Hire a Navy SEAL to Run Your Fencing Business

Author

Jon Matzner
October 03, 2025

Silly subject line, right?

And now, after many months of “thinking about doing something together”…

….Sagan is now partnered with Uncommon Elite to help you hire on the ground, local to your business….operators …who actually operate!

Sagan members now get 50% off hires through Christian Ruf's executive recruitment company Uncommon Elite.

In the executive recruiting world, this translates to between $15,000 - $45,000 in fee savings PER HIRE

Most "operators" can't operate anything except a LinkedIn profile.

But there's a group of people who've spent years actually operating: managing chaos, leading teams through high-stakes situations, making decisions with incomplete information, and getting things done when resources are tight. 

They're called veterans.  

Specifically, former military officers and senior enlisted personnel.

Now, instead of paying 30% of annual compensation as a hiring fee (standard executive recruiter rates), you're paying half that.  

On a $180K hire, you're saving 3X more than your entire annual Sagan membership (without using any of the other benefits).

I’m seeing two types of hires that work really well for Sagan members...

The senior operator

Former special operations + MBA + a few years in the private sector. These people can run portfolio companies, lead regional operations, become presidents of your growing franchise business.

They're $180-250K per year and they've already proven they can translate military leadership into business results.

The high-impact GM

Former Marine or Army officer type who led 70-100 people, got out after 5-7 years, maybe tried a few things, and is ready to be your number two.

Around $10K/month.

This is the person who keeps trains running while you focus on growth. They don't get flustered when someone quits. They've seen worse.

Why this matters

Christian has placed 55 veterans this year.

Fifty-four had zero industry experience. That's the whole point!

You're not hiring someone who knows roofing or HVAC or restaurants. You're hiring someone who knows how to lead people, solve problems, and handle stress. When an owner asked Christian if a former helicopter pilot could handle the stress of running a restaurant, Christian said: "If they can fly a helicopter at night at 300 feet over a target in Syria while the world's blowing up around them and shoot back while being shot at and never miss a shot or radio call, I'm pretty sure they can handle the stress." 

The chicken tenders will be fine.

This is who needs this 

You're running a labor-intensive business. You've got multiple locations or you're about to. You need someone in-person who can manage people, hold others accountable, and give you your time back. You don't need another person with "10 years of industry experience." You need someone who shows up, figures things out, and leads. That's what these people do.

Here’s a sample of the types of talent we are talking about:

Yallah Habibi,

Jon

P.S. Special thanks to my buddy Tim Ludwig  who when I first mentioned then, thought about it for 10 seconds then said “Sagan needs to do as much as possible, as quickly as possible with Christian”… which helped us push this across the line.

P.P.S