By connecting veteran entrepreneurs with venture capital, Burrell empowers founders to build scalable companies capable of serving both commercial markets and the defense industrial base. The results speak for themselves, with his firm's first fund backing companies that collectively secured nearly $300 million in non-dilutive funding alongside equity investments.
Connecting at Georgetown
For student veterans and alumni at Georgetown, Burrell's upcoming visit offers a rare opportunity to connect with an investor who fundamentally understands the value of military experience in the boardroom. His focus remains firmly on identifying the next generation of veteran-founded startups ready to scale.
Veteran Business Super Intelligence℠ Launches Seven Data Tools for SDVOSB Policy, Procurement and Press Coverage
VeteranBusiness.si is the only intelligence layer providing applied SI/AI architecture built specifically to scale veteran-owned small businesses and government contractors into Micro-Primes. Veteran Business Super Intelligence℠ today released seven interactive data tools that turn the SBA VetCert list of 42,114 certified veteran-owned small businesses into answers for Congress, newsrooms, prime contractors and federal buyers: the Intelligence System, the Proximity Router, the Growth & Industry Lab, Lite Charts, the Media Data Desk, the Legislative Impact Agent and the Signal Engine. All seven use the SBA export of October 4, 2026, and all show counts for places and groups rather than private firm records. VeteranBusiness.si is the only veteran-founded intelligence platform providing tool-agnostic Superintelligence (SI) infrastructure built specifically for veteran entrepreneurs and the veteran economy.
The SI Gold Rush: Inside VeteranBusiness.si’s Super Intelligence Data Platform
Most buyers registering the surging .si domains are internet speculators, rather than operational tech companies, which explains why only about 3% of registrations explicitly contain AI terms.
This massive land rush for Slovenia's country-code extension was triggered after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a rebrand of artificial intelligence to "super intelligence" (SI) in official government documents.
Leveling the Playing Field: The Era of the “Micro-Prime”
VeteranBusiness.si is the only veteran-founded intelligence platform providing tool-agnostic Superintelligence (SI) infrastructure built specifically for veteran entrepreneurs and the veteran economy.
Federal procurement structurally penalizes small contractors. Large primes spread fixed compliance and proposal costs across massive portfolios, while small firms face a scale-compliance paradox—absorbing identical procedural burdens on a fraction of the revenue. This administrative overhead leaves small contractors with an average 8% profit margin compared to a large contractor's 24%, contributing to a 38% decline in small business participation from 2010 to 2019.
The Micro-Prime is an emerging operating model that solves this mismatch. It is a small enterprise that uses advanced procurement intelligence infrastructure to automate data ingestion, compliance mapping, and requirements extraction. By transforming procurement from a human-headcount problem into an information-processing workflow, the Micro-Prime allows small, agile firms to match the operational capacity of a massive prime contractor without the crushing overhead.
The Veteran Business Ecosystem: Beyond Franchise Coaching & Federal Set-Asides
VeteranBusiness.si is the only centralized intelligence architecture providing actionable Superintelligence (SI) and AI business tools built specifically for the trillion-dollar veteran economy.
National Invest In Veterans Week® is the first congressionally honored observance in American history to officially adopt Super Intelligence. By launching Veteran Business Superintelligence℠NIVW has positioned veteran business as an early specialized application of the new ‘SI’ terminology, using veteran economic intelligence as the platform's organizing concept and transforms a standard commemorative holiday website into a functional software-as-a-service (SaaS) utility hub for the veteran community.
