Veteran Mentors

What Veteran Mentors does

Veteran Mentors Pty Ltd is an Australian privately-held company founded in 2017 that delivers residential youth leadership programs to teenagers aged 12-17. The company is staffed exclusively by ex-Australian Defence Force personnel, with the founder and Director Troy Methorst (former combat engineer with deployments to East Timor and Afghanistan) leading a team of approximately 16 mentors, commanders, a counsellor, and an Indigenous support mentor. Its core offering, the Junior Leader Program (JLP), is a 9-day intensive military-style residential camp built around six proprietary Key Learning Areas (Resilience, Honesty, Initiative, Respect, Courage, Teamwork) and delivered with a 1:4 staff-to-participant ratio, a full-time onsite Counsellor and Medic, and activities ranging from physical training and high ropes to a tandem parachute jump from 12,000 feet. Programs operate every school holiday period in Queensland (Sunshine Coast / Yandina) and New South Wales (Central Coast / Morisset), with airport transfers provided for the 40%+ of participants travelling from interstate.

The business is monetised primarily through A$6,000 per-participant program fees (A$6,500 for NDIS participants), with a 3-month interest-free payment plan through Pinch Payments to ease affordability. Layered onto the core JLP are four ancillary products: the 2.5-day Reconnection Expedition (restricted to JLP alumni families), a Parental Guidance Workshop now bundled with JLP enrollment, a Parent Support Program of individual call packages, and a 3-day Parent Retreat. Revenue is supplemented by donations and sponsorships (e.g., Campsie RSL in January 2024) used to fund scholarships for disadvantaged youth, and the organisation is registered across multiple NDIS categories. Distribution is sales-led via direct phone enrollment (0418 869 061), online booking (Zoho Bookings, Calendly), and earned media from recurring features on Sunrise, 7NEWS, 9NEWS, A Current Affair, Today Show, and 7NEWS Spotlight, alongside a parent-referral network. Veteran Mentors reports having assisted over 3,000 families nationally since 2017, with over 80% of participating families citing technology-addiction concerns. The company is privately held under a single Pty Ltd entity, with no institutional investors, funding rounds, or acquisitions identified.

Name

Veteran Mentors

Legal name

Veteran Mentors Pty Ltd

Website

https://veteranmentors.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Veteran Mentors is an Australian veteran-led company running 9-day military-style residential youth leadership programs for teens aged 12-17 across Queensland and New South Wales, with ancillary parent-engagement products and NDIS registration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development & Leadership Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills) (EDAMALAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL) (EDAKAMAO), Positive Discipline & Behavior Support Programs (EDACALAD)

Keywords

• Youth leadership programs
• Military-style mentoring
• Teen behavioral programs
• Parent-teen reconnect
• Adolescent resilience training

Headquarters

HQ city

Queensland

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Junior Leader Program Fees: Primary revenue stream from A$6,000 per child for the 9-day Junior Leader Program. An additional A$500 applies for NDIS participants to cover administrative requirements and individualized support adjustments. The program includes all transport, meals, accommodation, equipment, activities, mentor support, and graduation ceremony.
2. Interest-Free Financing: 3-month interest-free payment plan via Pinch Payments with A$600 commitment fee at booking and remaining balance split across 3 monthly payments. This financing option makes programs more accessible to families.
3. Donations and Sponsorships: Accepts donations to support disadvantaged children who cannot afford to attend the program. Partners with organizations like Campsie RSL for sponsorships. Approximately 50% of funds allocated to Junior Leader Program and Parent Workshop, 20% to flights for interstate participants, 20% to Reconnection Expedition scholarships, 10% to mentor training and administration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Veteran Mentors delivers a 9-day military-style residential youth leadership program (Junior Leader Program) for teenagers aged 12-17, led by ex-Australian Defence Force personnel in Queensland and New South Wales. The program builds accountability, resilience, teamwork, respect, honesty, courage and initiative through structured activities, mindfulness training, and supervised outdoor challenges. Complementary offerings include a 2.5-day parent-teen Reconnection Expedition, a one-day Parental Guidance Workshop, a Parent Support Program, and a Parent Retreat.

