#95 The Marines Teach You to Keep on Truckin' - Zach Jones, Gunhound Logistics

Zach Jones was four years old when he decided on a military life. His father was in the Air Force and when he met his uncle who was a Marine his future was decided. He was “converted” to the Marines by his uncle and joined in 2011 and drove trucks. Starting with a couple of years in Okinawa and wound up training other drivers. If he had to do it over, Zach might have joined the Air Force as his father preferred, but the Marines did prepare Zach for pushing through the tough times and building his determination for life after the military. And his life has been full as an entrepreneur being a self-described back-to-back losing-the-business chap, his mistakes have led to his success. His first business was Gunhound Games, where his thought he could get a bunch of Vets, teach them how to make video games and sell them. Turned out his assumption was wrong, but he learned a lot. One: Don’t base the requirements for being your business partner on that person being a high school friend; classic error. Two: Get your first gig in a freelance economy for experience and gain your reputation in the industry. Three: Zach likes workhorses and those who can work well with a group – and they are a rare breed. Armed with those lessons, Zach went through a coding bootcamp in Seattle which was a cross country trip for him. He planned on living in the car but that was not an inconvenience because Zach was a trucker by then and really, really enjoyed being around people instead of being alone in a truck. The COVID lockdown cut the bootcamp short but Zach had already learned a ton. And speaking of the COVID timing, there is always timing involved with every business. In 2018 when Zach started his trucking business, the industry was going great. And the next year, it tanked. So next? Zach is building that team with his new knowledge. Now his team is made of people he met as professionals first and became friends next. And even though his coding team is virtual, they connect at a professional and friend level. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes