No Result
View All Results
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Results
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
Reserve & National Guard

Ordnance officer wants to expand the American palate

Bianca Strzalkowski
by Bianca Strzalkowski
September 26, 2019
Montana Army National Guard 2nd Lt. James Rolin co-created Cowboy Cricket Farms to introduce ethical protein sources into the diets of Americans. Submitted photo.

Montana Army National Guard 2nd Lt. James Rolin co-created Cowboy Cricket Farms to introduce ethical protein sources into the diets of Americans. Submitted photo.

Don’t knock it until you try it.

Montana Army National Guard 2nd Lt. James Rolin was pretty skeptical when his wife, Kathy Rolin, proposed a business idea built off edible insects. Like any good husband, he went along with it. Three years later, he has become a believer, happily sharing the many sustainable living benefits offered by Cowboy Cricket Farms. 

Kathy and James Rolin are among a growing trend of veterans choosing entrepreneurship, with the Small Business Administration reporting 9.1% of all U.S. firms being veteran-owned. Kathy Rolin, who served in the Coast Guard, came up with the concept of Cowboy Cricket Farms as a nutrition student. She decided to recruit James Rolin, an ordnance officer, to be the marketing manager and network coordinator. The only thing left was to figure out how to get American consumers to expand their palate.

Cue the Chocolate Chirp Cookie.

Rolin’s company offers products with a variety of flavors, like wasabi, tropical and cinnamon.

The couple had started businesses before “with varying degrees of success,” James Rolin said, but nothing quite like the concept of Cowboy Cricket Farms. 

“I’ve never eaten an insect before, so when she brought this idea to me, I thought, ‘well, this [business idea] is ridiculous.’ There’s only two reasons why Americans eat insects: number one, you’re vacationing in Thailand or number two, you’re in the military and going through SERE school. That’s it,” James Rolin said. “But of course, that was a very ignorant way of thinking about it, and as usual she was right and I was wrong, and a couple of years later, it’s hopping right along. We’re still growing, we still have struggles — very much — every day. We need more sales; we need something, but it is pretty amazing to look back at just how much it’s grown over the last two-and-a-half-years.”

Cowboy Cricket Farms sells a variety of products using different flavors, like wasabi, tropical and cinnamon. The owners are also mindful of how they talk about the company to those customers experimenting with a more “ethical” type of protein for the first time. 

“What we found is, if you give someone a whole roasted cricket, they probably won’t eat it. If you give them the powder, they really don’t know what to do with it. But if you give them a delicious chocolate chip cookie, which is made with the cricket powder, then it suddenly all makes sense — it’s just an ingredient and it has extra nutrition in it,” he said. 

They solicit constant feedback from their customers as part of a larger strategy to develop long-term relationships, and in some cases the input drives new product ideas. 

The couple has also found business value in connecting with other entrepreneurs through organizations like Patriot Boot Camp, a nonprofit providing active-duty service members, veterans and their spouses with access to mentors and educational programming. James Rolin says it provides a completely different experience than other networking opportunities.

With Patriot Boot Camp, the single biggest thing is that camaraderie of veteran entrepreneurs. There’s so many things I go to with entrepreneurship, but you can’t quite pack the same around Silicon Valley startups as you can a bunch of Army guys,” he said. “There’s just a different culture and it makes us a lot more comfortable.”

Veteran entrepreneurs at a Patriot Boot Camp event in Austin, Texas.

Jen Pilcher, PBC’s CEO, says the organization’s core program targets those veterans and military spouses at the early stage of their business. She recommends entrepreneurs look at the viability of their business, which is exactly what the three-day boot camp does using a community of experts and peers. 

“We have 200,000 people transitioning out of the service every year and right there you have this group not too sure what to do, so they kind of fall into those three buckets of education, employment or entrepreneurship. I think a lot of people are very intrigued — so they’re exploring entrepreneurship at that stage — and that’s where Patriot Boot Camp comes in. We take a lot of people with ideation, so they have an idea but they’re not really sure if this is what they want to do,” Pilcher said. 

Jen Pilcher, a Navy spouse, is the CEO of Patriot Boot Camp.

Other common characteristics of businesses who attend the boot camp:

  • Pre-revenue or just starting to get revenue
  • One-to-three team members
  • Ideation up to two years in business
  • First entrepreneurial training

Attendees are connected with subject matter experts across various industries. Pilcher says this is the time to be “vulnerable.”

