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In this episode, Hall welcomes Kevin Van Eekeren, Founder and CEO of Fulcrum Investing. Fulcrum Investing is a private investment group focused on making seed to Series B investments in startups across the United States. Kevin is not only an investor but also an entrepreneur and a farmer. Before Fulcrum, Kevin worked as a civilian logistics officer in a SWAT team. Through his experience there, he started a charity-turned-for profit company Fulcrum Tactical. Kevin also started Fulcrum Farms, a Chicago-area sustainable farm. He provides his unique viewpoint on early-stage investing. Kevin relates his agnostic philosophy of investing, with a focus on companies with great teams and solid business platforms, rather than ones that fit with his interests and biases.
Kevin Van Eekeren started his career as a logistic officer for a SWAT team, which gave him insight into the criminal justice world, and he soon found that through training SWAT teams better he could reduce the use of force while bettering the national security of our country. Fulcrum Tactical was born out of that idea, and within 18 months he expanded it from a charity to a for-profit company. He started investing in startups on the side but focused on Fulcrum Tactical and his new venture, Fulcrum Farms a sustainable farm producing high-quality meat and eggs for families and restaurants in the Chicagoland area. After six years Kevin sold Fulcrum Tactical and moved on to investing in startups full-time by starting Fulcrum Investing. Kevin spends his free time co-hosting The State of Logic Podcast and has also continued his passion for farming. Resources The State of Logic (podcast) Fulcrum Investing Kevin Van Eekeren on LinkedIn
Business, Life, & Coffee | Entrepreneurship, Life Hacks, Personal Development for Busy Professionals
Entrepreneurial Success Principles w/ Former SWAT Team Coach Turned Farmer and Investor Kevin Van Eekeren Kevin Van Eekeren started off as a logistics officer in a SWAT team after studying Criminal Justice at Illinois State University. After two years in that position, he started Fulcrum Tactical, a charity that specialized in training SWAT teams nationwide. He spent two more years as a logistic officer before leaving to pursue his business endeavors full-time. In 2011 he successfully transitioned Fulcrum Tactical to a for-profit company. He then started a farm! It is called Fulcrum Farms and it focuses on producing meat and eggs in an environmentally sustainable way. In 2015 he sold Fulcrum Tactical and started Fulcrum Investing, a venture capital fund investing in startups nationwide. In 2016 he started hosting a podcast called Startup Static which has a planned release date of mid 2017 with a bifurcated focus on both the startup world and topics that affect our world, not just business. He also hosts The State of Logic podcast which you can listen to here. Get Social: Joey Price // IG - www.instagram.com/joeyvpriceHR T - www.twitter.com/joeyvpriceHR FB - www.facebook.com/joeyvprice Listen: iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/business-life-coffee-entrepreneurship-life-hacks-personal/id1031048631?mt=2 Podbean - www.businesslifeandcoffee.podbean.com SoundCloud - www.soundcloud.com/businesslifeandcoffee Connect: Twitter - www.twitter.com/bizlifecoffee Instagram - www.instagram.com/businesslifeandcoffee Facebook - www.facebook.com/businesslifeandcoffeee Website - www.businesslifeandcoffee.com This episode is brought to you by Jumpstart:HR, LLC - HR Outsourcing and Consulting for Small Businesses and Startups www.jumpstart-hr.com Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
Kevin started his career as a logistics officer for a SWAT team. That gave him insight into the criminal justice world and he soon found that training SWAT teams was the best way to reduce use of force while ensuring the national security of our country. Fulcrum Tactical was born out of that idea and within 18 months he took it from a charity to a for-profit company. He started investing in startups on the side but focused on Fulcrum Tactical and his new venture, Fulcrum Farms, a sustainable farm producing high quality meat and eggs for families and restaurants in the Chicagoland area. After 6 years, Kevin sold Fulcrum Tactical and moved on to investing in startups full time by starting Fulcrum Investing. He also spends his free time co-hosting a podcast called The State of Logic. www.fulcruminvesting.com/ www.thestateoflogic.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kevin Van Eekeren started off as a logistics officer in a SWAT team after studying Criminal Justice at Illinois State University. After two years in that position he started Fulcrum Tactical, a charity that specialized in training SWAT teams nationwide. He spent two more years as a logistic officer before leaving to pursue his business endeavors full-time. In 2011 he successfully transitioned Fulcrum Tactical to a for-profit company. He then started a farm! It is called Fulcrum Farms and it focuses on producing meat and eggs in an environmentally sustainable way. In 2015 he sold Fulcrum Tactical and started Fulcrum Investing, a venture capital fund investing in startups nationwide. In 2016 he started hosting a podcast called Startup Static which has a planned release date of mid 2017 with a bifurcated focus on both the startup world and topics that affect our world, not just business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kevin Van Eekeren Kevin Van Eekeren started his career as a logistics officer for a SWAT team before starting Fulcrum Tactical. Within 18 months he took it from a charity to a for-profit company. He started investing in startups on the side but focused on Fulcrum Tactical and his new venture, Fulcrum Farms, a sustainable farm producing high quality meat and eggs for families