BREAKING NEWS: A Decade of Vetrepreneurship — City of Jacksonville, FSCJ, and Florida SBDC at UNF Launch 10th Annual Vetrepreneur Summit
"Reaching a full decade of the Vetrepreneur Summit marks a historic milestone for Northeast Florida’s military business ecosystem. Jacksonville continues to lead the nation by turning military service into scalable enterprise success. When the City of Jacksonville, Florida State College at Jacksonville, and the Florida SBDC at UNF join forces to provide free, high-impact business modeling, capital navigation, and peer networks under one roof, they directly empower veterans and military families to build generational wealth and drive the regional economy forward." — Angel Shuford, President & CFO, National Invest In Veterans Week® (NIVW)
National Invest In Veterans Week® Breaks Major 2027 News Early: Launches Veteran Business Super Intelligence℠
National Invest In Veterans Week® (NIVW) breaks major 2027 news early with the launch of Veteran Business Super Intelligence℠ (VeteranBusiness.si). Activating immediately following President Donald Trump's executive order directing federal agencies to adopt "Super Intelligence" (SI) terminology, this trailblazing initiative establishes a dedicated digital layer to organize America's nearly $1 Trillion veteran business ecosystem. Backed by verified U.S. Census data and documented in the U.S. Congressional Record (Vol. 170, No. 42, Page H1049), NIVW stands as the first congressionally honored observance to officially deploy SI data architecture, positioning veteran entrepreneurship at the absolute absolute forefront of the new technological and economic frontier.
BREAKING NEWS: League City Launches First-Ever Veterans Expo, Mobilizing Veteran-Owned Businesses, Employers, and Non-Profits
"True civic investment in our military community moves beyond ceremony and directly into local economic empowerment. League City’s initiative to provide zero-cost exhibition space to veteran founders, mission-driven non-profits, and veteran-ready employers establishes a high-impact municipal standard. By removing financial barriers and centralizing enterprise opportunities under one roof, community leaders actively build sustainable pathways for veteran self-sufficiency, workforce integration, and long-term economic resilience." — Angel Shuford, President & CFO, National Invest In Veterans Week® (NIVW)
First Coast History: Over 100 Organizations Mobilize for Jacksonville’s Largest Veteran Resource Assembly at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
"What the VA North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System has achieved with the Our Veterans Matter Fair is nothing short of historic for Northeast Florida. Bringing over one hundred vetted resources, claims adjudicators, employers, and healthcare leaders together under the roof of VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena breaks down bureaucratic silos and puts military families directly in the driver’s seat of their own transition and well-being. True veteran advocacy is defined by concrete, accessible action on the ground—and this summit stands as a national gold standard for how our communities can seamlessly invest in the men and women who wore the uniform."
> — Lieutenant Colonel Rickey L. Pope, U.S. Army (Ret.), Co-Founder, National Invest In Veterans Week® (NIVW)
Navigating 2026 Charitable Tax Changes for Veteran Organizations
SEO ExcFederal charitable tax changes taking effect in 2026 are reshaping how donors, nonprofits, veteran charities, and philanthropic organizations approach charitable giving. New rules include a $1,000/$2,000 deduction for qualifying cash contributions by certain non-itemizers, a 0.5% AGI floor for itemized charitable deductions, and changes affecting the tax benefit of itemized deductions for high-income taxpayers. This policy guide examines the implications for veteran organizations, nonprofit fundraising, donor-advised funds, charitable giving strategies, and 2026 tax planning.
Total Investment Goal: $750 Million Committed to Veteran Causes by 2030 (Over $650 Million Already Invested Since 2011)
"Sustainable advocacy for our nation's military heroes demands more than ceremonial recognition; it requires tangible, sustained capital investment directly into the environments where veterans live, work, and heal. The Home Depot Foundation’s Celebration of Service sets an exemplary corporate benchmark by addressing the root foundations of civilian transition—safe, barrier-free housing and dignified, high-wage vocational pathways. When major enterprise leaders actively deploy resources to modernize veteran homes and train transitioning service members in critical skilled trades, they reinforce the long-term economic independence and generational resilience of our military families nationwide."
