Kansan launches Kickstarter-like VetLaunch for veterans

At one point in his military career, Sean McIntosh was in charge of a $14 million training budget. Now the former Navy SEAL said he has a tough time borrowing a $5,000 business card. “There’re probably 5,000 veterans with my same problem,” McIntosh, 33, said in a recent telephone interview. It’s a tale as old…

VetLaunchAt one point in his military career, Sean McIntosh was in charge of a $14 million training budget. Now the former Navy SEAL said he has a tough time borrowing a $5,000 business card.

“There’re probably 5,000 veterans with my same problem,” McIntosh, 33, told SPN.

It’s a tale as old as Vietnam, at least in a modern-warfare sense. The ex-soldier, emerging from a world of high-pressure decision-making and million-dollar responsibilities, reintegrates into a society that can only offer him or her a lackluster civilian workload.

Of course, McIntosh probably wasn’t walking yet when Sylvester Stallone delivered his monologic coda as crestfallen veteran, John Rambo. But the “First Blood” character’s lamenting that he couldn’t “even hold down a job at a car wash!” reflects a reality that’s still largely ignored today.

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“I was being asked all the time, ‘How do I donate to vet causes?’ So I started asking in return, ‘What do you want to do to help?’” he said. “People want to donate locally to vets and small businesses in their area.”

Aside from its military slant, McIntosh said VetLaunch’s “local” nature separates it from a lot of other crowd-funding sites such as Kickstarter and Crowdfunder. SoMoLend, the Cincinnati startup that also draws capital from immediate communities, is currently under investigation for allegedly misleading investors, according to Cincinnati.com.

Not to mention, VetLaunch applicants have “thicker skin,” McIntosh said, and are already equipped with the leadership and management skills they inherited from the military.

“You learn through failure and experience,” he said of ex-soldiers, “It doesn’t matter what you were trained to do, you’ve failed at it somehow.”

McIntosh failed and learned a lot from 2000 to 2006 as a SEAL, he said, before studying political science at Kansas University. After graduating, the Atchison, Kan., native served another five years, conceiving VetLaunch upon his return to civilian life last October.

Although the crowd-funding site is still only in its beta phase, McIntosh said a few campaigns are in development through VetLaunch’s extensive coaching platform that will help carry them through to 30 percent completion.

Applicants can find mentors, collaborate with other veterans and access educational resources through the site’s community portal, he said. McIntosh said he hopes these tools will help lead veterans to meaningful civilian lives.

“The level of responsibility that you have on a day-to-day basis in the military, you get accustomed to that responsibility,” he said. “You don’t find that in the real world.”

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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One response to “Kansan launches Kickstarter-like VetLaunch for veterans”

  1. Todd Connor / Bunker Avatar
    Todd Connor / Bunker

    Great story from a great entrepreneur. Go Sean!!