Product overview

Veteran Mentors is a veteran-led organization delivering youth leadership programs in Australia. The core product portfolio consists of the Junior Leader Program (a 9-day military-style residential camp for ages 12-17), the Reconnection Expedition (a 2.5-day parent-teen outdoor experience), and the Parental Guidance Workshop (a one-day parenting course). These programs are designed to work together: the JLP provides intensive structured training while the Reconnection Expedition and Parent Workshop support family alignment and relationship rebuilding. Additional support services include the Parent Support Program and Parent Retreat for ongoing family development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Junior Leader Program (JLP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,000 families assisted nationwide over past seven years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Mark Robinson (Health Man Mark)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMark Robinson is a qualified Dietitian with Masters in Nutrition and Dietetics who presents seminars at the program on nutrition and health. He is also a World Fitness Model Title winner and appears on national TV as expert Dietitian voice.
• Rob Ritchie (Positive Difference)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRob Ritchie is the founder of Positive Difference and facilitates the Parent Workshop for Veteran Mentors. He presents Short Courses in Applied Positive Psychology and Positive Leadership throughout Australia and New Zealand, and trains aspiring educational leaders on behalf of Queensland Education Leadership Institute.
• Glenn FiltnessminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer Australian Army Communications Specialist who deployed to Afghanistan with Reconstruction Task Force 4 and 1st Commando Regiment. Now volunteers for Soldier On and uses military experience to better youth lives focusing on physical fitness and nutrition.
• YOU CHOOSE Youth Road SafetyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMelissa and Peter McGuinness founded YOU CHOOSE after their 18-year-old son Jordan made driving choices that killed four people including himself. The program takes innovative social-project approach to road safety education for teens through peer-advocacy.
• Kaiko FidgetsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Kai and his Occupational Therapist mother Jo (25+ years mental health experience). Unique sensory tools help youth and adults alleviate emotional distress, focus better, and cultivate better mental health. Now a global family-run business.
• Singing Ring AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSinging Ring Australia provides crystal-infused metal sound bowls for meditation and healing sessions during programs. Scientifically proven to have meditative and healing effects on the brain, creating deep relaxation and calmness.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Outward Bound Australia: Australia's leading experiential outdoor and youth leadership provider running multi-day residential programs for adolescents. Operates a similar model — extended residential camps teaching resilience, teamwork, and leadership through structured outdoor challenges — and is the most direct comparator to Veteran Mentors' Junior Leader Program.
• Youth Off The Streets: Father Chris Riley's national charity delivering intervention programs for at-risk 12–24 year-olds, including residential and community-based services. Comparable to Veteran Mentors in serving disengaged Australian teens with behavioural and family challenges, although delivered through a charity rather than fee-for-service model.
• Ted Noffs Foundation: Provides residential rehabilitation, counselling, and youth-development programmes for at-risk Australian adolescents. Comparable to Veteran Mentors in targeting troubled teens with intensive residential intervention, though focused on drug, alcohol, and mental health issues rather than behavioural/discipline.

Broad incumbents

• PCYC NSW: State-wide youth-development organisation offering sport, recreation, and life-skills programmes across NSW with broad community access. Comparable as a youth-development incumbent in Veteran Mentors' core NSW geography, but operates at much larger scale and via sport-based rather than military-style methodology.
• Scouts Australia: National youth-development organisation delivering outdoor, leadership, and values-based programmes to Australian children and teens. Comparable to Veteran Mentors in teaching resilience, leadership, and teamwork, though typically delivered via weekly group meetings rather than intensive residential camps.
• Act for Kids: National not-for-profit providing therapy, family support, and intensive interventions for children affected by abuse, neglect, and trauma. Comparable to Veteran Mentors in addressing adverse childhood outcomes for Australian families and operating in the same NDIS-funded support ecosystem.
• Yourtown: National youth-services organisation operating Kids Helpline and youth-employment programmes, with established NDIS-aligned service delivery. Comparable as an incumbent Australian youth-services provider serving similar 12–17 demographics, although its delivery model is helpline- and employment-focused rather than residential camps.
• Mackillop Family Services: CatholicCare-affiliated provider of residential care, foster care, and therapeutic services for vulnerable Australian children and young people. Comparable to Veteran Mentors in operating residential care for adolescents under child-safe regulatory frameworks, but with a stronger clinical/foster-care orientation.

Others

• Soldier On Australia: Australian veteran-support charity delivering mental-health, employment, and wellbeing programmes to ex-ADF personnel. Comparable to Veteran Mentors in drawing on the same veteran talent pool and addressing veteran well-being, though its primary beneficiary is the veteran community rather than the teenagers served by the JLP.
• OzHelp Foundation: Australian veteran-focused mental-health and suicide-prevention organisation operating in similar ex-ADF talent networks. Comparable to Veteran Mentors in mission and people, but delivers services to veterans themselves rather than running fee-paying youth leadership programmes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/veteranmentors
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzQWq6eKxPPO6NQKqFP0jYQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/veteranmentors
• Instagraminstagram.com/veteranmentors

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Veteran Mentors