All the skills learned by the military (like organization, leadership, and decisiveness under pressure) work rather effectively in the corporate world. There is a huge difference when companies are led by veterans, proving that good performance in corporate is not only able to be earned by experience in that field.

For instance, did you know that Boss Laser (Which is a laser cutting business) is one of the many businesses today started by veterans with decades of experience?Veterans like Fred Smith and Sam Walton have also gained fame by their success in business and not by their military career.

Why Entrepreneurship is the Option many need to Take

Post World War II, 50% of veterans chose entrepreneurship. And if we look back through the years, we would see that about 3 million businesses are owned by veterans, either solely or in partnership. Some like to call it Vetrepreneurship.It’s not a thing to be preached, but supporting veteran-owned businesses is considered one of the best ways we can show our gratitude to returning veterans and their families.
Nevertheless, it’s again another question if we know the business is really veteran owned or operated.



According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, veterans are successfully running multitudes of small businesses, as one out of every ten small businesses, nationwide, is owned by one. The great news is that these small businesses are employing almost six million people throughout the country.The Small Business Administration supports the veteran business owners with mentoring and training, business development opportunities and access to capital through government contracts.

The top Veterans and Their Businesses

Below are a few Veterans who made it to the top with their brands

  1. FedEx(Fred Smith) – Before FedEx was the big deal we see today, founder Fred Smith made an amazing observation on how the military passed on things from one point to another. After his graduation from Yale, he served two tours in Vietnam as a Marine Corps officer. Two years after leaving the Corps, he started his very own logistics company and named it Federal Express- in short: Fred believed the foundation of Corps to be the basics by which one leads his people. As we can observe, he utilized that well.
  2. Walmart (Sam Walton) – Walmart, being one of the largest companies in the world, was founded by a former army intelligence o As per the history of the company, Sam’s first Walmart store was named Walton’s Five and Dime. He started it with the $5,000 he had saved from his time in the Army. Along with that, he took a loan of $25,000 from his father-in-law.
  3. GoDaddy (Bob Parsons) – GoDaddy is known for registering the largest portion of the world’s web domains. This American registrar and web hosting company is the brainchild of Bob Parsons, a Marine veteran. He fully believed that the worth of the company and whatever else he did, wouldn’t have been possible without his experience from the Marine Corps. Bob Parsons started GoDaddy in the year 1997, and in seventeen years, i.e. in 2014, GoDaddy filed for a 100 million dollar IPO. Later, he left the company for a good cause.
  4. Kinder Morgan (Richard Kinder) – This fourth largest energy company was cofounded by Richard Kinder, a Vietnam veteran. He started the business with his partner, William Morgan, in 1997. Before he served as a US Army captain, he had earned his law degree from the University of Missouri. He served for fours years as a Judge Advocate General Officer.
  5. Sperry Shoes (Paul A. Sperry) – A US Naval veteran invented the world’s first boat shoes. He joined the Navy Reserve in the year 1917, but he wasn’t there for long. Later, he used his experience and sailing adventures to start his company, creating the first non-slip boating shoes. That happened in the year 1935. During World War II, the Navy purchased a boatload of his shoes (pun intended). Even today, sailors love them! 

Veterans in the United States have always made noteworthy sacrifices through their service, thus they deserve our appreciation. As we explained, their time in the army has led to them to learning skills perhaps above and beyond those who have never served. This is a great ingredient to start a business, at least a successful one.

However, the only setback for them on average is capital. Veterans need capital to start out. But to their relief, there are multiple institutions that offer financial options with benefits. Know that the investment is not going to be disappointing, plus it is an additional thank you for their service!

What is the business that you think is going to be the best? Let us know below.

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