Jennifer Puentes interviews Forbes Contributor Jeff Shuford live from the 2018 Jacksonville Vetrepreneur Summit.
Jeff Shuford is an award-winning technologist and a decorated Iraq War Veteran based in Jacksonville Florida. A regular contributor to Forbes, The Business Journals, Entrepreneur Magazine, and The Huffington Post, Shuford’s passion for producing captivating content extends far past his columns in prestigious publications. Shuford’s Forbes article titled “Nine Unique Ways To Brand Yourself As A Thought Leader,” was named by LinkedIn Business as one of the Top 10 Most Popular Articles Among Recruiters This Week. In addition to Shuford’s Linkedin Business honor, his piece was also named the most viewed and shared article from the Forbes Coaches Council with over 170,000 views.
Bestowed the Community of Heroes Award by the DAV, Shuford’s innovative leadership and passion for helping veterans led his company also to be named the Best Veteran Tech Startup of 2016 by The Huffington Post. In addition to that honor, the Huffington Post later named Shuford number one on the list of the Top 5 Emerging Veteran Tech Founders of 2017. Shuford’s dedication to STEM is evident in his technological achievements. Shuford also recently led his technology company to win a 2017 BizTech Award presented by The Jacksonville Business Journal for their work developing, deploying, and successfully marketing the self-funded Vets 22 app.
According to the Jacksonville Business Journal, Shuford is an Army veteran of the Iraq War who taught himself how to code and found that helping others to realize their dreams hits close to home. Shuford serves on the board for The Drayton Florence Foundation and the Quality Resource Center and is the Chairman of Vets 22. Under Shuford’s leadership, Vets 22 has fed over 1000 veterans free breakfast at the VA Outpatient Clinic in Jacksonville Florida in partnership with the City of Jacksonville’s Military & Veterans Department since January of 2018. Shuford also launched a Veterans Business Summit in partnership with the city that educates veterans on how to start their own businesses, the honorable Mayor Lenny Curry spoke at our previous summit on June 22nd, 2018. The summit has been streamed by over 30,000 veterans and has attended by hundreds of veterans eager to start or grow their businesses.
Considered a thought leader and influencer in public relations Shuford has also positioned his brands to be featured in publications such as Sports Illustrated, Forbes Sports Money, NFL Network, The Jacksonville Business Journal, The Huffington Post, Forbes Councils, WJCT, WJXT, and Entrepreneur Magazine among others. Shuford served with the U.S. Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-07 and earned a Combat Action Badge for his heroic efforts at age 19.
Beyond his work in the boardroom, Shuford is a technology contributor for SAP, a featured columnist on Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Jacksonville Business Journal, and SAP among many others.
Jeff Shuford’s Awards
BizTech Award Winner -Jacksonville Business Journal
Community of Heroes Award -Disabled American Veterans
Top 5 Emerging Veteran Tech Founders of 2017 -Huffington Post
The Best Veteran Owned Tech Startup of 2016 -Huffington Post
10 Most Popular Articles Among Recruiters -Linkedin Business
Presidents Award -National Association of Black Accountants
Combat Action Badge -U.S. Army
