2010 Tillman Scholar

Stephen Buchanan

Army
University of Washington
J.D.

“THERE IS ALWAYS A BETTER WAY TO SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM. I LOOK FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS FACING OUR VETERANS AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.”

Stephen went West Point because he wanted to serve his country. He graduated with a Mathematics degree and focused on the ethereal and esoteric “P vs NP Problem.” He then served as a Ranger tabbed airborne infantry officer with two combat deployments to the middle east and worked on complex problems at the strategic level with CFSOCC and 18ABC. He was planning to be an astronaut and had already been accepted to be a math professor at West Point.

However, in 2008 he left the active military duty when divorce forced him to choose between following his career or being a present father to his two children. When faced with aggressive (and expensive) legal opposition that left him with dwindling options, he joined the Army Reserves as a PSYOP officer and deployed to Afghanistan. Upon his return he went to law school, studied family law, and gained his parenting rights. While attending law school during the day he also earned an MBA at night and used this education to start his entrepreneur journey with a moving company called “Veterans Moving Company” and a maid service called “Military Maids.”

Steve then morphed these two companies into a tech startup called “ChooseVets.” This startup connected homeowners with local veterans to provide in-home services like moving, cleaning, yard work, and home repair services. This startup garnered national attention from Forbes and GeekWire. He was a guest at the State-of-the-Union as his startup was an innovative way to employ veterans in the sharing economy. However, this enterprise was short-lived and pushed out of business by the now-defunct Amazon Home Services.

Steve’s latest venture is TDYRentals.com. This furniture rental company caters to government employees on temporary duty. This virtual company is an innovative approach to a long-standing industry in that the furnishings are all purchased brand new and then donated to local veteran non-profits after client use.

Stephen is also a Battalion Commander in the US Army Reserves. In his spare time Steve does pro-bono work for veterans facing divorce.