Andy Gibbs

Palm Springs, CA (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal

Veterans Business Institute, LLC

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Location: Palm Springs
Industry: Technology/Web
Year Founded: 2010
Number Employees: 1-10 people
Business Stage: Growth (not profitable)
Entity Type: Limited Liability Company
Description: Current fundraise: $1.5 million - solo or syndicate partners. Follow-on $3-5 million in non-dilutive strategic corporate investment. Investors bet on people, not business plans. Over the past 35 years, I've provided technology due diligence for venture capitalists, founded 6 start ups (manufacturing, software, high tech), earned a dozen patents, and developed many of Silicon Valley's "firsts": first flat screen CRT, hand-held games, LCD watches, safety syringes, 3-1/2" floppy drive, and others. I've served two US Secretary of Commerce appointments to the US Patent and Trademark Office advisory committee, and two appointments to the Intellectual Property Owners Association Board of Directors (only non-Fortune 500 member), and have been EVP international marketing and business development for F-100 Masco Corp. My #1 & EVP of IT and Logistics, Remi Silva, brings 30+ years as Senior SES for the Department of Defense global logistics, cyber security and technology infrastructure, & CIO Department of Commerce, managing $375 million / 450 person development programs. That being said ... Once every 50 years, an Out Of The Box business model emerges (for real, not cliche); Ford's revolutionary assembly line; William Levitt's production line for houses: Levittown. Simply put, our credentials allow us to say with objectivity that Veterans Business Institute has developed another of these groundbreaking business models - one that mass-produces small businesses. Unfortunately, GoBig does not have an "industry" category under which Veterans Business Institute falls, so our business may not hit your industry "sweet spot". Fortunately, GoBig does not have an "industry" category under which Veterans Business Institute falls, otherwise our business wouldn't be considered unique, and we'd have many competitors. Our FUNDRAISE is $1.5 million (single or syndicated, at-once or 6-month phased). This will be augmented by $5 million in non-dilutive strategic investment from the likes of Dell, Home Depot, Salesforce, Intuit, others. We're structured as an LLC; K&L Gates will convert the company to a C-Corp concurrent with equity investment. VBI is a hybrid business loosely modeled after the True Value / Ace Hardware co-op model, blended with a franchise-esque structure. (a) 100% of the small businesses that VBI creates or supports must be VETERAN-OWNED. (b) Every business operates under license to VBI's national brand, DUTY1(TM) (America's first "Veterans-Only brand). (c) Every business pays VBI monthly for our peerless small business management infrastructure (technology), and our human support services. Unlike most brands (McDonalds = hamburgers / Starbuck's = coffee), DUTY1 = the integrity, reliability and trustworthiness of America's most disciplined workforce - our Gulf War Veterans. VBI will manage no less than 50 different, non-competitive consumer service business types under a single, national brand. In the world where a picture is worth 1,000 words, here's a clear, 7-minute company introduction (URL removed) VBI is pursuing a two-part mission: (1) Create an exceptionally huge customer base of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans financially qualified and capable of purchasing our business support programs, (2) Create an immensely-scalable technology & logistics infrastructure that will support the building of a network of 7,000-10,000 veteran-owned businesses in about 2 years (that's 3X Starbuck's best year). During the past 18 months, I wrote a new GI Bill that would allow one million veterans to use their $55K benefits to start or buy a small business. [That's a $55 billion new market.] On October 12, 2011, my Bill was introduced into Congress as H.R. 3167 - the Veterans Entrepreneurial Transition Act of 2011. (Mission One: DONE & PROCESSING) During that time I, along with Mr. Silva, developed and refined the VBI business model. WIth the GI Bill now in Congress, we're entering the business development phase - and breaking onto GoBig to rapidly find the appropriate investor(s) who can provide the funding, and help us fill in our early-stage organizational holes. (Mission Two: LAUNCHING) Our PILOT program to launch our first 35 DUTY1 businesses is targeted for launch in Q-1/2012, with first sales targeted for Q-3/2012. Operations B/E happens Q-1/2013. A refined and well-vetted Business and Operations Plan is available.