Steve Taylor
Founder and Principal
Steve Taylor is a former Navy Lieutenant and Surface Warfare Officer. He is a 1987 Naval Academy graduate, having earned his Bachelor of Science in Oceanography. Steve proudly served afloat and ashore worldwide. Upon completion of his military service, Steve began a career in High Tech that stretched nearly 15 years, first joining Applied Materials as a Project Manager and later working at Lockheed Martin (Risk Manager) and Logitech (Account Manager). While enjoying a healthy career, he began to look into franchising and small business ownership as a way to insulate himself from the vagaries of technology. He purchased his first franchise nearly 10 years ago, building it into one of the top units in a large system, then selling a majority interest in 2019.
Jean-Pierre Bolat
Founder and Principal
Jean-Pierre “JP” Bolat - Experienced business leader, entrepreneur, and retired U.S. Naval Officer. During his 20-year Naval career, he served multiple tours of duty around the world and retired in 2007 at the rank of Commander. With an international resume in cyber security, international business development, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, robotics and more, he has channeled his lifetime of exceptional achievement into new and exciting missions. As founder and CEO of The Bolat Group, LLC, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and NY State Certified SDVOB, JP has been delivering products and services to both public and private sector customers since 2009, including contracts with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) and the Army & Air Force Exchange System (AAFES). A 1987 Naval Academy graduate with a Bachelor of Science in English, he has also earned a Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering and an Executive MBA.
Bravo Zulu Partners was established specifically to:
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#1: Link qualified veterans (and others) with outstanding business ownership options and
#2: Work with companies (especially veteran-owned) that want to implement a franchising strategy.
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Our "why" is fairly straightforward - while there are many companies that recognize the benefit of hiring veterans, there isn't a similar understanding within the veteran OR business community regarding military veteran OWNERSHIP. In fact, we have come to believe that while there are many entities that want to "do the right thing" by supporting our veterans as well as resources to do so, the primary impediment to actually creating these opportunities is a lack of understanding of the options and resources available.
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Furthermore, we believe that for many veteran business owners (including Steve and JP), business ownership is an extension of our service to our county - that we can best improve and renew our communities and our country by providing employment opportunities, mentoring, products, and services and increased tax revenues by establishing businesses where we live. In short, while we no longer wear a uniform, we are no less focused on being a force for positive change than we were the day we took our oath to "protect and defend".