Breakline
Traditionally, the well-worn path for civilian transition is to attend an MBA program, use a JMO recruiter, or get hired on your own initiative. Recently, a new class of innovative transition programs has arisen that endeavors to combine the best of both JMO recruiting and MBA programs.
These “selective transition” programs provide targeted career retraining, an alumni network and “warm” networking with interested firms or individuals. They are selective, intense and short in duration. There are different permutations of these programs and most either have a selective admissions process or a focus on different populations within the military, such as special forces or aviation. (It’s important to note that Breakline has no restrictions on background and isn’t targeting candidates with a specific skill set. It instead selects its ‘BreakLiners' through an application process that is detailed below.)
The programs are especially attractive for candidates exploring opportunities in the tech industry. Unlike other industries, the value of an MBA is more ambiguous in tech and many veterans can jump right into roles if given proper mentoring, connections and training. Many veterans are older than the typical MBA student and do not want to slug it out through a comically absurd MBA admissions processes and then two years in an MBA program without a salary. Many veterans also carry little to no student debt and do not want to take on $200K in debt if they do not have the GI Bill.
What is BreakLine?
To understand what BreakLine is and how it came about, you first need to learn about its founder Bethany Coates.
Bethany’s bio is located here. She is a former Assistant Dean at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she helped establish Stanford Ignite - Post-9/11 Veterans, a program for veterans focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. She is also a former McKinsey consultant and has an MBA from Stanford and a BA from Princeton.
What Bethany and her team realized is that veterans possess the skills to make immediate impacts in the tech industry. While “technical” skills are important, a larger problem is finding experienced candidates with leadership and project management skills who understand the problems that the tech industry is facing. Military candidates possess these skills, as well as grit, perseverance and teamwork, and have a vast amount of translatable real-world experience. What they don’t have are the “warm” connections in the industry or the industry insight to know what questions to ask or positions to look for. BreakLine helps fill this gap by acting as a “liaison” and provides the context, coaching, and community that a traditional MBA program offers for high performing military talent.
What’s in it for BreakLine?
BreakLine is a “benefit corporation”. This is an important distinction from a non-profit. It is a for-profit education for employment company with a double-bottom line. A benefit corporation is a traditional corporation with modified obligations committing it to higher standards of purpose, accountability and transparency:
Purpose: Benefit corporations commit to creating public benefit and sustainable value in addition to generating profit. This sustainability is an integral part of their value proposition.
Accountability: Benefit corporations are committed to considering the company’s impact on society and the environment in order to create long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders.
Transparency: Benefit corporations are required to report, in most states annually and using a third-party standard, showing their progress towards achieving social and environmental impact to their shareholders and in most cases the wider public.
Traditional corporations are expected to use profit maximization as the primary lens in decision making. Many now see this as a hurdle in creating long-term value for all stakeholders, including the shareholders themselves. Benefit corporations reject this myopic model. They are required to consider all stakeholders in their decisions. This gives them the flexibility to create long term value for all stakeholders over the long term, and even through exit transactions such as IPOs and acquisitions.
Bethany and her team have essentially flipped the traditional model of education on its head. Most educational programs require tuition upfront, which creates a misalignment of incentives between the program and the outcomes of its students. BreakLine partners with tech firms who are looking for top talent, and the firms pay BreakLine a success fee for each Breakliner hired. By taking away the burden of cost from participants, BreakLine manages to align its incentives with those of its participants and its partner companies. In addition, unlike traditional recruiting firms, BreakLine doesn’t require exclusivity from its participants. They support their BreakLiners throughout all of their interview processes, regardless of whether they accept a role with a BreakLine partner or not.
Who Is Eligible for Breakline?
BreakLine works with veterans and transitioning service members who are interested in mid-level management or mid-level/senior technical roles in major U.S. tech hubs, including the Bay Area, Austin, Washington, D.C., and New York. There is no rank, branch or career field requirement.
Fact Sheet For BreakLine
BreakLine is an immersive program for veterans who want to get into tech. The duration of the program is 3 days.
The total cost to veterans is $75
They run the program throughout the year at the following locations
Bay Area
Austin
New York
Washington D.C.
Year-round work with their innovative Talent Portfolio program, a remote option for those who are unable to attend in person
There is an application process that is competitive and requires the following
Application form
Essay questions
Recommendations
Interview
They are evaluating intellectual horsepower, perseverance, collaboration, creativity, leadership, a passion for tech, hustle, and enthusiasm, rather than a specific skill set or background
The goal is to help veterans get a great job in the tech industry
The program teaches the following fundamentals
Business fundamentals
Tech industry overview and insight
How to tell your story and communicate your personal brand
Mock interviews and coaching
Resume and LinkedIn profile review
Mentorship and networking opportunities
Career Outcomes
Let’s drill down to the “so what?” All of this sounds good but what about actual success stories? BreakLine works with a very diverse population of veterans who have accepted roles on a wide range of teams within top tech companies. You can see ~60 examples of alums who landed roles through BreakLine on their website. Rather than publishing salary data like traditional business school programs, BreakLine is there to provide 1:1 guidance to participants as they navigate their negotiation process.
BreakLine helps candidates find roles in a wide variety of functional areas within tech. This includes:
Operations
Sales
Engineering
Program Management
Project Management
Product