Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: The podcast for those who find themselves immersed in adversity and choose to write their story instead of having others write it for them. I'm Drew Duraney and I'm your host.
Today's guest is Chaz Sampson. Chaz Sampson is a certified NFL PA Contract Advisor or NFL Sports Agent who brings the same mission driven discipline that earned him success as a US army veteran to representing professional athletes at the highest level. As the CEO of Seven Principles, Chaz has scaled a kitchen table startup into a multimillion dollar enterprise with four high impact verticals Virginia Disability Consulting, Real Estate, Mortgages and Artificial Intelligence.
Seven Principals has helped put over $300 million back into the hands of veterans and their families while also helping clients buy, sell, finance and invest in real estate. Chaz leads both Seven Principles Realty Team and Seven Principles Mortgage Group and is a licensed Mortgage loan officer known for eliminating unnecessary fees and streamlining home ownership for veterans and investors alike.
As a tech innovator, Chaz also built an AI powered learning model and mobile app that helps service members transition into civilian life by translating military experience into careers, resumes and resources. A combat veteran with a 15 month tour in Iraq, Chaz now serves on the front lines of business, real estate and sports, delivering results with purpose, precision and a deep commitment to those he represents.
Chaz's career reflects a rare combination of service leadership and business acumen. A former civilian federal official with the US Department of Veteran Affairs, US Department of the Air Force, and a proud US army veteran, he brings both government and military expertise into his work. Now as an NFL agent and entrepreneur, Chaz continues to advocate for people who are often overlooked and empowering veterans and athletes to achieve their fullest potential.
Enjoy the show. Chaz Sampson, so good to see you my friend.
[00:02:22] Speaker A: Absolutely Drew, thanks for having me.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: It's my pleasure. So I always thank the person who introduced us and I know Don and Becca on your end found our podcast and I'm so glad that you agreed to be on because when we talked, you know, prior to recording and the first time we chatted, I definitely realize that you're man number three who we're going to get to and so I'm happy to have you on. Audience knows that I always talk about how when we're young we're taught that life is linear. It's a straight line. If we do A plus, B plus C D is going to happen and you know, ultimately life is linear until it's not. There's a always an external circumstance that comes in the way of one of those letters and kind of derails that straight path into a more circuitous route.
When that happens, that's when adversity rears its ugly head.
[00:03:08] Speaker A: And.
[00:03:09] Speaker B: And man number one, who I don't have on this show, is the man who doesn't even see the adversity. He's got so many blind spots. He just lives the life, you know, on autopilot, Lives life the way other people tell him to, and nothing changes. And then there's man number two. I also don't have him on the show. Man number two sees the adversity. He's got a heightened self awareness, yet he says that adversity is, is a, a barrier, that he's the victim and everybody's to blame. Life's doing it to him, and there's nothing he can do. And on his deathbed, he's got a ton of regrets. Chaz. Well, man number three is who I have on the show. That's Chaz Sampson. Man number three sees the adversity and says, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. This adversity is not a barrier. It's an opportunity to do something different, take massive action and become a stronger man on the other side.
So with that said, man number three, Chaz, reach back as far as you need to for that, the. That defining moment in life, either that tap on the shoulder, the whisper in the ear, or, like what I need, the 2x4 upside my head. That really transformed you from the man you were to the man you are now, and how that impacted you personally and professionally. Can you share that with us, my friend?
[00:04:15] Speaker A: Yeah, sure. I think I had a very different path than most kids growing up and most men that are living nowadays. But for me, I was pretty much groomed like this since I was a kid, since I was a little boy. My mom and dad were really strict on me. They were very hard on me in regards to, you know, pretty much performing. They weren't seeing that perform at a high level, but that's basically what he equated to. And that's something I teach my kids today. Perform at a high level, keep a strong head, communicate, be in touch with your emotions. If you feel a certain type of way, you should communicate that in a graceful and respectful manner, especially if you're talking to adults or folks that are in the workplace or in a professional setting. But when I was a kid, I didn't really have a defining moment. It was more so if I can, you know, just kind of top my head, it was More so a series of events over life that just increased my, my confidence over time. And it was always, I was always a little kid that was like the little cat that went for it one step, then two steps, and then once I jumped into it, okay, it's not that bad. And then that just so I think for me, my parents always just instill having confidence, jumping out there, doing, doing, you know, remarkable cool things and just like being brave about stuff. And that just over time built me into what I am today at 39 years old.
