This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Charlotte Creech is the CEO of Patriot Boot Camp. Read the full interview with Charlotte below to learn more about her experience and advice for women working in tech.
Q1: What inspired you to work in this industry?
My husband’s military service in the Air Force is initially what prompted me to start a tech company. Watching his disjointed and frustrating experience transitioning out of the military left me thinking there had to be a better way to connect and match veterans with the best fit higher education programs at scale. I partnered with a fellow MBA classmate who witnessed the same problem while serving in the Coast Guard, and together we launched a tech startup to build a solution. As non-technical founders trying to build a SaaS product, we were fortunate to be selected to attend Patriot Boot Camp, where we received world-class mentoring from the Techstars network to help us execute our vision.
Following my experience, I now have the privilege of working with other veteran and military spouse startup founders to help them launch and grow companies of scale and impact via Patriot Boot Camp’s program.
Q2: What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech? Any advice on how they can build their career?
The best way to learn and succeed is by doing! It’s easy to be intimidated by “tech” when you don’t have a technical background, but anyone can learn and join in. You don’t need to be a software developer to break into the industry. Think of a topic you’re passionate about, find someone who’s building a scalable solution to address it, and get involved as an employee, mentor, volunteer, beta user, etc.
If your goal is to build your own solution, surround yourself with experienced mentors and advisors that have the skills and subject matter expertise you are lacking so you can learn from them and make informed decisions.
Q3: Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?
Yes, Patriot Boot Camp is a proud Pledge 1% member and partner. We also encourage our alumni to become members and incorporate philanthropy into their business model. We find that military & veteran entrepreneurs already have a strong commitment to give back and #givefirst. Pledge 1% makes it easy for them to do so!
Q4: Do you serve as a mentor? What does mentorship mean to you?
In my current role, I view myself as more of a facilitator and network connector to stellar mentors than a direct mentor. However, I always look forward to working with founders and lending my experience and guidance when asked.
To me, mentorship is about helping others advance without expecting anything in return. I’m a big believer in the Mentor Manifesto created by David Cohen from Techstars.
Q5: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?
I’ve been fortunate to benefit from the experience and coaching of many great mentors, but one piece of advice that continues to drive my decision-making is this: choose the one thing that you want to be the best at in the world and focus relentlessly on executing.
This was advice that Nicole Glaros from Techstars gave me to help redirect product development for my startup, but I find myself coming back to it in both professional and personal contexts. Time is limited and resources are scarce, so don’t waste your efforts focusing on things that don’t matter or on trying to be all things to all people. Take pride in doing one thing really well, and grow from there.
Q6: What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?
Plan less! Be focused and work hard, but don’t try to predict or architect the future. The beauty of life lies in the journey and there are many paths that lead to meaningful outcomes. Don’t waste time stressing out over trying to pick the right “one.”
