Veteran Owned Business Marketplace

51 VETS

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51 Vets is a nonprofit dedicated to connecting transitioning and transitioned veterans from elite military communities with leading business professionals.

With hundreds of members and growing, our staff and mentors enable equivalent success in the private sector and continuing education by providing networking opportunities, business school prep, direct career placement, mentorship, and other resources that are unique to their advanced capabilities and capacities.

Our members are primarily from Special Units within the U.S. Military, such as the Navy SEALs, U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets), U.S Army Ranger Regiment, Marine Special Operations (RAIDERS), and Naval, Air Force, and Army Aviation Units. Our mission is to support these Veterans as they seek their next challenge outside the uniform.

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Maggie Larson, Executive Director, 51 Vets Incorporated: Maggie is the Executive Director of 51 Vets Incorporated. She is a seasoned nonprofit executive and a Fuqua business school graduate. As a former Army Medevac helicopter pilot, current Army Reservist, and military spouse, Maggie deeply understands the experiences of 51 Vets members. Her passion for supporting the 51 Vets community stems from her own journey through multiple combat operations and transitioning from active duty to the civilian sector. Outside of work, she enjoys being a mom to her two daughters, cheering on Notre Dame football, and exploring different ski mountains across the country.

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Jordan Selleck, Founder, 51 Vets; CEO and Co-founder, 51 Labs - a MM PE marketing firm

Jordan is a recovered investment banker, Founder of 51 Vets, a subpar triathlete & marathoner, and a proud minivan owner. He started working with transitioning veterans in 2017. Since then, he has helped place over 200 vets in jobs and has spent more than 2,000 hours volunteering for vets. His family lives in the Atlanta area.

BLACK POWDER PARTNERS

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“Partnering With Founder-Led Companies Across Industrial and Lower-Mid Markets”
We invest, operate, and grow legacy businesses in essential services, infrastructure, and manufacturing with strategic leadership and veteran-led principles. 

1. Invest – capital for growth, succession, and legacy transitions
2. Operate – operational support and executive leadership
3. Partner – equity rollover and alignment with founders
4. Search/Recruit – elite veteran talent placement (Black Powder Search)

Our mission is to fuel future generations by investing in America's growth businesses and partnering with our nation's elite special operations leadership community.

We place great value on founders who prioritize their business, employees, customers, and community, and we are committed to safeguarding their legacy while expanding their business to its fullest potential.

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Mark Whaling is a founding partner of Black Powder Partners, a mission driven private equity firm, which is dual purposed due to their holdings and search divisions. Across both areas, Mark leverages his twenty five years of Institutional Sales, Finance and Management experience, to drive positive outcomes for BPP’s partners, investors, and the Special Operations Veterans who manage BPP's portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Black Powder Partners, Mark was the Global Head of Securities at Canaccord Genuity, a position he held since April 2019, and was responsible for the oversight of global sales, trading, research, and specialty desks. Previously, Mr. Whaling was Global Head of Sales and Trading, and from 2012 to 2015, he served as Head of Global Equity Sales and Trading. Mark joined Collins Stewart (acquired by Canaccord Genuity in March 2012) in 2008 as Head of US Equity Research and Sales and was promoted to Head of Equities in September 2010. In March of 2011, Mark was promoted to President of Collins Stewart LLC and Head of US Securities.

Before moving to Collins Stewart, Mark spent five years as a Managing Director of Institutional Equity Sales and Director of Product Development at FTN Financial and worked as a Vice President in Institutional Equity Sales at Banc of America Securities and ABN Amro. 

Mr. Whaling holds a BA in history from Princeton University, where he remains involved with their Football and Lacrosse Alumni organizations and helps mentor student athletes. Outside of his life in finance, Mark is active in charitable causes and is Chairman of the Special Operators Transition Foundation, which helps special forces veterans find high quality employment, and is on the advisory board of Youth Inc, which helps charities focused on below the poverty line children, and the board of the Westchester Chapter of the NFF, Golden Dozen, which provides scholarships for student athletes, as well as actively involved with Steer for Student Athletes, which helps deserving student athletes achieve their dreams of attending college.

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Zach Venning spent nearly a decade in Army Special Operations as a Psychological Operations (PSYOP) specialist. He deployed across Southeast Asia and elsewhere, where his job was to understand people and their behavior, influence decisions, and build trust in complex, high-stakes environments. After the Army, he moved into private markets with a year in venture capital at Closed Loop Partners and several years as an investment consultant at Morgan Stanley. Today he works on the leadership  helping financial advisors grow their business by identifying opportunities.

He holds an MBA from NC State and an M.S. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, and he is pursuing his CFP. Zach also serves as Director of Alumni Relations for the Special Operators Transition Foundation, where he helps strengthen the alumni community. He speaks Indonesian and is learning French. In his spare time he plays squash, golfs, and sails with his family. An avid outdoorsman he also enjoys motorcycle riding and camping.

CREO ADVISORS

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Strategic, Operational, and Human Capital Solutions That Deliver Superior Outcomes
At Creo Advisors, we help companies unlock performance by focusing on what truly drives results. From enterprise-wide transformations to targeted functional improvements, we deliver tailored solutions that create measurable impact — always with lasting capabilities in mind. Creo Advisors helps companies achieve superior outcomes by partnering with ambitious management teams and Private Equity backed portfolio companies. We are focused on delivering lasting capabilities through exemplary service, ensuring our clients thrive across growth, operations, and human capital.

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Rich Vitaro, Founder/Managing Director, CREO Advisors. Rich is an impact-focused advisor, passionate about helping clients achieve step-change, sustainable improvements in performance. Rich has successfully led ῀200 engagements for ῀100 clients and is recognized as a trusted partner by Senior Management, Boards and Private Equity sponsors in time-sensitive, complex and critical situations.

HMH CAPITAL PARTNERS

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Rich Hoover is Managing Director & Partner at HMH Capital Partners, a private equity firm that acquires and grows American manufacturing businesses with veteran owners and operators. A retired U.S. Army Special Forces lieutenant colonel, service-disabled veteran and mechanical engineer, Rich leads HMH's M&A team and its national acquisition strategy, helping highly qualified retiring and transitioning servicemen and women move into business ownership through acquisition.

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HMH is currently raising Fund III to put more veteran owners behind American manufacturers. Rich is also the owner of Schott Manufacturing Solutions, an SBA-certified service-disabled veteran-owned small business in Longmont, Colorado, providing mission-critical CNC machining for the defense and aerospace industrial base. He holds an MBA from Rice University.