[00:05:29] Speaker B: And you know, it's great to have an upbringing like that where they, they recommend or be curious, right? Just be curious. Try anything. Do you recall a moment where you did take that dip in the pool and it was it kind of challenged into considering not doing it, or is that something totally foreign to you?
[00:05:46] Speaker A: Yes, that's very foreign to me. It wasn't not doing it was just how am I doing it? That's always, it's always been a how. I've always been taught, like, it's not the who or the what is the why and the how. And if you focus on the how and the why, you always figure it out. And so I think my very first time was I had a grass cutting business when I was 11, I got full swinging it when I was 12, and I exited business when I was like 14. And it wasn't the proper exit like today's exit, which is like, there's some financial compensation, some shares and some capital that comes with the exit. I had two of my friends in the neighborhood that wanted to earn some money and I had enough trust in the community where people like, if Chad says it, then that's just what it is. And that was at 12. And so I had those guys basically running the neighborhood, you know, lawn service that I developed. And then from there we actually moved across town. So the businesses went to. The whole book of business went to them. And I probably should have kept some type of control in it, but I wasn't like that competent to do that. But I think for me, the first step was going to a neighbor's house. And we had this one particular neighbor, his name was Jim.
He was known as a neighborhood racist, if I can say that word on.
He was, he was known as neighborhood racist. He was an army veteran. He had a Confederate flag in his front yard, which was very clear, indicated, like, hey, if you come here, we're gonna. It's gonna be some problems. American flag, Confederate flag, front yard fever, North Carolina. And everyone saw him as a Neighborhood racist. And I was like, I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna see what happens. Hope I don't get killed, but I'm gonna see what happens. And so I knocked on Jim's door, and Jim actually became my best client. I actually learned my best lessons from Jim. Jim was a Vietnam veteran. He's passed away since then, bless his heart. And he would sit down and mentor me often. I learned finance from Jim. I learned how to communicate with others through Jim that may not think like me. He did have a very, I would say white, kind of national, white nationalist, but a similar tone like that. Like, hey, you know, the white man came and did these things and, you know, and I was like, I'm just here to listen and take part. But, you know, he didn't come in it from a standpoint of racist. He came from a standpoint. That's just how he was raised. And this is a. This is a grown man. It's 70 plus years old. This is in the 90s. And so that's just his personality. That's his viewpoint. But that guy loved me, man. And he had showed me a lot of great things.
I cut his grass twice a week, which was more than what he needed. He tipped me extremely well. I used to. I used to use his Cadillac. He had a blue Cadillac. He let me drive with no license. And so Jim just really taught me about finance and about money because he saw how many yards I was cutting. He said, son, when you get older, you're probably going to be a CEO. You're probably going to be someone to be extremely successful in whatever you do. And if I can just sprinkle a little bit of wisdom in there along the way, I love to do that. And Jim was very. So that. That taught me that. A lot of times I think people are scared to do things or they're a little tempted to move forward in things because of what they hear from other people and what people. Other people's opinions are. But sometimes God has a way of positioning you, or at least positioning me in a way that even in circumstances where I'm the least likely to be successful in, I'm the most successful in that capacity because of my unique life experiences and that particular experience. I. I want the yard. It was a big contract I wanted to see. The worst that can happen is he says, no, get off my lawn. You know, people are pretty respectful in the South. They're not going to just shoot you. I mean, they. They will at least give you a warning shot. And I know to back off.
And that worked out in my favor. He didn't, he didn't take me on at first.
He kind of blew me off a little bit and said, hey, you know, when you, you know, come back again, we can have that conversation. Cool. And I came back again and he gave me, he gave me the yes. So I think you want to see if I can be persistent or not. So that was, that was that time for me.
[00:09:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I love that. Yes. People will always judge and you know, give their own opinion to people, even if they don't know what's true. You're right. That, that about him that may have just passed down from person to person. And no one was strong enough or courageous enough to just go say, I'm going to go give it a shot. You know, what's the worst that can happen? And you know, you respected him, he respected you. And that's really all you can ask for, is the respect of one human being to another. And I give you credit for going back. You went back, you didn't take no as no forever. It was no, not right now, come back later. And you did. So I love that. I love that story. So carrying that further, what was the next business you encountered after the, the lawn mowing business?
