While the men and women who serve in the military make untold sacrifices to serve their country, when they come home they face a unique set of challenges – especially when it comes tt starting a business. According to the most recent statistics, in the United States today, fewer than six percent of all businesses are owned by military veterans. And of those roughly 338-thousand veteran-owned businesses, only 10% are owned by Black veterans.  A handful of them are in Baton Rouge. 

Craig Stevens is President of Genesis 360, a Baton Rouge based company that acts like a one-stop shop providing services related to building maintenance, grounds maintenance and construction and even IT services.

Craig started the company in 2011 as a parking lot-striping company so its scope of services was limited but quickly grew as Craig began offering more and more services to a clientele that now span the country and include commercial business and the federal government.

Craig, a native of Opelousas, who now lives in Baton Rouge, is a retired Air Force officer, who served for 25 years in the U.S., Europe and Asia before retiring as captain of the 93rd bomb squadron. From there he went to serve as Director of Operations for Circle K before founding Genesis 360 in 2011.  

Xavier Hoskins is Managing Partner of DXI Health Solutions, a Baton Rouge-based company that specializes in orthotics, joint replacement implants, spinal hardware bone growth hardware and disposable medical equipment.

Xavier and his partner David Hyde founded the company in 2011, after Xavier spent a dozen years in the pharmaceutical industry. Xavier also is a veteran. He served in the U.S. Army  after graduating from Ole Miss. Xavier and Craig also know each other because they were both members of the first class in the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s Drive Minority Business Accelerator program, which was held during the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023. 

Out to Lunch is recorded over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find more information including photos from this show at itsbatonrouge.la.

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