Jocko Willink and Mike Sarraille – Helping Veterans Transition into the Private Sector

Jocko Willink – https://twitter.com/jockowillink – and Mike Sarraille – https://twitter.com/mjsarraille – served together as Navy SEALs and now work together at Echelon Front – https://www.echelonfront.com/ – a company Jocko cofounded.

We met up to talk about a new initiative they’ve set up called Overwatch. Overwatch is a talent acquisition firm that matches employers with veterans from special operations forces and combat aviation. You can learn more about Overwatch at https://www.efoverwatch.com/

They’re also hosting an event called the Muster in San Francisco on October 17th and 18th. You can sign up at https://www.extremeownership.com/

If you’d like to hear more from Mike and Jocko, check out Jocko Podcast Episode 134 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDWupT4tc8M

The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon – https://twitter.com/craigcannon

We’re accepting applications from startups for the Winter 2019 funding cycle. Apply here: http://ycombinator.com/apply

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Topics
00:17 – Intros

4:20 – Mike and Jocko on how they transitioned out

8:50 – How the military prepares people for the private sector

13:00 – What is Overwatch?

22:45 – Preconceptions about veterans

27:37 – Advice for companies looking to hire veterans

30:16 – Jocko’s next book, The Dichotomy of Leadership – https://www.amazon.com/Dichotomy-Leadership-Balancing-Challenges-Ownership/dp/1250195772

33:11 – Mike and Jocko’s working relationship

44:33 – How to set up your team so everyone can contribute

54:15 – What Mike and Jocko are trying to improve about themselves

57:58 – Alex Badalyan asks – What are some military tactics startups could adopt to increase team effectiveness and throughput?

1:00:00 – Allen asks – From your experience as a SEAL and in the business world, do two or more co-founders/leaders have a higher success rate? What are your thoughts on a solo leader/founder with a strong team and culture?

1:06:09 – Armando Neves asks – I liked Jocko’s episode on strategy and the way of the Samurai (The Book of Five Rings), how much of the warrior mindset is he implementing on a day to day basis?

1:10:30 – Ryan Carl Mercer asks – Favorite MRE and thank you for your service sir.

1:14:12 – Spencer Clark asks – Is culture more decided by micro or macro policies & interactions?