[00:10:17] Speaker A: Well, I got tired of mowing lawns because as you can tell, I'm pretty dark skinned guy. So mowing in the lawn, mowing lawn in the summertime in the south is just a beating. So I was like, I was like darkening black shirts at Walmart and so, so I got tired of that. I've always been a guy that's had, I've always had really good hygiene practices, just my own personal hygiene preferences. And so I like to, you know, keep my nose pretty clean. I like to, you know, stay pretty well, well bathed and I always smell good as well. And you know, this is my thing. And so I think the lawnmower business just, it just was, I wasn't cut out for it. It was just too, I was dirty all the time.
Outside of playing football, I'm, I'm cool with that being dirty, but you know, I just, I got tired of it. So my next move was working at Winn Dixie, which was a grocery store. Yeah, I worked there a lot on my, my work visa or what is it called? Work? I think it's called a work permit. That's a work permit. And this is back in the day where, you know, the folks at the county clerk will say, go get your parents to sign off on this and just bring it back. So I'm like, okay, yeah, I go home and sign on myself and bring it back and. And that's what I did. Got a work permit, told him I was 15, I was 14. And yeah, from there I. I started.
I started working at Winn Dixie, and then we moved across town and I worked at Sonic. The burger.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, the drive.
[00:11:31] Speaker A: The drive through with. With the roller skates.
I worked there, and then I got caught eating a burger in the bathroom.
So they limit my hours. I was like, okay, I'm not getting paid here. Like, I'm just getting the soft termination. But they limited my hours like one day per week for like three or four hours, like a closing shift. I came like at 8 to 12 or something like that. So I was like, okay, the writing is clear on the wall here. They're not going to fire me, but they're not gonna give me any hours, like, whatever. Cool. So I left there, I went to Burger King, and I had the same experience with, like, I just got tired of smelling like mustard and ketchup and, and grease and french fries. And so then I got. We got back into the grocery business with the food line.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: And then I went to college and then military, and then here we are. So.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: So you did military. So what, what branch?
[00:12:16] Speaker A: I was an army.
[00:12:17] Speaker B: All right, well, again, I. It sounds redundant, but, you know, when people say thanks for your service, but I honestly do appreciate it.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: Yeah, my pleasure. Thank you as well.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: In the Air Force. Yeah.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:26] Speaker B: About your stint in the military, your. Your skill level and your work ethic must have paid off brilliantly.
[00:12:33] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. I mean, from day one, I was in leadership roles. From the day I got to the army today, I left. And So I did five years. I deployed to Iraq for 15 months. Tough deployment, but, you know, worth it, if you will. And I was stationed at.
In Germany, and then from Germany, I deployed to Iraq. And then I PCs or redeployed back to Germany, and then PCs to Fort Lewis, which is in Washington area. And then that's where I ets, which is basically in a terminal service. You do your contract. You can either realist or. Or leave. And I actually had wanted to stay in. I decided to stay in or leave. And just the time value of money for me just made sense to get out. And I got into finance. I was working at a dealership. I had this creative financial plan where I basically found like, Roy's Royce's, Lamborghinis, Rory's. Flip them for profit. I find them like, you know, Nevada Arizona, Montana, and flip them up in Seattle, Washington, Oregon area. And so, yeah, I was on that and working at dealership as well on the side and just had a really good time. And I then moved from the west coast to the east coast, and while I was there, I managed an artist for a while that was pretty cool. And then I moved to the east coast and got into the federal government and then, you know, worked in the feds for. For a few years. I worked at the Department of Veteran affairs in Washington, D.C. and then worked at the Pentagon for a little while. And then I left that and then started my firm, which has been operational for 11 years. And I scaled that, and now we have all these different things that we offer to the country. So.
[00:13:56] Speaker B: All right, so let's. There's a lot to unpack here. So what was the. The best lesson you learned when you were in the military and. And, you know, being deployed?
[00:14:06] Speaker A: People want love.
