Advisors

Success is no mistake. Our Business Gym is mentored by a network of A-list business experts in law, finance, marketing, and more. VBOI’s select group of high level experts advise our veteran business owners to succeed.

Melissa Levine-Piro, Lawyer

Melissa’s experience with the VBOI started in 2013 when she was asked to speak at a business group on the legal questions that arise when starting a business. She had such a positive experience that she offered to be a regular lecturer at similar groups. The Veterans are always very anxious to speak with Melissa because of the complexities that are involved with the legal side of owning your own business. When Veterans work with Melissa, they can expect to learn a great deal about how to build their business while staying within the barriers of the law. This encompasses everything from incorporating the business to drafting contracts to guidance through civil litigations. All of these things are necessary for every business to ensure ones finances and properties are safe.

Melissa always makes it a priority to meet with any VBOI member who needs one-on-one time regarding legal concerns in their business. She loves getting to know the VBOI members and working with them to expand on their business ideas. Helping start-ups is a passion of hers, and seeing Veterans succeed from her help gives her great satisfaction. Melissa has enjoyed assisting the men and women who have already given so much to our country. She plans to continue offering her services throughout the VBOI organization and beyond.

Kathy Doyle, Networking Entrepreneur

Kathy Doyle was introduced to the VBOI through her membership in the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO); a global network of business owners all around the world. From the moment she met the men and women in the VBOI organization she was hooked! Since then, Kathy has been instructing various classes in the 18 module business course designed by founder Jerry Pinsky. These courses teach all aspects of business ownership from marketing, to sales to finances, legal and accounting. Additionally, Kathy includes role play in the courses she teaches which focus on networking and presentation skills.

Kathy continues to work with the VBOI because of how inspiring the members are. She cherishes the one-on-one time she gets with the Veterans doing individual mentoring on a weekly basis. “Everyone is so committed to learning and improving, it’s amazing!” Kathy explains.

Kathy is a qualified entrepreneur herself, running her own company called FireFlower Alternative Energy. FireFlower Alternative Energy works with companies to help them leverage federal and state incentives that are available for clean, renewable energy development. Recently, FireFlower developed the largest roof-mounted solar installation in the city of Boston.

Tricia White, Creative Marketing

Tricia White, VP of Creative Marketing for the company Fun Enterprises, INC. got involved with the VBOI organization while working as a Senior Business Advisor for the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center.

Not only does Tricia have enormous respect and admiration for the veterans and their dedication to protecting our freedom, but her husband also spent 27 years in the Marine Corp in both active duty and reserve capacities. She understands the importance of these men and women and will do anything in her power to help.

With her experience at Fun Enterprises, a national entertainment company that provides programming and event planning, Tricia is able to use her knowledge in marketing and business to guide the future business owners in the right direction. Tricia’s greatest memory of working with the VBOI is when she got the opportunity to teach a training session on Social Media Marketing. Through this training session she was able to spend time explaining how social media works as a marketing tool and how important it is for any business. Tricia was excited to hear that after these sessions, various veterans applied the concepts they learned in her course, and saw excellent results.

Teacher Director – Eric Ham