“If you have these 25 minutes to talk to the expert, don’t spend 25 minutes talking about your company. Come prepared with your questions and say, ‘this is where I’m struggling.’ Be vulnerable,” she said.

Both James and Kathy Rolin have each attended several of the Patriot Boot Camp events, and James Rolin echoes the sentiment that entrepreneurs need to be open to help and criticism.

“Think about your pride and then get rid of it because if you are pretty much prideful — I’m not saying don’t be proud of your work — but, you need to ask for help. When we started accepting help, things opened up a lot faster. Make sure that what you have is an actual business. That is something that is difficult to answer because people get so passionate … if you like it, it doesn’t mean anyone else is going to like it. You have to be analytical and see if there is a market for the business and test that market, if possible,” he said.

A list of upcoming program dates and offerings can be found at Patriot Boot Camp.

Want to support a veteran-owned business and try something new? Check out http://cowboycrickets.com/collections/food.

Read comments
Tags: Cowboy Cricket FarmsentrepreneurshipJames RolinJen PilcherKathy RolinPatriot Boot CampVeterans
Bianca Strzalkowski

Bianca Strzalkowski

Bianca Strzalkowski has more than 10 years of experience in storytelling. Her portfolio includes interviews with former Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis, Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, “Shark Tank” CEO Daymond John, and countless elected and military leaders. Bianca holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and journalism. She resides near Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, with her husband and two children. She is a member of the Military Reporters & Editors Association.

Related Posts

Guardsmen ‘undersell themselves’ in civilian job hunt

by AmeriForce Exclusive
3 days ago
0

An employment program is offering specialized support for the career readiness needs of job seekers from the National Guard. “Members...

Read more

Twin brothers climb enlisted ranks together

by Crystal Kupper
3 days ago
0
Twin brothers at the 185th Air Refueling Wing, Chief Master Sgt. Lucas Terry, the unit’s Vehicle Management Superintendent and Chief Master Sgt. Zachary Terry, the unit’s Distribution Superintendent both promote from senior master sergeant to chief master sergeant at their promotion ceremonies on August 6, 2023 in Sioux City, Iowa. Both Lucas Terry and Zachary Terry enlisted at the same time 23 years ago (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Olivia Monk).

Chief Master Sgts. Zachary “Zach” Terry and Lucas “Luke” Terry have always done everything as a pair. From their boyhood...

Read more

Army medic receives EMT certification through the military

by Christopher Adams
3 days ago
0
Ambulance standing in night traffic at a motor vehicle accident in early winter, Roseburg Oregon

Spc. Trevor George, who serves in the Minnesota National Guard, trained and served as an Army medic and currently works...

Read more

Security forces awardee credits team for success

by Kari Williams
2 weeks ago
0
security forces

Capt. Paul Day, who is in security forces, is the 2022 Air Reserve Component Company Grade Officer of the Year.

Read more

Country music icon enlists, wants to inspire next generation of recruits

by Jessica Manfre
2 weeks ago
0
Staff Sgt. Craig Morgan took the oath of enlistment on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. CREDIT: © Grand Ole Opry, photos by Chris Hollo

Army veteran and country music star Craig Morgan surprised an audience this summer by taking the oath of enlistment during...

Read more

Award-winning career counselor puts his soldiers first

by Christopher Adams
3 weeks ago
0
career counselor

For Sgt. 1st Class Antoni Bukowski, receiving the Army Reserve’s 2023 Career Counselor of the Year honor felt like winning...

Read more

Ads

Let's get social

The RNG Drill

News delivered directly to your inbox

Let's connect!

ABOUT US

  • OUR STORY
  • OUR TEAM
  • OUR WRITERS

MAGAZINE

  • GET PRINT
  • GET DIGITAL
  • GET THE NEWSLETTER

ADVERTISE

  • GET OUR MEDIA KIT
  • PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT

SUBMISSIONS

  • SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Never miss out on the latest stories.

© 2021 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Privacy Policy | Terms | Site by Swiss Commerce

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

No Result
View All Results
  • NEWS
  • YOUR CAREER
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • RECRUITING & RETENTION
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • TRANSITION
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • PARENTING
  • OFF DUTY
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • TRAVEL
  • HEALTH
    • FITNESS
    • MEDICINE
    • MENTAL HEALTH
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
  • HISTORY
  • MONEY
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • BENEFITS
  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
    • GET THE NEWSLETTER
  • ABOUT US
    • MEET OUR TEAM
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • PITCH US
    • CONTACT

© 2022 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Site by SCBW