[00:14:07] Speaker B: People.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: Okay, People want love. They want. They want to be respected, heard and listened to and loved. That's all it is. Because when you get war, the opposite of war is love, right? And what you'll find out is that, you know, a lot of people say that the army and the Marine Corps is a killing business. And so, you know, hey, you know, it is what it is. But while we're deployed and you're meeting these people and you're shaking these hands and you're learning about who they are as people as well, you come to find out that a lot of them just want to be heard and respected and they want to be loved. And so I think the. That was the biggest thing I learned in the military, is that I came into the military with the mindset of, like, you know, bravado. I'm ru ra tough. And, you know, I'm going to just, you know, you know, do all these tough guy acts, things you see on TV and, you know, and stuff like that. In the military, when you. When you're in combat, at least it's really about diplomatic relationships, having those. Having those hard conversations and trying to find a way that the US Government and these other countries that we're at war with, or at least at that time was Iraq. How can we make amends with each other to where you get what you want to do, I get what I want to do, and we all go home to our families at the end of the day, like, yeah, there will be bloodshed. Unfortunately, that's just a casualty of war. There will be bad guys that do bad things that we will take care of. But for the multitude of good people, how do we make sure that they're not swapped up into with the bad people and show them love as well? A lot of times the bad guys, they won't love too. They're doing things because they have no other means. They have no other idea. Not giving them a pass. And they definitely don't get, you know, they definitely don't get, like, you know, some slack. But, yeah, you'd be surprised when you talk to war criminals or folks that do anything. A lot of times it boils down to just the lack of love and attention. And it doesn't have to be love in the sense of like, I'm a hug you and. And hold you and caress you. It could just be like, hey, Drew, I understand you have a certain situation you're going through. I relate to that. This is what. This is what happened to me. You're like, wow, I would never expect someone like you to have had the same problem I had. It's like, we all are people. We all have very similar problems. Especially once you. Once you hit a certain age in life, everybody's problems become pretty much the same. And there's. There's a few nuances out there that, like, okay, wow, that's a really different problem. How'd you get stuff in that? But for the most part, all of us have very similar concerns.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: No, that's true. Absolutely. So what was the biggest challenge coming out of the military and back into civilian life?
[00:16:22] Speaker A: Man, it was really just a matter of what I wanted to do. I just had so many opportunities. I didn't really. It was. It was opportunity overload. So it's, you know, I think, you know, there's. There's, there's, of course, a number of folks because, you know, I deal with military every day. There's a lot of folks that, you know, transition. It was very tough to get back into the civilian world, and they didn't have a lot of options. I had exactly the options.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: My dog is barking, and I don't even edit this. This is going to be great. I don't. I don't edit our podcast. Let me.
That'll be fun. My va. I always tell them, I'm not going to edit. This is authentic and. And honest and straightforward. This will be the funniest break in the. In the podcast.
[00:17:06] Speaker A: I just, you know, a lot of. Now you're fine. A lot of. A lot of guys and gals, they get out the military, they have a really tough time figuring out what they want to do next, and the opportunities are very scarce. I had the opposite. I had actually opportunity overload, which I think has. I think is. Is a similar problem, because now you know what, you know what to do. So for me, I had the option to stay in. If I would have stayed in, I would become an officer. I also considered drill sergeant as well as recruiter. So I had those three options. I was going to go to officer side, but to get out. I also had very similar options. I could work in finance. I could have worked in.
I worked a regular job. I also had money in the music industry. I had stuff going to NFL at the time, so I had football going on. It was. I just had so many different things, so I had to really sit and think, like, okay, what's going to give me the highest return and what's going to have the most fun? I was 25 years old at the time, so I ended up playing football and working in finance as well. So I was playing at Washington State University. Go Cougs. And. And then from there I was, you know, wanting to pursue my NFL dreams and I got back into football and just was like, you know what? I really enjoy the finance world. It's more my speed.
Football is great, but it's just like you have no control of your time. And I've always been a big advocate for control over my time. So for me, the transition was very smooth. I had a lot of options. I got out and made great money because, you know, I just. Just. I'm just a very talented person in that regard. And, yeah, it was the best. The best move I could have made.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: Good for you. So when you decided not to do the NFL, I know that you still have a love for the. For football and the NFL. Did you. Are you involved at all in sports?
[00:18:38] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm NFL agent, actually. I represent NFL players right now.
