REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- VETCON, the conference designed to help Veteran Entrepreneurs accelerate access to capital, today announced the speaker lineup for its inaugural event. Notable speakers include Steve Blank, "The Godfather of Silicon Valley;" Mike Maples, Floodgate Ventures; Chuck Wallace, Esurance Co-Founder; Trae Stephens, Founders Fund; Nate Boyer, Green Beret and former NFL player; as well as leaders from Andreessen Horowitz, Facebook, Lean Startup Company, GrowthX, Wildcat Ventures, HubSpot, IBM, Salesforce, Indiegogo and more.


Scheduled March 23-25, in Redwood City, Calif., VETCON combines speaking panels, world-class workshops, investor office hours, a pitch competition, and an opportunity for veteran innovators to make direct connections with the robust Silicon Valley entrepreneur community.

"Military veteran entrepreneurs are an untapped market with huge potential," said Ian Faison, VETCON co-founder, West Point graduate and former U.S. Army Captain. "Despite mutual interest from both venture capitalists and veteran founders, there's never been a conference that delivers true ROI to entrepreneurs, mentors and investors at the same time – until now."

VETCON is expected to attract more than 200 veteran entrepreneurs and more than 35 professional investors. In addition to the notable speaker lineup, sponsors and partners that believe in the power of veteran entrepreneurs will be on hand, investing in the success of the VETCON community.

"VETCON changes the game for veterans and investors alike," said Faison. "With programming that rivals any startup event in the country, we're catalyzing the nationwide veteran ecosystem, providing investors with genuine business opportunities and helping entrepreneurs boost their customer pipeline and raise funding faster in 2017."

Key sponsors include IBM, GrowthX Academy, Streetshares and Task Force X Capital. Additionally, as a Community Sponsor, LINE1, an independent social-professional network for veterans, will offer opportunities for fast paced intra-conference communications as well as a platform for attendees to communicate post-conference.

"Veterans are proven leaders and ambitious entrepreneurs, who consistently deliver great returns across their businesses," said Anthony Garcia Jr., Founder of GuideOn and LINE1 and a U.S. Army Veteran who will mentor startups at the event. "However unlike the tech community or other industries that have a deep foothold in the venture capital world, veterans frequently enter entrepreneurship alone, or through ineffective incubators. I am proud to be a part of the conference and have the opportunity to fuel this vibrant industry in a way that will drive meaningful career opportunities for even more veterans."

For more information or to register for VETCON, visit: http://www.veteranconference.com/

Startup TechWire | Reporting on business, innovation, and education for America's vibrant startup community | David Menzies | 919-274-6862 | Writer and Public Relations Consultant | Editor StartupTechWire.com | [email protected]