Happy Veterans Day & the Entrepreneur

I was invited to speak at the New York Entrepreneur Week on Wednesday by founder Gary Whitehill, and sat on a panel with some pretty stellar talent including Linkshare‘s Steve Messer, ContextWeb‘s Anand Subramanian, and Synta Pharmaceutical‘s Safi Bachall. I love participating in panel discussions because I end up learning as much as the audience does, and in the case of the NY Entrepreneur Week, it only served to solidify my love of entrepreneurship.

Today is Veteran’s Day in the US (well, technically yesterday, but I haven’t gone to bed yet). It’s the kind of holiday that passes without much notice — you might see recognition of the troops while watching sports on TV, but the average joe probably doesn’t think much about. It’s a sad commentary on modern society, particularly when you consider the lives that are affected by war.

I tend to think about entrepreneurship in the context of creating an Internet company — that certainly has been the obvious definition for the past 15 years — but entrepreneurship can manifest itself in many different ways. After all, an entrepreneur is simply one who has a big idea and takes risk and responsibility for executing it.

In a serendipitous convergence of topics, I clicked on an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times today entitled “Disorders in the Court.” Contributor Ronald Castille recounted the tragedy of American servicemen returning home with PTSD, only to become incarcerated for various transgressions arising from the difficulty of reintegration into society.

“Men and women trained for combat often deny having a problem; their
psychological strength becomes their weakness. Many try to handle their
pain with alcohol or drugs, and divorce is increasingly likely. The rate of suicide among combat veterans is remarkably high, and homelessness is all too common. “

Throwing a veteran into jail is a terrible idea, and fortunately, an entrepreneur agreed.

The entrepreneur is a judge named Robert T. Russell in Buffalo, NY and his solution to the problem was to create “veterans court.” Instead of standing trial, he provides free placement in treatment programs. In his program, the veterans had a 90% completion rate and very low recidivism.

“Because the courts are reserved for veterans, they serve as a
recognition of past service and an effective way to reawaken the service
members’ pride, discipline and courage — critical elements in helping
many resolve their problems. It helps, too, that the veterans are in the
program with one another, fostering a sense of camaraderie. “

Judge Russell’s program has been so successful that it’s been replicated in other states — a viral idea, if I’ve ever heard one. Regardless of your feeling about war, no one can dispute the enormous sacrifice that our soliders make, and the tragic emotional damage that was inflicts. It’s inspiring to see a social entrepreneur make such a key difference.

So on this day, here’s a tip of the hat to Judge Russell and to all the veterans.

And now we return you to our regularly scheduled program.