The Charlotte chapter of a national nonprofit is working to grow its local reach to help veteran entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses.
Earlier this week, the local chapter of Chicago-based Bunker Labs held a veteran entrepreneurs showcase event in uptown Charlotte. The event featured networking opportunities and a panel discussion including Brandon Bellamy, owner of the Gastonia Honey Hunters baseball team. The chapter also celebrated the completion of the Veterans in Residence incubator program and introduced the program's newest cohort.
The Charlotte chapter is led by Bunker Labs ambassadors — and fellow veteran entrepreneurs — Charles Kearse and John Cash. Cash, the U.S. Air Force veteran who leads Charlotte-based digital marketing agency The Narmer Group, hopes to continue to grow the local chapter to help the region's economic development and elevate veteran-owned businesses.
"At the end of the day, the goals and objectives of Bunkers Labs are really easy — to empower veteran entrepreneurs to be successful, because their success will drive economic success for the communities that they are in," Cash said. "The vision is just empowering veterans to become better business owners and develop our own community of people."
The most recent businesses that completed the Veterans in Residence program work in areas such as construction, cybersecurity, skin care and custom apparel for veterans.
Bellamy, who is the CEO of Maryland-based development firm The Velocity Cos. in addition to his work in Gastonia, advised the entrepreneurs in attendance to grow their networks and find purpose with their business pursuits. He said he was "enthralled" by the opportunity to create a business focused on sports and entertainment that could serve as a catalyst for a community like Gastonia.
"It is important to know why you're doing what you're doing," Bellamy said during the discussion at the event. "I want you to think of entrepreneurship as a noble act. Don't just think of it for yourself. You're thinking about it for yourself and your family and that is important, but it actually helps everybody. That is critical. When you're going through those tough moments and it is just about you, you're focusing on your own success. When you start thinking about how many other people you can help, not just with what you can provide but with the example of you not quitting, that allows you to be significant. And I'm hoping you're more significant than you are successful."
Cash said the strongest asset for Bunker Labs is the national network that Charlotte's veteran-owned businesses could connect with through the organization. The Charlotte chapter is still in its early days, but Cash and Kearse are hoping to continue expanding its footprint to aid more small business growth.
"For Charlotte this is still relatively new, approximately two-and-a-half years," said Cash, who also teaches at Johnson C. Smith University. "What's next? Deeper relationships. ... Relationships with the city council and the mayor, leveraging our existing relationships with Veterans Bridge Home so they can see what we're doing and how we can be an asset for them and the community. That's what is in it for me and that is what is in it for Bunker Labs. For me, I'm another entrepreneur just trying to help and grow."
