Field Notes 04: This Must Be The Place

This is Not a Charity — with Lisa Sutton Gunderson

Lisa Sutton Gunderson has never worn a uniform. But as a General Partner at The Veteran Fund — a seed-stage VC backing veteran-led critical technology companies in defense tech, autonomy, space, and AI — she might have more conviction about what veterans are capable of than most people who have.  We get into why the "step down and start over" script handed to transitioning veterans is wrong, what an elite operator looks like when they bet on themselves, why her fund pairs veteran operators with technical co-founders, and why treating veterans as a charity case instead of a competitive advantage gets the whole thing backwards.  The Veteran Fund: https://www.veteran.fund [https://www.veteran.fund/] Lisa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasongsutton [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasongsutton]  A Paralax production.  © 2026 Paralax Media. All rights reserved.

Lost in Translation — with Brian Nichols

The veteran hiring system isn't broken because nobody cares. It's broken by design.  Brian Nichols has sat on the other side of the table for his entire career — as a Navy recruiter, at Wounded Warrior Project, running talent acquisition for some of the largest employers in the country. Over 25,000 placements. More than 5,000 veterans.  He knows exactly how the machine works... and why it keeps failing you.  A Rompus Media production.  © 2026 Rompus LLC. All rights reserved.

Six Months to Figure It Out — with Keith Dupont

Keith Dupont left the Army after a strong run as a top-rated company commander and battalion operations officer. What followed was a compressed transition, 100 job applications, and... silence.  We talk through what that actually felt like, where the process broke down, and what ultimately helped Keith find traction. This is a grounded look at transition from someone who went through it in real time.  A Rompus Media production.  © 2026 Rompus LLC. All rights reserved.

Burn the Boats — with Kyle Packard

Kyle Packard and I get into what actually creates leverage after service, what people get wrong about money and planning, and why a lot of vets are in a much stronger position than they realize.  Kyle — Army strategist, CFP®, and entrepreneur — breaks down what actually matters: pension, optionality, business ownership, and why blindly following advice will box you in.  A Rompus Media production.  © 2026 Rompus LLC. All rights reserved.

Field Notes 04: This Must Be The Place

The wrong map. The wrong assumptions. The wrong expectations.  In this Field Notes episode we move from diagnosing the environment to owning your position inside it: speed, risk, timing, tradeoffs, and the decisions that only belong to you.  If the terrain feels disorienting, it’s because you were handed the wrong map. Start where you’re actually standing.  A Rompus Media production.  © 2026 Rompus LLC. All rights reserved.