and restaurants in the Chicago area. After 6 years, Kevin sold Fulcrum Tactical and moved on to investing in startups full time by starting Fulcrum Investing. He also spends his free time co-hosting a podcast called The State of Logic. Kevin Van Eekeren Vroom Veer Stories Story about a police officer who is fired for doing the right and morale action (Humans! m'eh) Jeff learned that drug dealers rent guns as a side hustle; who knew?!? Kevin and Jeff both enjoy blowing stuff UP (!) & shooting guns; oh to be a Mythbuster! Started Fulcrum Farms to blow off steam, enjoy nature; not make money Interesting discussion about Guns in America; not selling them won't make them go away The fun lies we tells ourselves about "risk mitigation" in investing in startups Started "The State of Logic" Podcast to teach people the benefits of rational thinking Kevin Van Eekeren Links Fulcurm Investing The State of Logic Podcast
Kevin started his career as a logistics officer for SWAT. This experience gave him insight into the criminal justice world and he soon found that training SWAT teams was the best way to reduce use of force while ensuring the national security of our country. Fulcrum Tactical was born out of that idea and within 18 months he took it from a charity to a for-profit company. He started investing in startups on the side but focused on Fulcrum Tactical and his new venture, Fulcrum Farms, a sustainable farm producing high quality meat and eggs for families and restaurants in the Chicagoland area. After 6 years, Kevin sold Fulcrum Tactical and moved on to investing in startups full time by starting Fulcrum Investing. Kevin’s Challenge; Set aside designated time every day to plan your next step. Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter. Connect with Kevin Facebook Instagram LinkedIn State of Logic If you liked this interview, check out our most popular episodes of all time. Going Deep with Aaron Watson is brought to you by Audible - get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/Aaron. With over 180,000 titles to choose from, you can enjoy from any mobile device. Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay
226: Kevin Van Eekeren on Store Bought vs Home Raised Eggs Recognizing eggs from lovingly raised hens and factory raised, regardless of labeling. In this podcast: We get to know the personal motivations behind Kevin Van Eekeren, a tactical advisor and egg farmer with a focus on clear visioning 10 years into the future. He tells us how his experience developing tactical training has helped him with his farm. He also explains about some of the labeling misperceptions of eggs, and why there is such a marked difference in eggs depending on how the hens are raised. Don't miss an episode! Click here to sign up for weekly podcast updates Kevin is not your typical farmer. He was a SWAT team logistics officer; started Fulcrum Tactical- a charity that specialized in training SWAT teams nationwide; and couple years ago he started Fulcrum Investing- a venture capital fund investing in startups. He most recently started hosting a podcast called State of Logic which has a planned release date of mid 2017 with a duel focus on both the startup world and topics that affect our world, and not just in business. In the middle of it all Kevin started Fulcrum Farms with just 28 chickens raised for personal use which gave him 20 eggs a day. So, of course he started giving eggs away and that is when restaurants and families started offering to buy them. To meet demand, he grew the operation to what it is today, 30 pigs, a few hundred quail, 100 ducks, 100 chickens, a few cows and two goats named Thelma and Louise. They quickly learned the best practice was to follow Joel Salatin's example and use the nitrogen cycle for their own benefit. Now they keep most of their animals rotating constantly to give them new pasture to graze and allow the land they just grazed to rest. Their biggest seller are his eggs and the reason is clear, there is a visual and taste difference between their eggs and those bought at the store. Go to www.urbanfarm.org/fulcrum for more information, photos and links on this podcast and to hear from our other great guests.
Kevin Van Eekeren started his career as a logistic officer for a S.W.A.T. team, that gave him insight into the criminal justice world and he soon found that training S.W.A.T. teams was the best way to reduce the use of force while ensuring national security. Fulcrum Tactical was born out of that idea and within 18 months he took it from a charity to a for-profit company. He started investing in startups on the side but focused on Fulcrum Tactical and his new venture, Fulcrum Farms, a sustainable farm producing high-quality meat and eggs for families and restaurants in the Chicagoland area. After 6-years Kevin sold Fulcrum Tactical and moved on to investing in startups full-time by starting Fulcrum Investing. He is also the co-host of a podcast called “The State of Logic.” What you’ll learn about in this episode Kevin’s background Why Kevin believes that all business owners should be somewhat of a holist The best way to save time and money Why Kevin aims to be objective with information that he receives when making a decision Why you need to be an expert in whatever you’re trying to accomplish Why Kevin believes that there is not a point in running a business unless you can run it morally Why Kevin firmly believes in hiring the right people the first time Why Kevin looks for employees that want to constantly be learning & have a thirst for knowledge Making sure that the way you’re running the business is what’s best for the business Why it’s important to give your employees honest feedback as to how they are doing How to best connect with Kevin: Twitter: @FulcrumTactical Email: info@fulcruminvesting.com Website: fulcruminvesting.com Podcast: The State of Logic