Doug Doan on investing in Veteran Entrepeneurs

Hivers & Strivers Angel Group Episode 36 of Form Your Own Pack

In Episode 36 of Form Your Own Pack we meet Douglas Doan of Hivers and Strivers Angel Group.

Doug Doan is a graduate of both West Point Military Academy and the Harvard Kennedy School with a Masters in Public Administration.

Doug is focused on angel investing aimed at companies owned and managed by graduates of US military Academies, (West Point, Navy, Coast Guard, and even the Air Force).

In this episode Doug argues that Military founded ventures have outsized success vs civilian founders.

Hivers & Strivers have notably invested in companies such as

✅ Black Rifle Coffee Company

✅ LeaseLock

✅ Indepenedence Hydrogen

As Doug says, ‘We are not a charity’. To the contrary military vets have leadership and execution skills that far surpass those of other educational experiences.

One of the benefit of investing exclusively in Veterans is dela flow. Vets tell other Vets and as the only game in town so to speak, for the longest time Hivers & Strivers was the "‘only game in town.’

I asked Doug if there is a Y Combinator for Military Vets? He talks about the only accelerator that he talks about from Penn Fed Bank. A program that doesn’t cost them anything and doesn’t take any equity from them. This references James Schenck and Seda Goff as the leaders of this fantastic program.

Doug gives one piece of advice to founders - he says that founders need to be supremely focused on customer experience.

I asked Doug the role of community in the success of Hivers & Strivers. He indicates that the power of their success is not money - its their aggressive use of their network. As Doug says “We’ve got a ferocious team”. Hivers & Strives belief is that entrepreneurial efforts require strategic, passionate support. Hivers & Strivers angels invest time and leverage personal networks to ensure the greatest chance for success of the companies they invest in.