Bunker Labs Momentum Grows at #SXSW
March 15, 2016 / Share:
A few weeks ago we celebrated Bunker Labs expansion to Nashville. Most recently, our team has returned from SXSW 2016 where we celebrated a new addition to our team: LeShane Greenhill (read: Google funds CODE2040’s minority tech program in 7 cities). We’ll be posting more about that soon!
At South by Southwest, we also attended several Bunker Labs events, including the Veteran Entrepreneur Breakfast hosted by DELL. The following are highlights from the morning:
Robert Douthit – Executive Director of Dell Solutions Centers Americas
“We’re interested in the entrepreneurial spirit from a business perspective because we think that creates growth across the economy.”
Mike Ray – Founder and CEO of Wise Rides
“I tell people, when I got out of the Marine Corps, the only thing I was qualified to do was to be a security guard at minimum wage and it’s really just kind of fighting my way to learn about business and excel.”
Katherine Clark – US Representative for Massachusetts District
“I’m hoping that we can really bring Bunker Labs to Washington and bring this story there and say, ‘This is a great way to build capacity.’”
César Blanco – Texas State Representative from El Paso
“People who come out of the military have got a skill set and that’s leadership. The other skill set is organization. There’s also a lot of discipline and motivation to succeed. As service members, they’ve been in extraordinary situations and we know how to utilize those extraordinary situations to be successful.”
Marisela Salayandia – Corporate and Government Affairs at Dell, Inc.
“Getting insight from folks like Bunker Labs across the United States is very helpful to policy makers, to the staff, to stakeholders like the Dell Government Affairs team, to be able to get around the concept that would really energize and mobilize the practices that Bunker Labs wants to see in action.”
Shane Walsh – Founder and General Partner of Arena Growth Partners
“My co-founder and I are both veterans. He was an Army aviator; I was tanker in the Army. We both really believe in what veterans bring to the table in terms of entrepreneurship, small business and leadership.”