[00:18:40] Speaker B: You do? Because. And that was something recent, too.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So I had. Well, recent on paper. I had been a part of this other investment fund where there's a path to the draft, and basically the agents need money to fund a path to the draft. So for. For listeners out there, for NFL players or for college players, particularly that are going from college to the NFL and that timeframe, from being an amateur athlete to now declaring as a professional athlete, the school doesn't pay you anymore. Like NL doesn't pay. There's no. There's no pay for the kid, if you will. And I hate to say kid, but the parents are definitely financially involved. And that path to the Draft covers lodging, food, miscellaneous expenses, training, so forth. That tab can run anywhere between 10 to $100,000 easily. And so, and if it's like somebody, Cam Ward, who's represented this year, like, to rep that, to rep that guy, you're going to need like half a million dollars, like, to even like, talk to this kid, because he's already. He's coming to the league making 20 million, right? So you need to put some bread to be able to like, get his attention and actually work with him and make sure he has the best. And he's Cam Ward. So I mean, anywhere he goes, lights, like people know who this guy is. So you want to make sure he's in a safe environment. So you have to be cognizant as an agent. So for the two years prior, I was actually invested into these types of things. And I thought to myself, man, you know, maybe I can get back into the, to the business as a sports agent, because this doesn't seem like too, too difficult. And so one of my colleagues, Damian Knight, who we actually work together now, he's. He owns FAM Athletic Management. It's forever. It's fam, but it's forever Athlete Management. And he's a Marine. I liked his. I like his vision, what he had to stand for.
He became an NFL agent and that really inspired me to kind of really get, get, like, take it serious. And so I end up looking up the NFL's website or NFL PA's website of how to actually become an agent. And I was like, I'm actually more than qualified. So I put my name in the ring and boom, I made it.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: So good for you. Good for you. Now, you mentioned you have a lot in your business, you have a lot of other things that you're working on where you're giving back, I'm assuming, is it giving back to the veterans?
[00:20:43] Speaker A: Yeah. So we have what's called a csr. It's a corporate social responsibility where we, as an organization, we give back 10% by almost like tithing, if you will, if you're into tithing. We give 10% back to the community.
And that's from either capex or that could be just natural mentorship, sitting on panels, funding different philanthropic events, stuff like that. So, yeah, we give back in that regard. We do a couple of cases for free every year, give or take. And a couple to US is like 100 cases a year for free, or we may comp them. We get guys and gals that have, like, really tough things going on in life and like we're that burden, we're that, I guess, breath of fresh air, take off that burden off them and, and the things we do for at least on the veteran side of the business is we're putting more money in these men and women pockets for the rest of their life, for, you know, forever. So yeah, I mean that's when someone can put an extra 2, 3 grand in your pocket every single month until you pass away. And then your family also gets a benefit that's a huge, huge, huge benefit for our clients. So.
[00:21:40] Speaker B: Absolutely, absolutely. So what are some challenges you're facing now in your business that you're, that you're gonna going to overcome?
[00:21:48] Speaker A: Well, I think the biggest challenge is managing all the opportunities, honestly. I mean I have a number of opportunities. I can either sell the business, which there's a lot interest and people wanting to buy the company from me. I've built it up over the last 11 years and it runs itself, so to speak, which gives us the time to talk on podcasts and it's 1 o' clock central time right now or 1:30.
And so I think for me it's just managing what I'm going to do when I get older. And I've come to the point where I just want to focus on NFL players and private equity. That's, that's what I want to deal with and the rest of the organization. Our mortgage division, our real estate division, our VA claims division and our artificial intelligence division.
Packaging that or it's already packaged and just having this one unit and letting, letting the team, letting the team run it and giving them the opportunity to be, you know, CEOs in their own right. And I just play chairman and keep mentorship to the team and kind of go from there. And if I sell it, then they get paid very handsomely for their involvement on making it where it's at. The folks that work at here, at the firm have been here some since day one. They have been here for a number of years and so they understand the mission, they love what we do.
It's also a pretty chill environment as well. It's, it's. I want to build an environment that wasn't like the federal government when I was in the Feds. It was just super, super high stress and just, it was just a lot. So I wanted to work on something that really gave people the autonomy to come in, have a real true work life balance, but also solve a mission for people. So for me, I think the biggest hurdle for me right now is just really staying consistent and true to what I really want to do every single day, which is managing investment deals on the private equity side and taking care of football players that are playing National Football League and college kids and everything else, I just be a mentor for. I still show up as, as chairperson and still grow those organizations and also.
[00:23:28] Speaker B: Grow and mentor leaders as the organization grows. And you have all these different aspects. How do you keep the culture the way it is because it reflects you as a human being. So how do you keep it the way, the way you started it when it was just you?
