisor, mentor and event volunteer for multiple non-profit organizations. Kristen most enjoys hiking, yoga, travel and spending time with her dog and three amazing, grown(ish) children.

Looking ahead: Kristen aims to build Partners In Purpose into a one-stop shop for military and veteran families, simplifying access to trusted resources for education, spouse employment, and family support. She also hopes to offer leadership coaching and communication training, drawing on her 20+ years working with student leadership programs.

The MILCOM Founders Podcast champions and celebrates military community business owners. Each episode brings practical insights and lessons learned from successful veteran entrepreneurs.

Sponsored by One Degree Financial www.onedegreefinancial.com

Want to support veteran entrepreneurs? Learn about the Dick Loges Veteran Entrepreneur Scholarship Fund at https://www.milcomfounders.com/

MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 32: From Campaign Trail to Headshot Excellence with Jon Meadows

Join host Rod Loges and guest Jon Meadows as he shares his journey from political communications to founding High-End Headshots, a premium photography business specializing in professional headshots. Jon discusses how getting fired became the catalyst for building a thriving business that serves executives, professionals, and veterans across the DC area.

In this episode:

• Jon's transition from political campaigns to full-time photography entrepreneur
• How a $20/month online mentorship transformed his career trajectory
• Getting fired with a 9-month-old at home and launching a business the same day
• Building a premium pricing strategy that values quality over volume
• The importance of hyper-focus and single-mentor learning systems
• Giving back through annual $50,000 headshot giveaways for veterans

Key takeaways:

• Specialization creates competitive advantage – Jon focused exclusively on headshots rather than general photography
• Pricing psychology matters – aspiring to be "the best and most expensive" creates client respect and work-life balance
• Faith and stewardship drive business decisions, not just profit
• Following one proven system beats collecting advice from multiple sources
• Professional headshots create human connection and trust before you ever meet someone
• Being a "net exporter" means using your gifts to produce more than you need so you can give to others

Guest: Jon Meadows, Founder of High-End Headshots, Former Political Communications Professional

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/highend/
• Business Website: https://highendheadshots.com/

Jon Meadows runs High-End Headshots, a premium photography business in the Washington DC area with over eight years of experience. Known for his facial expression coaching approach, he's earned the reputation as "the last hope for the non-photogenic" and helps clients "wow themselves" with professional imagery that creates trust and human connection.

Jon's path to entrepreneurship began on political campaigns, where he worked long hours in communications roles. After his mom noticed his compositional eye from study abroad photos, he picked up photography as a side pursuit. When he was unexpectedly fired from a nonprofit job in 2018 with a 9-month-old daughter at home, Jon went full-time with his photography business that same day. He found mentorship through the world's best headshot photographer for just $20/month and built a thriving business based on premium pricing, hyper-focus, and exceptional client experience.

Beyond his business success, Jon is a husband to Katie for 10 years, father to four kids under nine (two boys and two girls, "which was the master plan"), and an avid racket sports player who's recently gotten into pickleball tournaments. He's also a man of deep faith who views his business as stewardship – using his gifts to be a "net exporter" who can give generously to his church, school, family, and community.

Looking ahead: Jon continues to refine High-End Headshots while maintaining the work-life balance that allows him to be present for his young family. Each year, he gives away approximately $50,000 worth of headshots to veterans and those transitioning out of military service, turning his craft into a way to serve those who served.

The MILCOM Founders Podcast champions and celebrates military community business owners. Each episode brings practical insights and lessons learned from successful veteran entrepreneurs and those who serve the military community.

Sponsored by One Degree Financial www.onedegreefinancial.com

Want to support veteran entrepreneurs? Learn about the Dick Loges Veteran Entrepreneur Scholarship Fund at https://www.milcomfounders.com/

MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 30: Randy Mullen, Founder of Sightline Ventures and Sightline Capital

Show Notes

Join host Rod Loges as he sits down with Randy Mullen, Jr., founder of Sightline Ventures and Sightline Capital, dual platforms supporting high-impact dual-use startups in the defense innovation ecosystem. Randy leads a tech-enabled team helping founders win DOD contracts and scale mission-critical capabilities for national security.

In this episode:

• How a college student working part-time discovered military service during the 2008 financial crisis
• Why Randy chose the Air Force over other branches and the role his mother's intuition played
• The three core values that guide Sightline: integrity, excellence, and faith-based leadership
• How 12 years in Air Force acquisitions taught Randy what defense contracting really needs
• The "sightline" metaphor: aligning front and rear sights to hit the target with your business strategy
• A real example of how Sightline helped a manufacturing company keep B-2 bombers flying during Operation Midnight Hammer

Key takeaways:

• Faith-based leadership and business values are not separate things when you run the company
• The best mentors live their values rather than just talk about them
• Quality of clients matters far more than quantity, especially for long-term partnership
• Technological supremacy, not military size, will determine national security in future conflicts
• A founder's spouse must be informed and bought in from day one, not surprised later
• Starting a company is one of the hardest things you can do, and it's not the right path for everyone

Guest: Randy Mullen, Founder, Sightline Ventures and Sightline Capital

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randy-mullen-jr-44bb4757/
• Website: https://sightline.tech/

Randy Mullen is the founder of Sightline Ventures and Sightline Capital, a dual platform supporting high-impact dual-use startups in the defense innovation ecosystem. At Sightline Ventures, Randy leads a tech-enabled team helping founders win DOD contracts across IML, digital engineering, med tech, cyber, quantum, and advanced manufacturing.

