In this episode, Louis Gelinas, West Point Class of 2011, shares how his Army leadership experience helped shape his entrepreneurial journey as Director of Product at Rivet, a workforce management platform for trade contractors.
He was inspired by a simple but powerful idea: solve a real-world problem with the tools he wished he had in uniform. Louis also highlights the crucial role the West Point Entrepreneurs group played in helping Rivet navigate early challenges, secure vital connections, and ultimately hit key growth milestones.
Louis studied history and Chinese before serving as an infantry officer with assignments in Italy, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Korea. After eight years on active duty — and growing his family to include four children — Louis returned home to Detroit, Michigan, to launch the next chapter of his career. Doubling down on his software development skills, he teamed up with local entrepreneurs to cofound Rivet, a workforce management platform built specifically for trade contractors. Today, as Director of Product, Louis leads a team of engineers, designers, and product managers, channeling the lessons from his Army days into building a platform designed to empower America’s skilled trades workforce.
Throughout the conversation, Louis talks candidly about the challenges of staying focused in the fast-paced world of startups, how West Point’s leadership lessons still guide his decision-making, and why curiosity and community are critical to entrepreneurial success. From the early days of Rivet’s scrappy beginnings to winning the confidence of investors and customers, Louis’s story is full of valuable insights for anyone looking to build something that truly serves others. Plus, we dive into how staying relentlessly mission-focused — even when things get tough — can make all the difference.
**This episode does not imply Federal endorsement.
Episode Timestamps
(01:19) Louis’ West Point Career and Transition
(04:21) Founding Rivet: Inspiration and Team Formation
(08:32) The Impact of West Point Entrepreneurs
(14:09) Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
(26:01) The Future for Rivet
Links
Learn more about the West Point Entrepreneurs Group
Connect with Louis
Learn more about Rivet
“Company commander time is really where you get the heat of prioritization. Ideally, your company commander and your battalion commander are the people who are saying, “There are ten priorities, but we’re going to be able to make time to be good at three of them.” And as a platoon leader, ideally, you get to focus on the one thing we’re going to be training on.
— Louis Gelinas ’11
This is going to be our key task. This is going to be our mission. But a big part of it is that somebody else decided to filter out the 17 other things, the various aspects that the Army is going to ask you to do. That intense focus on prioritization is very important even as a company commander. You can figure out if you picked the right thing to focus on because not only will you succeed in your mission, but everybody is okay with the fact that you put a ‘C’ into the third thing on the list because you did the most important thing. What is the most important thing is always going to serve you well.”