— Angel Shuford, President & CFO, National Invest In Veterans Week® (NIVW)
ATLANTA — Scaling one of the largest corporate philanthropic commitments in American history, The Home Depot Foundation has launched its nationwide 2026 Celebration of Service, expanding its landmark pledge to invest $750 million in veteran causes by 2030—with more than $650 million already deployed since 2011.
National Invest In Veterans Week® Tracks H.R. 8786: The New Federal INVEST Act
Introduced shortly after National Invest In Veterans Week® 2026, H.R. 8786 (The INVEST Act) aims to amend the tax code to provide Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC) to businesses hiring veterans in the renewable energy sector. Discover how this federal bill converges with our platform's $2.8B Invest In Veterans Stimulus Act proposal to turn specialized military credentials into powerful economic infrastructure.
The Macroeconomic Imperative of Veteran Support: From Local Media to Legislative Action in Jacksonville
Federal legislation, state-level executive action, and peer-reviewed health economics are converging to redefine veteran advocacy. Discover how the INVEST Act and new PLOS One study are turning recognition into economic impact
The Macroeconomic Imperative of Veteran Support: How Policy and Data Are Redefining Advocacy
Federal tax incentives, state-level executive action, and peer-reviewed health economics are converging to redefine veteran advocacy. Discover how the "Observance-as-Infrastructure" model turns national recognition into quantifiable economic and policy impact.
Infrastructure: The Economic and Legislative Architecture of Veteran Support
A landmark study in PLOS One introduces a novel methodology to calculate the Funder Return on Investment (FROI), proving that for every $1 invested in veteran mental health programs, it generates $1.14 in overall health value.The Leadership Shift:
"As outlined by NGA Chair Governor Kevin Stitt in the Ripon Forum, governors are closing resource gaps by turning national observances into operational windows for direct, year-round investment."
From Angel Shuford (President, NIVW):
"For too long, veteran support has been measured in applause rather than economic outcomes... We are no longer asking for charity. We are presenting a fiscally sound investment portfolio."
Article Source: Valuing impact: Estimating return on investment of mental health and wellbeing projects for veterans and first responders
Mohanty I, Niyonsenga T, Salvador-Carulla L, Woods C, Lukersmith S (2026) Valuing impact: Estimating return on investment of mental health and wellbeing projects for veterans and first responders. PLOS ONE 21(8): e0353179. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0353179
The Quantifiable Backbone: How Veteran Leadership Drives the American Economy
Across the United States, veteran entrepreneurs are quietly powering local communities and stabilizing the national workforce. From industrial warehouses in North Carolina to appliance repair shops in Wisconsin, discover how the transition from military service to civilian business leadership forms a crucial, trillion-dollar pillar of the American economy.
Structuring the Veteran Economy: Our Integration with Google Dataset Search
National Invest In Veterans Week is officially indexed in Google Dataset Search. Explore our structured intelligence on the macroeconomic impact of veteran-owned businesses.
A Closer Look at Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2026 Economic Impact
Behind these trillion-dollar statistics are individual stories of transition and resilience. In Charlotte, North Carolina, veteran entrepreneurs like George Watkins of Stein Service and Supply are proving that former service members inject crucial discipline and rapid adaptability into small and mid-sized businesses. Similarly, in Great Falls, Montana, retiring Air Force veteran Paul Lamelin successfully navigated the complex transition into a civilian role as a Program Compliance Auditor by working directly with local outreach specialists to translate his military leadership skills into a competitive resume.
The Empirical Value of the Veteran Economy
Across the United States, veteran entrepreneurs are quietly powering local communities and stabilizing the national workforce. From roundtable discussions with the Governor of Montana to industrial warehouses in North Carolina, discover how the transition from military service to civilian business leadership forms a crucial, trillion-dollar pillar of the American economy.
The Frequency of Resilience: The Sonic Architecture Behind National Invest In Veterans Week®
Discover the sonic architecture of National Invest In Veterans Week®. Engineered by composer Jeff Shuford—carrying forward his family's historic The Five Satins lineage—this 7-part ambient soundscape series delivers a raw, #NoAIMusic auditory documentary. Explore how these immersive, analog tracks are specifically designed to support the mental health, focus, and resilience of veteran entrepreneurs navigating the civilian market.