His team provides business development, capture, and proposal management services to accelerate growth through non-dilutive funding. At Sightline Capital, he invests directly in portfolio companies building for the front lines of national security as they scale into defense and commercial markets. Randy also serves as a contracting officer in the US Air Force Reserve.

With over 15 years of experience in defense contracting as an active duty officer, he led research and development at the National Reconnaissance Office for signals intelligence platforms and served as lead contracting officer for a multibillion-dollar satellite radar portfolio with deployments across Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Kosovo, and Jordan.

Looking ahead: Sightline continues expanding its portfolio of defense tech companies while building out its capital arm, with strategic focus on robotics, AI, and cybersecurity as critical capabilities for national security.

The MilCom Founders Podcast champions and celebrates military community business founders. Each episode brings practical insights from successful veteran entrepreneurs.

Sponsored by One Degree Financial www.onedegreefinancial.com

Want to support veteran entrepreneurs? Learn about the Dick Loges Veteran Entrepreneur Scholarship Fund at milcomfounders.com

MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 29: Jesse Levin, Executive Director of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum and Founder of Tactivate

Show Notes:

Join host Rod Loges as he sits down with Jesse Levin, Executive Director of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum and founder of Tactivate, an initiative working to build networks of SOF veterans, economic stability specialists, and humanitarian experts to conduct last-mile operations in crisis and conflict environments worldwide.

In this episode:

• Jesse's journey from Connecticut and the Tom Brown Tracker School to founding ventures in Panama, Haiti, and Ukraine
• How humanitarian assistance and disaster response bring together unlikely allies in contested environments
• Why pairing special operations forces veterans with entrepreneurs creates uniquely effective hybrid capabilities
• The lesson that civilian society, not just transitioning veterans, bears responsibility for veteran success in the private sector
• How the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum functions as an informal network and strategic weapon system for national defense
• Why vulnerability and asking for help is an act of courage, not weakness

Key takeaways:

• Mission-driven work paired with financial sustainability is possible, but uncommon and worth pursuing
• Informal networks and person-to-person relationships are just as critical to national security as technology and hardware
• Trust your gut when assessing people and situations, especially when transitioning to civilian life
• Civil society's entrepreneurial power is America's greatest strategic asset and remains largely untapped
• Deep, authentic relationships are worth far more than large networks built on transactional interactions
• Gray zone conflict and malign influence require broader civil society involvement, not just government and defense systems

Guest: Jesse Levin, Executive Director, Defense Entrepreneurs Forum

• Website: https://www.def.org/
• Tactivate: https://www.tactivate.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-levin/

Jesse Levin is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum and recently finished volunteering as a member of the Resistance Team under the IWI SOF in Competition Project.

He is the founder of Tactivate, an initiative that has spent the past fifteen years cultivating informal networks of SOF veterans, economic stability and humanitarian specialists to conduct last mile contested logistics, recovery, stability and capacity building efforts in support of governments and local populaces in crisis and conflict environments worldwide.

Jesse holds a BS from Babson College, is a CSIS AILA Fellow and a member of the Explorers Club.

Looking ahead: The Defense Entrepreneurs Forum continues building connections across the veteran entrepreneurial, innovation, and national security communities, while Tactivate remains positioned to deploy specialized teams for humanitarian, recovery, and stability operations globally.

The MILCOM Founders Podcast champions and celebrates military community business owners. Each episode brings practical insights from successful veteran entrepreneurs.

Sponsored by One Degree Financial www.onedegreefinancial.com

Want to support veteran entrepreneurs? Learn about the Dick Loges Veteran Entrepreneur Scholarship Fund at www.milcomfounders.com

MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 28: Dr. Lawrence E. Henderson Jr., Founder & CEO of BOSS, LLC

Show Notes

Join host Rod Loges as he sits down with Dr. Lawrence E. Henderson Jr., founder and CEO of Business Operational Support Services (BOSS), LLC, a coaching and consulting firm dedicated to empowering people-first cultures and transforming organizational leadership.

