Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Veterans are terrible at networking.
And, honestly, that’s pretty excusable. There’s not nearly as much of a need for it in the military as in the civilian sector. While you can absolutely land a new gig in the military through networking, if you go about it too openly, you risk standing out against the crowd. Any veteran will attest that standing out against the crowd is counter to military culture.
Networking in the military is also easier than the civilian world because most of it is done within the same organization. You wear the same uniform and have the same shared purpose. Even if you go outside the military, most likely any networking you are doing is with another federal agency within the US government. It’s a lot easier to network when you have the same purpose and speak the same language.
It’s way different to do a cold reach out to someone in the civilian world or to go to a networking event and be able to communicate your value to people from different organizations.
So veterans need some help networking when entering the civilian world. And the best place to start? With other veterans.
That’s exactly what Meritorious is trying to do.
What is Meritorious?
Meritorious is the only private network exclusive to military veterans and military spouses. And they really want to make it a service that provides high-level value to their members. It will not be open to just anyone.
The concept began when co-founders Katherine Kostreva and Ryan Loya personally saw some missed opportunities in the veteran transition process.
Ryan served ten years in the US Marine Corps, deploying four times. After the Marines, he started a career in advertising and launched a veteran hiring and rotational program for a Fortune 500 company. While Ryan was getting started, Katherine worked at a nonprofit, consulting for veteran service organizations to improve their operations and strategic processes.
They both saw that the military transition process had some shortcomings, and started their path to improving it through legislative reform. After linking up, they co-authored a 32-page legislative proposal to reform the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) that military members go through on their way out of the service. The proposal was sponsored by Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE-02) and improved the measuring and reporting of success for the program.
But they still saw that there was room for improvement in the post-military life, so they started Meritorious.
Who can join Meritorious?
Their annual membership will only be open to founders and executives, either if they are veterans or military spouses. For founders, there are specific requirements that the company must meet in order to gain membership.
Especially for veteran entrepreneurs, there can be unique challenges in getting a business off the ground:
- Lack of network of potential investors
- Difficulties in finding specialty talent (e.g. software development or prototyping)
- Challenges in accessing mentorship with experienced entrepreneurs
What I like about the Meritorious model is that it seeks to address some of these challenges, but do so in a more equitable way that provides equal value to all involved.
What services will membership provide?
While COVID-19 is slowing down their plans to have a physical location for the community, the company is still moving forward with providing a virtual network in which members can connect.
This will include:
- Professional Blog with members as guest bloggers
- Live feed and recurring digest
- Personalized profile with the ability to import information from other social media
- Careers page and organization database
You may be thinking, “this sounds a lot like Linkedin…”
In many ways you are right — specially when you look at the features they offer. But what Meritorious is working on is developing something that can make the “cold call” far more valuable. Instead of blind reaching out on Linkedin, Meritorious members will be able to know that people within the network are fellow high-performers and that it is worth their time to engage with that person.
Beyond the online features, Meritorious is planning to provide a community that is highly focused on providing unique value to its members. Their curated memberships are meant to ensure that the community is consistently a productive use of one’s time investment.
Why you should consider them
You may think, “Why should I pay for this? Aren’t there already organizations like American Corporate Partners or Veterati that provide mentorship resources for free?”
Yes, they do. But networking and mentorship are not singularly dimensional.
Organizations like the ones just mentioned are especially great when you are in the transition process. They can help you find mentors who can work through the mechanics with you on your resume, interview prep, and linking you in with other potential contacts.
But you may need something else. You may want to find a co-founder for your startup idea — or potential investors. And there they can start to be limited.
There is also the skin-in-the-game effect. Volunteer organizations are great — they truly do a lot. But at the end of the day, they are volunteers. They may want your success, but that doesn’t meant they are connected to it. Connecting with successful executives who share military camaraderie and leadership experience creates real and actionable business outcomes.
When you have to pay to enter a social organization, the shared members want each other to succeed. The success of a single person can raise the positive effects for the collective. A rising tide lifts all boats.
There is also the benefit of the physical location. I don’t care how much WFH is on the rise because of COVID, it’s still not the same as meeting with and interacting in person. The closest bonds and relationships still need that in-person interaction.
Take advantage of the Vet Net
The shared experience of military service is a great bridge for veterans to use when networking. A fellow veteran also went through the same struggles in transitioning into civilian life. At the early stages of the transition journey, speaking to someone else who went through the same process can be extremely helpful. Just knowing that your struggles are not unique can be an added benefit.
Most importantly, the shared sense of value and purpose from the military provides a deeper connection with someone that can be harder to find elsewhere.
Don’t undervalue the strength of shared connections. When meeting someone new, there can be an immediate connection through finding shared experienced. And nothing is quite a shared experience like the military. Saying you know about the local bar in your college town is one thing — but finding out you know about midnight chow at Camp Buehring, Kuwait is a whole other thing.
The power of the Vet Net is real — don’t be afraid to lean in it. And in looking for ways to do that, the prospect of what Meritorious has to offer provides exceptional value for all involved.