Last fall, WeWork and Bunker Labs, a Chicago organization dedicated to helping military veterans transition to life as entrepreneurs, announced a national partnership to give more resources to veteran startup founders.
The program, called Veterans in Residence, gives six months of free co-working space to veterans in 10 cities, including Chicago, and WeWork said it plans to work with more than 1,000 veterans over the next five years.
This week, WeWork announced the 9 veteran-founded startups that will be in its first-ever Chicago cohort. Each company will have access to standard WeWork member services, including a uniquely designed lounge and meeting space created especially for Veterans in Residence, WeWork said.
"WeWork and Bunker Labs have created a powerful peer-to-peer environment that will help veteran entrepreneurs grow their businesses," Erica L. Jeffries Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, told Chicago Inno in a statement. "WeWork’s collaborative space and supportive community coupled with Bunker Labs’ robust curriculum and vast network of veteran entrepreneurs provide an ideal partnership to help foster the growth of future veteran-owned businesses."
Check out the 9 companies below:
Founder: Carter Davis
Lift For The 22 is an organization designed to provide free one-year gym memberships to the veteran community in order to reduce veteran suicide. By partnering with fitness facilities across the country who donate gym memberships, the program can redistribute thousands of gym memberships to the veteran community every year.
Founder: Carson Goodale
FanFood is a modern mobile concession platform that allows fans anywhere to order their concessions and have them ready for express pickup or delivery at their favorite events.
Founder: Ricardo Anzaldua
LunaCap Ventures provides venture debt financing to early-stage companies with military, women, and minority founders and leadership.
Founder: Schmidt Etienne
R.E.S.S.E.T (Reduced Environmental Stimuli for Self Evaluation Techniques) is a curriculum-based well-being and stress management program that is designed to reduce environmental stimuli both externally and internally to help employees revitalize their resilience and build a better relationship with stress.
Founders: Carolina Taft and Chris Prestle
Homegrwn Creative's goal is to tell stories of businesses and brands through impactful imagery, design and engaged social sharing.
Founder: Chuck Marsh
International Medical Supply brings high-quality, pre-owned medical equipment back to market and ships it quickly and cost-effectively to anywhere in the world.
Founder: Jesse Nunez
The Elite Amateur Fight League is a nationally competitive team-based MMA organization comprised of individual teams to form a league. Its league is designed to improve the amateur MMA landscape by providing a platform for national-level talent to compete against each other and gain national level exposure while providing fans of the sport a single portal to watch the future stars of mixed martial arts.
Founder: Eric Tseng
PadScouts matches home buyers to a handful of agents that meet their criteria, allowing them to narrow their search and find the best agent.
Founder: Aaron Wolf
Adventures Accessed is a back-country outfitter and guide service enabling groups of all kinds to build meaningful connections with nature and each other. The company provides all the gear, grub, rides and guides so groups can enjoy the wilderness.