[00:23:44] Speaker A: Yeah. So first we have a very strict hiring process and we put folks through a psychological evaluation as well to see where their head's at. Like they're truly where their head is. And they cannot dupe the questions because the questions are designed to see what your true answers are. So that's the first step is recruiting the right people. And then once we have them on board, making sure they really do align with the mission of the team and we can see immediately whether someone's a good team fit or not. We just had a person that worked here for all of like two weeks. We were like, you know what? It's not gonna be a good fit, bro. Like, we love what you do. You're a very smart kid. We think you have a lot to offer, but you just won't offer it here. This ain't gonna be this, it's gonna be the place for you. So your things are packed up and we wish you the best. And I'm very strict about those things. And so for us is making sure we got good team fit, making sure we have good team chemistry. When folks come in, they understand exactly the nature of the mission. And the cool thing is like every single division has, has a different twang, I like to say. So the Mergus division is real born. It's boring work, brainiac stuff. We're watching the, the, you know, mortgage backed securities, watching the Fed rate. We're watching the mortgage interest rates every day. When Jerome Powell. When Jerome.
Jerome. God, I've got to say just that quick, the Fed chair, Jerome Powell. Yeah, I think I said that before. Jerome Powell, when he comes up, we're all ears. What is the Fed doing? Because when the Fed rate changes that, that affects the business. How is, how is inflation, you know, what's going on in the economy? Because that affects, you know, mortgage, mortgage, the mortgage business. So the mortgage side is real technical, boring, my kind of work.
The real estate side is more flair. It's more, you know, that recruiting those Those folks, it takes a little bit more of creativity because the real estate side is a lot more, you know, high end dinners and really cool events and stuff like that.
The VA claim side is more compassionate. So we want people that are more like blue heart, people that really care about other folks. And, you know, and even though in that division there are certain departments that are a little bit more technical than others, the overall theme is care. And on artificial intelligence side, it's just people that you. You have to talk to them in computer codes. So when I literally have to change up in my mind mentally how I talk to every single person in all those division, well, I don't talk to everybody in those divisions, but the main key personnel, I have to change how I communicate with them. Because if I communicate with someone on our AI division the way I communicate with someone our real estate division, they won't, they won't have faith in my leadership because they don't communicate that way. The same way if I communicate with the folks in the real estate division, they were communicate with the folks in AI division. They think I'm being too harsh on them because, like, the communication is very binary. Black or white, yes or no?
NFL. I have to. I actually. This is so funny, Drew. Yeah, I was talking to my fiance about this. I actually have these chains I wear now. These are, these are diamond chains that look really, really nice. They're very expensive.
And that actually allowed me to insulate a little bit better with the players because the players are, you know, this what they just, they're into fashion. They into the. Hip hop is very popular in the NFL. And so initially when I was meeting players, I was meeting them in the suit and tie. I was meeting with my normal decor.
But that comes off as like, it doesn't resonate because, like, they don't wear suit and ties. It's like, what are you here for? Like, what do you want from me? Because everybody wants something from an NFL player and I'm seriously, like, I don't want anything. I actually have something to offer to you.
And then when they hear me out, then they still are skeptical, but when their friends said, nah, that's, that's just Chaz. That's how he is. He's really good guy. Talk to him and then it becomes a thing. But when I meet these kids in college and I meet these guys that are fresh in the NFL, I try to make sure that I showcase, like, hey, I'm just like yourself. I just have a little bit more experience in the business, but I'm also 15 years old in you. As well I should. I should have this experience. And so depending on what circle I'm in and what I'm doing for that day, I may bust out the chains and, you know, some nice shoes, that kind of thing. And if I'm doing more business stuff, I. I'd wear a suit and tie or a blazer or today I'm just kind of chilling. I got a little vest on and relaxing. So.
[00:27:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:36] Speaker A: Yeah. So, yeah, it's really. Just understand how to communicate to your people.
[00:27:39] Speaker B: I love it. What's the, the business focus in your artificial intelligence? What's your specialty?
[00:27:45] Speaker A: Yeah, great question. Yeah, so it's military resumes. So we actually built a proprietary database or proprietary network of all the moss. So it's mos, which is Army, Navy. I mean, I'm sorry, Army and Marine Corps.
