Joseph Arora

Degree(s): Business Management

Professional background, interests and expertise: Joey is currently a Program Manager working to streamline and scale operations for a government software program (DoD Platform One) designed to get commercial software authorized for use on Department of Defense systems in days and weeks instead of months and years. He is an Air Force Veteran where he led innovation efforts and co-founded AFWERX (Air Force Innovation Program) to connect innovators and accelerate results for Air Force culture change and technology adoption. He scaled the government organization from 5 to 350+ people, they engaged over 100,000 Airmen, funded over 1,700 companies with $529M which led to 530 prototype projects and 21 scaling to serve strategic needs of the Air Force. He was responsible for shaping the strategy around how the Air Force invests in small businesses. Joey is an Air Force Captain and has served as an Airfield Operations Officer in the US and in Afghanistan. He has started three companies, facilitated Startup Weekends, been a 1 Million Cups organizer, and is a grassroots ecosystem builder. 

Hours available for mentoring per month: 3

Best professional advice: Entrepreneurship is all about experience, getting in there learning as much as you can by failing fast and taking note of what drives your success.

What does mentorship mean to you? Mentorship is a chance to learn from one another and a chance to share lessons learned, life hacks, make introductions and bring people up as you progress through your career.