In this episode:

• Dr. Henderson's path from National Guard service at Ohio State to 12.5 years of active duty, guided by key mentors along the way
• The toxic leadership feedback that sparked his commitment to personal growth and becoming a force multiplier
• FM 6-22 military leadership framework (Be, Know, Do) and why "actions over ideas always win"
• Building organizational alignment: why teams need a shared leadership playbook to move in the same direction
• Coaching as multiplication: asking better questions instead of imposing solutions on emerging leaders
• Military decision-making process as a competitive advantage for veteran entrepreneurs

Key takeaways:

• Leadership development happens from the inside out, understanding yourself comes before changing how you lead others
• Behavior change requires multiple practice opportunities over time, not single training events
• New generations need experiential learning and relationship-building, not lectures and tests
• Hiring for leadership ability and teaching capacity creates stronger teams than technical skills alone
• Organizations perform how they practice, create intentional practice spaces for the behaviors you want to see
• Veteran founders should leverage their operational excellence and ability to pivot quickly under pressure

Guest: Dr. Lawrence E. Henderson Jr., Founder & CEO of BOSS, LLC

• Website: https://www.bossllc.net/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bossleads/

Dr. Henderson’s path began with service as a U.S. Army Officer, where he developed a foundation in resilience and mission-driven leadership. With a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and over 20 years of experience as a Chief Learning Officer, Principal Trainer, and Executive Coach, he has worked with organizations including Pfizer, the U.S. Navy, and Clorox, building leadership capacity and guiding teams through meaningful change. Through BOSS, LLC, he creates tailored coaching and consulting experiences that close the gap between aspiration and execution, focusing on emotional intelligence, cultural transformation, and sustainable growth.

As a PCC-certified coach, TEDx speaker, and professor at Morehouse College, Dr. Henderson has shaped his career around a single belief: when people are empowered to lead with clarity and courage, organizations don’t just evolve, they excel. His work extends beyond the boardroom as a podcast host, educator, and advocate for purpose-driven leadership grounded in respect, integrity, service, and excellence. Dr. Henderson’s story is one of service, strategic insight, and a deep commitment to helping leaders and organizations show up fully and perform at their best.

Looking ahead: BOSS, LLC continues expanding its coaching and consulting offerings for organizations seeking to build aligned, high-performing teams through intentional leadership development.

The MILCOM Founders Podcast champions and celebrates military community business owners. Each episode brings practical insights from successful veteran entrepreneurs.

Sponsored by One Degree Financial www.onedegreefinancial.com

Want to support veteran entrepreneurs? Learn about the Dick Loges Veteran Entrepreneur Scholarship Fund at milcomfounders.com

MILCOM Founders Podcast – Episode 27: Lisa Bradley, Co-Founder & CEO of R.Riveter

Show Notes

Join host Rod Loges as he sits down with Lisa Bradley, co-founder and CEO of R.Riveter, a handbag company creating flexible, mobile work opportunities for military spouses across America.

In this episode:

• Lisa's journey from small-town Montana to military spouse entrepreneurship
• Starting R.Riveter at 24 in an attic above a garage
• Building a distributed manufacturing network employing military spouses nationwide
• The "dependent" label that sparked a mission to empower military families
• Growing 1700% after appearing on Shark Tank in 2016
• Creating handbags from upcycled military materials with meaning and purpose
• Overcoming manufacturing challenges while competing with overseas production
• The Heirloom Line: transforming military uniforms into custom keepsakes
• Granting $2,100 to military spouses to start their own businesses
• Expanding into retail locations and upcoming men's product line

Key takeaways:

• Financial literacy from age 13 prepared Lisa for entrepreneurship
• Military spouse employment challenges drove innovation in flexible work
• Every R.Riveter product directly supports military families
• Manufacturing in America requires creative problem-solving and efficiency
• Building community through shared military experience creates lasting impact
• Giving back multiplies success – grants help other spouses launch businesses

Guest: Lisa Bradley, Co-Founder & CEO of R.Riveter

• Website: https://www.rriveter.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-bradley-50778b54/

Lisa Bradley grew up in Montana where her entrepreneur parents taught her QuickBooks at age 13. After marrying into the Army at 21, she experienced firsthand the employment challenges facing military spouses through four moves in six years. In 2011, alongside co-founder Cameron Cruse, Lisa launched R.Riveter from an attic in Georgia.

Today, R.Riveter employs military spouses nationwide, creates meaningful products from military materials, and provides grants to help other military spouses start their own businesses. Lisa has been recognized by the National Retail Federation as one of 25 people reshaping retail's future and honored among Central Ohio's remarkable women in 2023.

Looking ahead: R.Riveter is expanding retail locations near military bases and launching their first men's line in late October.

The MILCOM Founders Podcast champions and celebrates military community business owners. Each episode brings practical insights from successful veteran entrepreneurs.

Sponsored by One Degree Financial
www.onedegreefinancial.com

Want to support veteran entrepreneurs? Learn about the Dick Loges Veteran Entrepreneur Scholarship Fund at milcomfounders.com