How to Make Your Career Transition from the Military Easier
David Martin & Gabriel Uliburri, the founders of Real American Heroes Coffee Company talk with David Johnson about how they started their business.
While deployed in Kuwait, David Martin & Gabriel Uliburri came up with a plan to launch a coffee company after they returned. They did research when they could and lined up places to call on after their return.
They found a great company that not only has excellent coffee but has helped these military entrepreneurs with their business offering them guidance on running a business.
“Especially transitioning from military to business. There's a lot of similarities with that, but they just kind of made that connection for us. Not only did they help us with coffee or fresh coffee but also kind of just guidance and what it's like to create a business.”
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David Martin: Yeah so we started doing our research while we were deployed, you know whenever we had an opportunity to. And then we had found a few roasters here in Phoenix. We all live here in Phoenix.
So we went out and we called those roasters and we started tasting coffees with them and figuring out the business part with them, and deciding who we're going to use to roast our coffee. And after many many tastings and different companies that we work with, we found this one company and they have just been spectacular for us. They've been a wealth of knowledge they have coffee from all over the world shipped in.
Gabe Uliburri: Oh yeah, delicious.
David Johnson: They're here local?
Gabe: Yeah and they get coffee from anywhere.
David Johnson: So have they been an, I don't want to say without them you couldn't have done it, but they have been pivotal in this process?
David Martin: Absolutely pivotal.
Gabe: Especially transitioning from military to business. There's a lot of similarities with that, but they just kind of made that connection for us. Not only did they help us with coffee or fresh coffee but also kind of just guidance and what it's like to create a business.
David Johnson: Interesting. Yep, so I was going say did you have any business experience prior to starting this.
Gabe: Other than owning an ice cream truck that failed miserably because people ice cream drivers are actually pretty territorial, so that didn't last very long.
David Johnson: Some of your greatest lessons are learning your greatest failures.
Gabe: Exactly, but at least I was applying myself and I was kind of researching what it was.