Feb 5, 2020
Bob Moran
graduated from the Naval
Academy in 1983. He served honorably as a
Marine officer, but as he neared retirement from the military, he
didn’t make the transition into civilian life as smoothly as others
do.
Like many veterans, Bob struggled to
integrate into society, struggled to get the right jobs and
perpetually under-earned versus his potential as a graduate of the
United States Naval Academy. This struggle, combined with
his own mental health differences led Bob to losing relationships,
his home, and his income.
Eventually, Bob found help in a
civilian homeless shelter and made his way to the Department of Veterans
Affairs. The VA helped him get back on his feet and now
Bob has turned to entrepreneurship, in the mental health space, to
build a better life.
Bob’s startup is called Mirror Image
Clothing. He explains what they do and their mental health mission
during our conversation.
You can connect with Bob
Moran here: LinkedIn, Startup: Mirror Image Clothing on Etsy, Instagram, Email,
HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS
WE TALKED ABOUT:
- Bob Moran graduated from
the United States Naval Academy in 1983. Bob talks about his
transition to civilian life, and how he never really connected with
high paying jobs.
He explains how he perpetually under-earned and how that led to
losing his family, his home, and how it impacted his mental
health.
- The VA – Bob
shatters the myth that the VA is a “bad” institution and doesn’t
help veterans. Bob
found quite a bit of help and many resources for mental health,
homelessness and other problems he faced at the VA. Bob encourages veterans, and
their loved once, to ignore what you hear in the press about how
bad the VA is, and seek their help because they have great
resources.
- Veterans Crisis Hotline
– Bob shares with us that he approached the VA through the
Veterans Crisis Line. You can read about that
resource here. The phone number is
1-800-273-8255.
You can also chat online via their website or you can text to
838-255.
- We talked about the stigma
associated with getting help from the VA. Bob shares about why
he didn’t seek help from the VA for so long. He viewed the VA as a place
for people that “weren’t like him.” He thought he was “above”
needing their help because he was an Academy graduate and an
officer. Bob
explains how that stigma was shattered for him and what kind of
help he eventually received.
- Bob has turned to
entrepreneurship – Bob has leveraged numerous resources
available to him via the VA, and other places, to create a startup
focused on mental health, called Mirror Image Clothing.
- Mirror Image Clothing
– Bob’s startup is centered around helping people with
their greatest struggle. Their mission is
to develop a national, then global, brand
of clothing that liberates people from their limitations. How?
Online sales via Etsy at first, and simultaneously locate 1,000
female entrepreneurs ages 18-64. Then help them develop their
ideas into million-dollar businesses by providing founder training,
experience and support through a franchise of Mirror Image
Clothing.
Connect with the Stigma
Podcast in the following ways: Website,
Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn, Email
Connect with host Stephen
Hays here: Stephen Hays Personal
Website, Twitter,
LinkedIn, What If Ventures (Mental Health Venture
Fund)