[00:27:57] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:27:58] Speaker A: It', rates, which are Navy and Coast Guard. SFSC for Space Force, which is Space Force specialty code, Air Force afsc, which Air Force specialty code is basically all the jobs in the military. We created this whole exhaustive database of all the jobs. And when the member comes through the database, they. They select their job and it creates a resume based on. Based on what they experience over that time. So if you got like a guy that's like, let's say he's an E7, he did 20 years in the army, and he was a 13 Bravo, which is a Canon crew member, which is field artillery. And he did, he, you know, he did exercises overseas, he deployed a few times. He's done all these great leadership seminars and leadership courses. It takes that into consideration and builds a whole entire resume. And then he can add the experience he's had before and after his military service. That's where he has a full picture. And so that's on one side of it. The next side of it is the VA side because, you know, obviously military is a very short period of time. The veteran side is the longest period of time for their lives. And so it takes their VA experience. And you can actually ask the system what, how to do your VA claim. And so that's our claim to famous VA claims. That's how we made our, you know, our capital.
And so it simplifies the process. And the reason why we actually did that way is because we had a 4% conversion rate. And we were like, well, what's going on with other 96 of people? Why aren't they doing business with us? Like, we're one of the best in the market, we believe, you know, and so we come to find out it was either cost or it was just like, hey, I don't really want to do this anymore because I just lost faith in the system, or I just truly want to do it myself, and I just want you to help me along the way. And we're like, well, that's not how our process works. It's white glove. It's all or nothing with us. You're going to be all in with us, and we're going to take care of you like we've done for thousands of other veterans, or you do zero. And we're okay with that, too. So we decided to kind of meet them in the middle and give them an opportunity to actually figure out their case. Because a lot of folks that decide not to go with us, they'll come back to us the next year or the year after. We're like, well, what happened back in 2021? Why didn't you go with us? Well, thought I could do it myself. I went somewhere else. It wasn't a good experience. Now I'm back. And now since they're back, their case is messed up. So now they're getting a no from us because their case doesn't have merit. But it had merit at one point. They thought they can do it on their own, and they actually could not. And so we decided to help them out to build an AI system that takes the whole entire VA process and put it into one database to where it's easy to find, easy to move around. And, yeah, that's what it does.
[00:30:13] Speaker B: So for a layperson like myself, what is this? What does VA claims mean? So walk me through very quickly the process, like, what. Why would they want it? Why would they have to come to you? And what. What do the claims mean? And all that kind of.
[00:30:24] Speaker A: Yep. You serve in the military, you have damages. The VA awards for damages, monthly compensation.
[00:30:30] Speaker B: Oh, okay. Okay. So is that like injuries and stuff, or is it.
[00:30:34] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:30:34] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:30:35] Speaker A: Yep. So military men, women, they sustain injuries while they're serving in the military, and the VA compensates you for those injuries for the rest of your life in the form of a payment per month.
It range from 0 to 100. 0% pays 0. 100 pays about $4,000 per month. And it fluctuate based on your status as being single or married, with dependence. And so if you. If you're married and you have a couple of kids, then of course your. Your payment goes up a little bit more.
[00:30:58] Speaker B: Right.
[00:30:58] Speaker A: You can also have other circumstances with other ligaments that it may be Other joints and dysfunction, other things that are happening with your body that you get paid for. But yeah, what we do is we go into a veteran's case and whether they have compensation or not, and we find ways to get them compensated based on the injuries from military service.
[00:31:16] Speaker B: Got it, got it. Okay, that makes sense. And how about, like, for employment, for. For veterans? Do you do that with the AI piece too? Or is that.
[00:31:23] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: All right.
[00:31:25] Speaker A: So, yeah, so it creates. It creates a resume for you, which obviously the goal is to get you to a job.
[00:31:30] Speaker B: Right.
[00:31:30] Speaker A: We did that because we. I would look at so many resumes and they were just so incomplete. I'm like, this guy was an E8 or this guy was a 05. Like, he's definitely qualified. He's just not speaking to his qualifications because the resume just isn't put together very, very well for whatever reason. And so, yes, we don't deal directly with the employees, but we do make a link to the employers and then from there to day on their own. We should probably make money off of it, but we just haven't got to that point of capitalizing it.
[00:31:53] Speaker B: Yeah, I understood. But I think it's a nice service that you do because. Yeah, they're looking to be independent as much as.
[00:32:00] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:32:00] Speaker B: And they. And to be able to support them. Especially the white glove treatment. I would take you on for the white glove treatment because. Well, you know, when we try to do it yourself, there are things you don't know. Know. You know.
[00:32:09] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:32:10] Speaker B: You miss something and, you know, then dismissed forever. Yeah, it's missed forever and it's hard to get it back. Exactly.