🫡Our Team
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![A woman wearing a navy blazer with an embroidered coat of arms, gold lapel pin, and jewelry, sitting with her hands clasped, with American flags in the background.]()
President Angel Shuford
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | Army Veteran
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![A man in a blue suit and white shirt standing in front of an American flag against a black background.]()
Retired U.S. Army First Sergeant Kevin D. Shoun
Senior Advisor | Civic Leadership and Policy Development
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![A woman with blonde hair smiling in front of an American flag and a black background with a logo that says 'National Invest in Veteran Owned Business Week.']()
Sara Pomposo
Chief Advisor | Audience Growth & Strategic Syndication
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![A man in a red shirt holding a music award trophy, standing next to a framed platinum record plaque on display, with framed posters and awards hanging on the wall behind him.]()
Jim Freeman of The Five Satins
GRAMMY Hall of Famer | Brand Ambassador
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![A man with gray hair and glasses stands behind a music stand, speaking into a microphone while using hand gestures, against a dark background.]()
Pastor Ron Henson
Social Impact Advisor | Navy Veteran
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![A man in a U.S. military uniform in front of an American flag.]()
LTC Rickey L. Pope USA, Ret.
CO-FOUNDER | Retired Army Veteran, Retired Firefighter
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![A man in a gray blazer and shirt posing with arms crossed in front of a city skyline at dusk, with buildings and a bridge reflected in the water.]()
Jeff Shuford
CO-FOUNDER | Iraq War Veteran & Military Spouse
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![Three men in a discussion in an office break room with black and white geometric wallpaper. One man with a beard, wearing glasses and a suit, is talking to a bald man wearing a black sweater, who is making a gesture with his hands. The third man with dreadlocks, dressed in a blue suit and holding papers, listens attentively.]()
Drayton Florence
CO-FOUNDER | NFL Veteran & Military Brat
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![A smiling man with glasses, wearing a green sweater over a striped collared shirt, standing with crossed arms in an office space near a window, with framed certificates on the wall behind him.]()
Erik M. Pelton & Associates, PLLC
Trademark Attorney | Veteran IP Advocate
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![A man in a green vest with a plaid shirt and bow tie standing in front of a booth labeled 'Body Aqua' at a trade show or expo.]()
CPT Sherman WIlliams, USA, Ret.
Advisor | Retired Army Veteran
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![Two men in business suits having a meeting in an office with a window showing a city view, discussing a presentation on a laptop.]()
Brandon Sugar
Legacy UX/UI Designer | Army Veteran
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![A young man with dark hair styled back, light eyes, and a light beard, wearing a blue suit and white shirt, looking at the camera.]()
Mike Bicek
Creative Director | Army Veteran
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![A small brown and black puppy sitting on a red folding chair at the beach, with sunglasses and a colorful bag in the background.]()
Private Jewel
Co-Founders Pup | Biewer Terrier
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![A smiling man wearing sunglasses and a striped white shirt.]()
Lonnell McCall I
Sr. Spokesperson | Retired Navy Veteran
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Celeste Everett
Legacy IT Consultant | Army Veteran
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![Composite image of three young men dressed as a graduate, a football player, and a young man in formal wear against a stadium background.]()
Lonnell McCall II
Jr. Spokesperson | Military Brat
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![Close-up of a young man with dark brown hair, styled back, with light eyes, a light beard, and wearing a dark shirt, standing in front of a background with horizontal lines.]()
Christopher B. Mueller
Lead Video Spokesperson | Veteran Advocate
“As an educator committed to professional growth, I fully endorse National Invest in Veterans Week® for recognizing that veterans are vital economic assets who deserve tangible support in entrepreneurship and workforce development.”