Emily Núñez Cavness and Betsy Núñez, entrepreneurs who excel at using their military experience as business owners, shared incredible lessons they learned on their journey to create Sword & Plough. In 2013, they took a concept and turned it into a reality. They truly live by their company motto, "Repurposed for a Purpose," by taking surplus military materials and turning them into stylish handbags and accessories. 

The Mission43 team was honored to bring Emily and Betsy to Boise and enjoy an evening with them at our June Mission43 INC (Innovate + Network + Connect) event. 

Here are three key take-aways from their story that we can all use in our lives:

They raised $20,000 on Kickstarter in 2 hours, which was their 30-day goal. This didn't happen overnight, a year of planning went into the launch. Plan, prepare, and execute!

Betsy wished she learned more about supply chain management in school. She had to become an expert in acquiring thousands of yards of leather for their products just as Emily had started a 7-month Afghanistan deployment. Innovate and be persistent to get the results you need!

They sought out mentors and used free online resources to educate themselves on running their business. The resources are out there, but you need to go to them vs. thinking they will come to you!


43INC Photo Album