Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Sumeet Chahal, the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of Bunker Labs. Sumeet is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and holds a degree in Computer Engineering from Texas A&M University. The United States military provides a massive network of support for military personnel, but this network is under-utilized when veterans leave the military. Sumeet and Bunker Labs strive to build and leverage a network of veteran entrepreneurs.
Veterans leave the military possessing a wide skill set, yet they are 40% less likely to receive traditional bank loans. Sumeet described to me that for many veterans, serving was an act of selflessness, and many shy away from utilizing this network because it felt selfish to ask for help. Bunker is changing this narrative. By connecting veterans throughout the country through entrepreneurship programs that help veterans find resources and scale their businesses or the pre-COVID-19 social gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs. Bunker gives veterans the support to make the necessary connections, whether it be a mentor, a partnership, or a new customer to help veteran-owned businesses scale.
Here is the first of two parts of our interview:
Carter: Can you give me a bit of background on the beginnings of Bunker Labs, as well as your story in working for Bunker?
Sumeet: Bunker Labs was founded six years ago by Todd Connor. In late 2016, I had decided that I wanted to shift my focus towards entrepreneurship. This led me to move to Memphis from Chicago. In previous positions, I had primarily been an operator rather than a visionary. The founder of Start Co., Eric Mathews, connected me to current CEO, Blake Hogan, at a networking event. He came to me with the premise of helping to launch a generation of veteran entrepreneurs. I immediately knew this was something I couldn’t turn down. This opportunity led me to being a part of Bunker’s Central region,while based here in Memphis. I’m forever grateful that Bunker Labs has allowed my personal history of being a veteran shift to being a part of my story once again.
Carter: How does Bunker go about the process of onboarding veterans?
Sumeet: Certainly we have sign-ups to connect with us through our website, as well as we actively seek out veterans. Partnerships, like the one we have with Start Co., also serve as outlets into finding entrepreneurially-minded veterans. Like many other businesses, COVID-19 has been a force for change. Prior to the pandemic, we were focused on creating Bunker charters/communities in every state as well as hosting large networking events throughout the year. Since, we have shifted our focus to the programs that we offer. Our primary program provides a 6-month fellowship for entrepreneurs to scale their businesses in select cities. We also provide “Launch Lab Online” which lets entrepreneurs submit their ideas and receive constructive feedback. We market ourselves through speaking engagements and networking events where we find ecosystem partners that our services provide a solution. We’ve had sit downs with the Governor of Tennessee as well as Senators to discuss the current state of capital access for veterans.
Carter: What are the 5 – 10 year goals for Bunker?
Sumeet: Bunker has 34 communities nationwide, but we are pausing our efforts into having a community in every state. Currently and in the near future, we are going to focus on enhancing the programs that we offer, ensuring that the programming is effective in scaling businesses and educating the participants. This includes the Veterans in Residence program, a six month incubator in partnership with WeWork. This program currently provides office space, an entrepreneurship curriculum, and accountability coming from other members of the program. We are continuing to expand our CEOcircle programs where we group industry-specific, later stage companies that are focused on scaling their businesses. We might have a group of 7 or 8 national CEOs that can brainstorm and offer insights, resources, and experiences that they might have experienced in their specific region. The pandemic has demonstrated that being face to face is no longer a necessity, so at Bunker we are constantly looking at how we can scale as well.
Carter: Can you give an overview of your Tech Journey. How did you go from Marine to computer engineer? How has your technical background impacted your career as a businessman?
Sumeet: I’ve always had a fascination with computers. Programming and using software is a part of my creative space. Currently, it’s clear that software solutions are present in every field. This is another thing that the pandemic has highlighted and expanded. Software solutions naturally ease the effects of personal distance. I think it’s safe to say that the most commonly used phrase of 2020 was, “hey, you’re on mute.” Software solutions are allowing businesses to scale like never before. It’s imperative for entrepreneurs to make the most of this change. In a recent entrepreneur insight study, the two main issues that people faced were access to networks and access to PPP (Paycheck Protection Program — a loan to provide small businesses an incentive to keep employees on their payroll). Innovation is happening in every field and it’s important to stay on top of it. Take for example physical cash, this is going obsolete before our eyes.
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