Mike Caslin presents Dr. Marie Anne C. Raguso with her Certificate of Completion of the Veterans FastTrack Program.
Dr. Marie Anne C. Raguso (Dr. Mac) was a star student in our recent Veteran’s FastTrack program, and we sat down with her for an interview to learn her fascinating story.
Dr. Raguso is a highly decorated Veteran with a Doctorate in Criminal Justice, Behavioral Science, and Education who teaches at SUNY Orange Community College, while she is continuing to develop her 4P Social Venture business, Analyse This.
A United States Air Force Veteran Security Forces specialist with combat deployment experience, she earned a Combat Action Medal, Purple Heart Merit, and multiple commendations.
Sadly, Marie Anne lost a partner who was killed in combat. He and others in her unit who died were her inspiration for going back to school in 2021. She embraced difficult questions– “What do I do now? How do I honor them?”
“I decided to go after my PhD.” Her extensive knowledge of social sciences and writing, as well as her experience in recon work come together in Analyze This, a research firm that specializes in corporate consulting for custom AI Vital Factors for business acquisitions, and roll-ups.
“One of the things I like to do is I like to go and explore cultures for individuals and other businesses. So that they can learn if there's even a market for them in new locations. If somebody was like, 'Hey, I'm gonna open a McDonald's up in the heart of Athens Greece', we will travel there for them and see if it's even feasible. Interview people. And do the AI-supported quantitative and qualitative work that goes into it, which is so much.”
“I'm a researcher, through and through, and an educator. If I can help someone grow their business, whether it's starting from bootstraps, or they're already established [and] want to continue to grow. That's the ultimate goal of my firm.”
Despite her already extensive educational background, Dr. Raguso learned a lot from the GCSEN Vet Ventures Program. Before GCSEN’s BootCamp, she decided to overhaul her research firm and took a 20-week entrepreneur workshop with the Orange County, NY Chamber of Commerce, which was “insightful”. And building on that, GCSEN helped identify vital actionable issues.
“I didn't really learn how to flesh out my business plan, pitch, or, what questions to really ask myself, and, actually, in our GCSEN Coursebook Get to Wow!, there were questions I hadn't even thought of yet!
And those triggered the light bulb to come on! It empowered me to fix things, like my website, my services, and [assess] what people actually need and don't need. And GCSEN’s focus on 'Serving the Better Good' through social entrepreneurship is so important for me as an individual, because I want to contribute so much more to society.
Brainstorming with Mike about all the questions in the book, and implementing them into my business plan made me really feel that there was value to the program, because when you can re-conceptualize what is missing, you realize you didn't even know what was missing. Finding your voice in business is so valuable, because you see the value of sharing that business with others, then you can truly grow and start sharing it and making yourself marketable. I really appreciate Mike's mentorship also, I'm sure I'm going to continue stealing some of the brain power. He was very, very insightful because there were some things I didn't think about when marketing myself and my business, like focusing on the services that mean the most and give the most value to society."
When asked about the value of the FastTrack Vet Ventures program, Dr. Raguso says, “I think everybody should at least try it, and see if it's right for them. I think anybody who's actually determined and dedicated, actually, diligent, and wants to make a business that doesn't just grow, but leaves a legacy while making money should do this program at a minimum.
I first read the “Get To WOW!” book and answered the questions. Seemed easy- just some homework every night. But then, I was up all night, with so many more questions and inspiring thoughts and I began saying “Oh, my God, I can do this!”