Well, the audience certainly has captured the essence of you, Chaz Samson, and they're going to want to get in touch with you. So, folks, if you. Now, he assures me his SEO is awesome. You type in Chaz Sampson, he's going to come up with all his different platforms. So look. Look him up. You are going to find him. Because I did try it. Well, after he said that, I snuck it in. And. And it's true. Not that I didn't trust them, but I just wanted to make sure when I told you it was right. It is. So.
[00:32:44] Speaker A: So you got to spell it correctly, too. For listeners, if you can't spell it with a. With a Z, you gotta spell with S. Yeah. If you spell it correctly, everything comes right up.
[00:32:51] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. Cool, cool, cool. All right. So.
God, I could sit with you all day. I definitely want to talk football. Maybe offline, but. All right, so I've got anything you want to mention the audience? We didn't, we didn't capture before I asked him my last two questions.
[00:33:07] Speaker A: No, not, not I can think of.
[00:33:09] Speaker B: No, we covered everything. All right, cool. All right, so I got two questions for you. You're in your happy place, Chaz. You're sitting down with 7 to 10 year old Chaz and you want to give them advice about life. What are you going to tell them?
[00:33:24] Speaker A: 17 year old Chaz?
[00:33:25] Speaker B: 7 to 10. 7 to 10.
[00:33:29] Speaker A: What grade was that? Fifth grade. Tenth grade? Yeah. 10 years old, fifth grade.
Fifth.
[00:33:33] Speaker B: Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Something like that. Fifth. Yeah, fifth. You're right about fifth grade.
[00:33:39] Speaker A: I, I don't know. I probably would tell the little chess to like, probably focus on football a little bit more because I could have, I could have easily played in the NFL. I just, I just was not focused. I had other things going on. But, but, but also it gives. That also gave me a lot of great things too, that a lot of my guys that are not playing football anymore do not have. And I don't think they ever will have it because they just didn't have it as they were young. They have to rebuild it. It's like, like it's easy to learn something at 10 and it's learn something at 30. So I would say if I could think of anything, this is on top of my head. I mean, I'm sure my answer would change tomorrow, but I would say probably focus on football a little bit more and actually make it to the NFL and actually play.
Gotcha.
[00:34:22] Speaker B: Gotcha. It makes sense.
All right, so switch gears now. You're sitting down with young entrepreneur, young businessman Chad, and you want to give him advice about business. What kind of advice you're going to give him?
[00:34:33] Speaker A: Oh, be patient. Yeah. I think when I first got into the business, I wanted to make a million dollars tomorrow morning. And I, I didn't do anything that was haphazard to get me there. But I certainly had a lot of anxiety internally, like, okay, I got to make some money. Like, how much money did I make today? I'm watching the money every single day. Like, how much did I make and what, how much more can I make? And yeah, I would say definitely be patient in regards, like build it and build it correctly. And I had a little snafu when I started the business. First, I had a partnership that didn't work well. I had a certain vision where the business to go. We went to a lawsuit. Luckily I won, but nonetheless, I definitely should have not partnered. And I partnered so I can move Faster. So.
So yeah, I should have just kept it to myself and just kind of slow burned it and built it, which I end up doing anyways. So.
[00:35:21] Speaker B: Yeah, no, that's a good point. And be being patient. So important because if we're not too many shortcuts to try to get immediate gratification, it doesn't work.
[00:35:30] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:35:31] Speaker B: Well, Chaz, I want to thank you for not just coming on, but coming into my life. Man, I'm impressed with you. I'm inspired by you. You're a wonderful human being and just keep doing what you're doing because you are helping so many people and. And good luck with the NFL career.
You didn't play, but that wasn't because you couldn't. It's just you made different choices and that's okay. But you're going to help those ball players, especially when they get out of football, still live a valuable life healthy, hopefully.
[00:36:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Thank you for that, Drew. It means a lot.
[00:36:03] Speaker B: Absolutely, my friend. Everybody out there, please take care of yourselves.
Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and give us a review to help others find it, I'd like you to answer this question.
Are you living the life you want to live, or are you living the life others want you to live? I'd like you to think about that for a second because I strongly suggest you live the life you want to live. If you want to learn more about what I stand for and my services and how I'm able to help many men get out of their own way, please go to my website at www.prophetcompassion.com.
feel free to also email me at drewrophetcompassion.com I'd love to have a conversation with you.
Take care of yourself and choose to write your own story instead of letting others write it for you.
