I don't want this to be about me. There's a team behind One Bison making this happen every day. But I wanted to share why I felt the need to build this in the first place.

I became an American citizen in downtown San Antonio. Probably 100 degrees outside, in the middle of moving houses and one of the harder seasons of my life. (Yes, this was during COVID. I apologize for the hair. I've had a haircut since then.) Still one of the happiest days I've had outside of watching my son smile at me for the first time.

I came here from Australia over 11 years ago. I didn't show up planning to become a citizen. It just grew on me. Once I made friends, built a life, got my feet under me, it started to feel like home. It's where I raised my son. Where I had to learn about peewee baseball instead of peewee cricket.

There's no better feeling now than coming back from a trip overseas and hearing the customs agent say "welcome home."

When you love something, you want to give back to it. Building One Bison is the best way I know how. Bringing money back to the people and businesses that actually represent what this country is about.

Not everyone gets to give back on their own terms. Some people give everything.

13 Americans Who Gave Everything

I'm not trying to market anything here or tie this to a benefit for One Bison. I don't want these to be empty words. Our prayers are with these families.

As of March 16 when this was written, 13 American service members have been killed in Operation Epic Fury. That number may have changed by the time you read this. Regardless of where you stand on what we're doing in Iran, these people gave everything. They deserve to be known by name.

Iranian drone strike, Port Shuaiba, Kuwait (March 1):
• Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, Indianola, Iowa
• Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, Sacramento, California
• Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, Winter Haven, Florida
• Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, White Bear Lake, Minnesota
• Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, Bellevue, Nebraska
• Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, West Des Moines, Iowa

Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia (March 8):
• Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, Glendale, Kentucky

KC-135 aircraft crash, western Iraq (March 12):
• Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, Auburn, Alabama
• Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, Covington, Washington
• Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, Bardstown, Kentucky
• Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, Mooresville, Indiana
• Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, Wilmington, Ohio
• Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, Columbus, Ohio

Over 140 service members have been wounded. If you're the praying type, pray for their families this week.

News That Matters

Gold Star Families May Get Larger Death Benefits

Rep. Matt Van Epps is pushing to double the military death gratuity from $100,000 to $200,000 for families of service members killed in action. The proposal would index the benefit to inflation and apply retroactively to the start of 2026.

SBA Closes Small Business Loans to Foreign Nationals

The Small Business Administration will restrict government-backed small business loans to companies fully owned by U.S. citizens or nationals. Taxpayer-funded programs should be fueling American-owned businesses, and this is the kind of policy that aligns with exactly what we talk about here.

What We're Building Here

Good Ranchers and Birch Gold Group just signed on as founding partners of One Bison.

Good Ranchers is a family-owned meat delivery company that partners with local U.S. farms. Birch Gold Group helps Americans protect their savings with physical precious metals. These are businesses that employ Americans, support American supply chains, and chose to put their name next to ours.

We're bootstrapped with no VC money and no investors writing checks. So this is a big deal for us. But here's why it matters to you. When businesses like these show up on the platform, others in their categories pay attention. More sign up. More products and deals get listed. The directory gets stronger, and it becomes easier for you to spend your money with people who actually share your values. That's the whole point.

Your Account Does More Than You Think

When you create a free account on One Bison, you can save businesses, products, and deals directly to your profile. Found a company you want to come back to? Save it. Spotted a deal you're not ready to use? Add it to your list. It's all there when you come back.

But this only grows when money leaves the corporations that don't give a damn about your values and moves into the hands of businesses that do. We're past 700 verified businesses on the platform, from American-made and veteran-owned to family-run and faith-driven. If you haven't created an account yet, please do it today.

One More Thing You Can Do

We're trying something new with referrals. This is our first go at it, so we'll be working out the logistics as we go, but we wanted to start somewhere real.

You have a unique referral link below. When someone signs up to the newsletter through your link, it counts.

We'll reach out to you directly when you hit a milestone.

I built One Bison because when you love something, you give back to it. That's true whether you were born here or whether you chose this country like I did.

Thank you for being part of this.

- Mitch
Founder, One Bison