Why it matters:
- There are 1.6 million veteran business owners in America that employ about 3.3 million workers, according to the Small Business Administration.
- They represent about 5% of all firms in the U.S. across a wide range of industries—from utilities and technical services to real estate and health care.
- These firms have a higher success rate in business than non-veteran founders due to the leadership skills they learn in the military, according to the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.
It's not surprising that many military veterans are highly successful entrepreneurs. These often-fearless risk-takers are trained to be team leaders and problem-solvers that can quickly pivot when unexpected events arise.
Many return home from the military to realize working in the corporate world is not an ideal fit for their independent spirit, honed skills, and desire to continue to serve society, according to interviews CO— conducted with business founders who are military veterans.
Chad McCoy, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Firestorm Labs, a three-year-old startup, can attest to that. The former Air Force Pararescueman worked with the renowned special operations team that rescued Captain Richard Phillips after his ship was seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean’s Somali Peninsula.
When he returned stateside in 2021 after 23 years of military service, he took a job as the director of the Doolittle Institute, a nonprofit that supports the Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions Directorate. But after one year, McCoy decided to leave and partner with Ian Muceus, an aerospace engineer, and Dan Magy, a serial entrepreneur, to launch Firestorm Labs in a bid to develop breakthrough defense technology.
“I felt like this was an extension of service I could do in the private sector, and [that] I could make a difference in an antiquated market,” McCoy said.
To that end, Firestorm Labs has invented a portable way to 3D print and assemble drones.
Big aerospace companies and defense contractors are taking notice.
The San Diego-based company has raised $35 million in venture funding, including $12.5 million from a consortium led by Lockheed Martin Ventures to advance its 3D manufacturing capabilities. This year it was awarded a three-year $100 million contract from the U.S. Air Force.
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A trillion-dollar subset of the economy
McCoy is just one of the 1.6 million veteran business owners in America that employ about 3.3 million workers. Collectively they generate $984 billion in total sales annually, according to the Small Business Administration’s Veteran Ownership report. They represent about 5% of all firms in the U.S. across a wide range of industries—from utilities and technical services to real estate and health care.
Most have a higher success rate in business than non-veteran founders, according to Misty StutsmanFox, Director of the Entrepreneurship and Small Business Portfolio at the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. Sixty-seven percent of these business are profitable, and 80% of these business owners consider themselves successful entrepreneurs, according to the institute’s most recent survey.
That’s impressive, considering they can face bigger challenges than non-veteran founders when trying to raise capital and forge business networks. About 36% are denied credit to launch or grow a business versus 20% for non-veteran founders, according to the SBA report. The fact that veterans have a transient lifestyle and often don’t have a long credit history stateside makes lenders more cautious, Fox explains.
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They are people undaunted by challenges and the unknown who are trained to run through walls to accomplish their mission.Mike Sherbakov, General Partner, The Veteran Fund
Transferring military skills to business lands LaunchTech large contracts from Eli Lilly to the Department of Defense
“Despite the challenges they face, these individuals are resilient and tenacious,” said Mike Sherbakov, General Partner of The Veteran Fund, a venture capital firm that invested in Firestorm Labs. “They are people undaunted by challenges and the unknown who are trained to run through walls to accomplish their mission.”They have great discipline, adaptability, resourcefulness, and team leadership skills instilled in them during military service, he added.
Venus Quates, President and CEO of LaunchTech, a company that provides cybersecurity, AI, software development, and systems engineering for Fortune 500 corporations, global banks, and state and federal government agencies, has built a $12 million business thanks to those skills. An Air Force veteran trained in communications and information management, she launched her business in 2016 and bootstrapped the company’s growth from day one.
“I started with nothing but a laptop, working on customers’ IT infrastructure,” she recalled, “plowing [through] my own savings to jumpstart the business.”
Today her Huntsville, Alabama-based company has 49 employees and contracts with Eli Lilly, M&T Bank, the Department of Defense, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the MTA.
“The leadership skills I learned in the military taught me [that] you have to be mission-focused on the goals of your customers,” she said. “‘Service before self’ is the motto instilled in servicemen in the Air Force and that is what I apply in business.”
Military-honed rapport-building skills, purpose-driven mindset fuel two vet-owned startups
Communication and planning skills learned in the military also boost a founder’s success quotient, says Robert Schaefer, a former Green Beret and now a leadership consultant and brand ambassador for a veteran-owned business that makes Horse Soldier Bourbon. You learn how to work with others, listen to their opinions and concerns, and build relationships, he said. That can be transferred to the workplace and how you build trust and a rapport with customers and employees.
Assembling a dedicated team of all-stars committed to building the business is also critical, according to Nick Ripplinger, President of Battle Sight Technologies, a company that makes infrared products for the military including infrared beacons visible from the ground up to space aircraft and satellites.
Since starting the business in 2017, the medically retired U.S. Army operations non-commissioned officer has recruited other veterans to work at his company who have insight into the type of security and communication tools that military men and women need on the battlefield. For example, the company’s director of product and technology, Dan Reed, is a retired Air Force major.
Thanks to funding from research and development contracts from government agencies such as the Air Force Research Labs and Department of Defense, Ripplinger has been able to develop his product line and grow sales to $5 million annually.
“We are all driven by a sense of purpose to help other veterans and pay it forward,” said Ripplinger. “We want to create a lasting impact. It’s part of our DNA.”
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
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