#209: Simplifying Online Identity w/ Blake Hall, Army Veteran, Founder and CEO of ID.me

This week, Army Veteran Blake Hall, who shared how and why he joined the Army, what life was like after transitioning, and how he founded ID.me.

Hall's decision to join the Army after September 11th felt to him like a right of passage. He wanted to be the one to lead the fight. He talks about that event as a shift for service members, and what it meant for the community, before discussing a 15-month deployment as a platoon leader and fighting the Iraqi insurgency. Blake received the Bronze Star with Valor for actions in leading his men during a fight against insurgents.

Hall also talks transitioning out of the military, and how he came to found and lead ID.me to make ID verification and logging a more efficient process. He mentions the hassles that Veterans without ID cards face when applying for various benefits. With ID.me, Veterans can be verified through a secure process without meeting in-person or providing physical identification.

Later, Hall discusses entrepreneurship within the public and government arena, as well as that finding the perfect way to enter the marketplace is key. He talks building credibility, and shares what a lot of entrepreneurs forget to do when pitching their ideas to investors.

#BtBattle Veteran of the Week:

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