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👤 Connect with Today’s Guest – Melissa Washington

• Website: womenveteransalliance.org

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/washingtonmelissa/

• Instagram: [@womenveteransalliance]

What happens when a Navy veteran, laid off during the 2009 recession, decides to create her own opportunities? For Melissa Washington, it led to teaching LinkedIn workshops at her dining room table, joining LinkedIn itself, and ultimately founding the Women Veterans Alliance — now a global organization serving women across the world.

In this episode of A Founder’s Life, Melissa shares her journey from military service to corporate HR, to entrepreneurship and nonprofit leadership. She opens up about family, faith, balance, and why her favorite advice is simple: you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

🔥 What you’ll learn in this conversation:
•How Melissa turned a layoff into a launchpad for entrepreneurship
•What she learned working inside LinkedIn during its growth years
•Why she created Women Veterans Alliance — and how it’s grown globally
•The role of family and faith in her entrepreneurial journey
•How she defines health as holistic: physical, mental, financial, and business
•Why balance means taking charge of your calendar and building discipline
•The power of asking: overcoming imposter syndrome to seize opportunity

👉 Subscribe now for more founder stories, raw lessons, and inspiration.

⏱️ Timestamps
0:00 – Intro & sponsor (Thankz)
0:32 – Meet Melissa Washington: Navy veteran, entrepreneur, founder
1:08 – From Navy to HR to layoff in 2009
1:52 – Teaching LinkedIn workshops at her dining room table
2:40 – Hired at LinkedIn → global travel and opportunities
3:25 – Launching Women Veterans Alliance in 2015
4:19 – Family: 31-year marriage, raising a daughter, support system
5:00 – Defining health beyond medicine: financial, business, physical, mental
6:07 – Fitness routines, nutrition challenges, and faith as mental health
6:56 – Fun: travel, cruises, and family genealogy projects
7:59 – Defining balance: taking Fridays off, owning her calendar
8:30 – Pivotal moment: adopting her daughter through foster care
9:06 – Advice to entrepreneurs: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”
10:06 – Where to find Melissa (Women Veter

LinkedIn

linkedin.com/in/leogestetner

Website

leogestetner.com/leo

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