Mentors from Wisconsin businesses met with veteran entrepreneurs April 23, 2021, offer Zoom coaching sessions during the E-seed Startup Surge Event. The Surge Event The D.J. Bordini Center of Fox Valley Technical College teamed up with the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs through grant funding to help veterans grow their businesses. The Venture Center Director Amy Pietsch hosted the event during the E-seed Entrepreneurship Series of the Veterans Innovator Course. Pietsch meets with the COHORT 2 class on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Autumn Landmine Productions Mentors met with a newly forming business called, “Autumn Landmine Productions.” The Zoom session allowed for one-on-one consultation providing feedback and next steps to take. During break out sessions, topics covered ranged from legal paperwork advising, brainstorming,

The Pitch Bradley Burt, founder of Autumn Landmine Productions, went back to college to pursue the Technical Studies Journey Worker Degree. Burt stumbled into the Madison College University of Wisconsin Liberal Arts Transfer program after his return in Fall of 2017. The Madison College Center for Entrepreneurship helped him stay in school to support his income. Burt is creating an online interactive newspaper, The Jaded Patriot, and the Operation: Greenspace Wisconsin veteran newsletter, which captures found footage by at-risk veteran footage takes on his Facebook pages to spotlight socioeconomical hardship. Autumn Landmine Productions operates as the executive producer like a print newspaper. The value proposition provides the viewer with an ethical vantage point versus a biased opinion of bloggers. The minimal viable production collects found footage and produces loglines through storyboarding preproduction, Adobe software production and adheres as a brand to documentary ethics. Autumn Landmine Productions follows the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater ethical standard for publishing during postproduction.

• Autumn Landmine brings black and white print standards into the multimedia industry when grey areas appear in found footage.
• Autumn Landmine Productions films documentary through Facebook live and uploaded footage. The footage takers provide the content.
• Autumn Landmine Productions edits footage according to documentary ethics for publishing purposes.

Burt seeks three angel investors offering each a trustee position on his corporate social responsibility campaign 501 c 3 board. Autumn Landmine seeks $25,000 for start up to establish the online medium through Stellar Blue Technologies. The agency doubles as an at-risk veteran social media safety net called Operation: Greenspace HRF, which gives away Wi-Fi devices to the homeless at the Wisconsin State Capitol as an at-risk veteran checkpoint. They are the Jaded Patriots. Mentor Feedback An entrepreneur’s elevator pitch offers cross-examination by mentors, investors and lenders the opportunity to weigh in on the strengths and weaknesses of a startup. Mentors met with students to narrow their focus and enlighten the road ahead. The feedback from mentors helped Autumn Landmine sort through the nuts and bolts of marketing and revenue streams.

• Drew Mueske, founder of Tee Forward, offered solid advice by reaching out to his friends at warriorsongs.com to see if they would like to help generate documentaries. Connecting with other veteran organizations helps the community grow.
• Dana Coyhis, founder of Not for Now LLC, suggested pitching the idea to VICE to generate exposure. Finding that first revenue stream launches the business and will generate more exposure once the first client relationship gets established.
• Rob Kleman from the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce provided a wealth of knowledge ranging from legal services, available financing, what not to do and a friendly consultation.

Mentors pointed the agency towards philanthropies who support veterans. The Surge session helped prevent setbacks with new business ventures that launch offering friendly advice. Pietsch guided the sessions between 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. through ten minute sessions on Zoom. Key Supporters and the Road Ahead Autumn Landmine Productions pitches on April 28^th to 1 Million Cups for class. The agency seeks to solicit opportunities for key supporters to donate and be listed in documentary credits. Burt will begin shopping for trustees and key supporters to apply for a WDVA grant to create a social media safety network. Autumn Landmine Productions through the recommendation by Pietsch will seek to consult with Stellar Blue Technologies. The grant funding will be used to start up The Jaded Patriot Press after completion of the Publication: Editing Course at UW Whitewater in Spring of 2022. For press inquiries and freelance consultations, please comment or connect through the Autumn Landmine Productions contact page.