Call Summary: San Antonio Military Tech Training Opportunity and Political Discussion

Overview

Brenda called Gary to propose a coding bootcamp business model targeting San Antonio's large military population using GI Bill funding. The conversation covered the mechanics of accepting GI Bill payments, San Antonio's unique military market dynamics, and broader discussions about political developments and Gary's consulting potential.

Key Topics Discussed

Detection Company Advisory Opportunity

23-Year-Old Founder Evaluation:

• Brian introduced Brenda to a young founder working on detection technology
• Founder seeking a co-founder for her company
• Brenda's Assessment: "She's immature. I would say that like most 23 year olds"
• Conditional Interest: "So do I want to do the advising? I don't know. So I'm asking you"
• Gary's Input Requested: "From your angle, if there's potential, then we can pursue it. I can pursue the conversation more, but if not, then I don't want to waste my time"

GI Bill Coding Bootcamp Business Model

San Antonio Military Market Analysis:

• Brenda's Pitch: "San Antonio is mostly a military base, right? A lot of these people... The money would go straight from GI Bill"
• Military Bases: Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston, and one other major base
• Key Insight: "They're not even going out of pocket" - GI Bill covers full training costs
• Market History: Code.up previously charged $30,000 using GI Bill funding before shutting down

GI Bill Evolution:

• Old Rules: "15 years ago, you had to use it in three years"
• Current Rules: Three-year limitation removed, can be passed to children
• Market Inefficiency: "Their children are just wasting it and taking silly stuff, going to school"
• Example: Friend's daughter attending Harvard using mother's passed-down GI Bill despite not needing it

No Certification Required:

• Gary: "Do I need to have some kind of certification to take GI Bill money?"
• Brenda: "No."
• Gary: "Really?"
• Brenda: "That's what I'm saying. The easiest way."

Strategic Resources:

• Brenda's Advantage: "Hubby works for the contracting command on post. So he can get information for us"
• Research Commitment: "I'm researching how Code.up [operated]... I think they overdid it. They were charging 30,000. That's ridiculous"
• Value Proposition: "We don't even need to be that much. But as simple to look into it... if we can teach it and even maybe find placement"

Gary's Knowledge Monetization Potential

Brenda's Recognition of Gary's Value:

• "I don't know if you know your potential though yet... In regards to the knowledge that you've amassed"
• "While you're looking for consulting work or you're doing other things for other people, you yourself... you are also like a brand"
• Bootcamp Vision: "Maybe once a month we do a boot camp. Coding boot camp. And you charge them to sign up"

Quick Implementation Acknowledgment:

• Referencing Gary's automation website: "What you did this afternoon in a very short time"
• "I don't even know that they know just how much you know"
• Market Comparison: "They're charging $3,000 to learn how to code"

San Antonio Tech Education Landscape

UTSA Cybersecurity Excellence:

• "The top school in the country for cybersecurity is UTSA"
• "A lot of people go to UTSA for cybersecurity"
• Limited other tech offerings in the area

Military Community Dynamics:

• Large retirement population due to military medical facilities
• "They're bringing people from all over to learn... because of the biggest hospital"
• "A lot of them end up even retiring here"
• Many veterans with unused GI Bill benefits

Political Commentary and Concerns

Trump Administration Criticism:

• Greed Concern: "He got to greedy. He wants his family's name, he wants to enrich himself so much"
• Cryptocurrency Ventures: "They didn't have to do that with the Trump and Melania coin, they didn't have to do that. Like it was already... you already made money from Trump coin. Why did you go start a Melania coin and dump on people?"
• Government Shutdown: "The government shut down should not even have lasted that long. It was pride... not wanting to pick up the phone"

Immigration Enforcement Issues:

• Austin friend's acquaintance arrested while driving to work
• Wife jailed overnight for asking about husband: "Why would you throw her in jail for asking where her husband is? Like, just tell them... we arrested your husband"
• Brenda's Assessment: "He's really not... I think it's more dictator type tendencies"
• Balanced View: "Out of the two, he was the better choice. Right now, he's just..."

Prayer and Politics:

• "We prayed for him to get in power, right? We prayed for him because that's what God wanted. You know, come in, clean house"
• "But I think he came in... He got greedy"
• Call for humility: "I mean, we prayed for you, you made it in, but you should just... be humble"

Educational Philosophy

Tech vs Traditional Education:

• "A lot of these people, they're gonna go end up paying a bad loan to a degree that's not gonna help"
• "Technology is always gonna pay off because we can even hire good teachers"
• Vision for comprehensive support: "Put them in a good tech school, get them placed... and we good"

Business Development Strategy

Gary's Conditional Interest:

• "If you can organize. If you can get lead gen in San Antonio. I think it could make sense"
• "Open to your ideas on how we would get people to sign up"
• Needs concrete marketing and enrollment strategy

Brenda's Marketing Confidence:

• "The marketing part is not hard"
• Focus on military community's specific needs and funding mechanism
• Understanding of target audience psychology and pain points

YouTube Channel Integration

Content Creation Plans:

• Brenda mentioned planning YouTube channel development
• Suggested featuring Gary's expertise in content
• Vision for educational content tied to bootcamp offerings

Key Quotes

• On GI Bill opportunity: "If we can teach it and even maybe find placement... San Antonio doesn't have that anymore"

• On Gary's potential: "I don't know if you know your potential though yet... In regards to the knowledge that you've amassed"

• On market opportunity: "They're charging $30,000... That's ridiculous. And they were not even matching them up with jobs"

• On Trump: "He got greedy where he wants his family's name, he wants to enrich himself"

• On education value: "Technology is always gonna pay off"

• On marketing: "The marketing part is not hard"

Action Items / Takeaways

• Research specific GI Bill requirements and payment mechanisms
• Investigate Code.up's business model and reasons for shutdown
• Leverage husband's military contracting connections for market intelligence
• Develop pricing strategy significantly below $30,000 benchmark
• Create job placement partnerships to differentiate from failed competitors
• Consider integration with YouTube content strategy
• Evaluate detection company opportunity based on technical merit

Strategic Insights

Market Opportunity Assessment

The San Antonio military market presents a unique opportunity with guaranteed government funding through GI Bill benefits. The shutdown of Code.up at $30,000 price point suggests market correction opportunity at more reasonable pricing with better outcomes.

Competitive Advantages

• Direct military base connections through Brenda's husband
• Understanding of military community culture and needs
• Gary's technical expertise exceeding typical bootcamp instructors
• Faith-based integrity in delivering actual value vs. extracting maximum GI Bill dollars

Political Context Impact

The discussion of Trump administration policies and immigration enforcement reveals broader concerns about authoritarian tendencies while maintaining pragmatic view of political realities. This context affects business planning and community engagement strategies.

Integration Potential

The bootcamp concept aligns with broader Gentry Sheng ventures, YouTube content creation, and Kingdom financing vision. Military community represents both business opportunity and ministry field for faith-led entrepreneurship.