HIDDEN FIGURES
Vets are America’s untapped entrepreneurs
AS the sun sets on a suburban office park, 16 entrepreneurs gather near a conference room stage. For the last 12 weeks, they have been preparing. Now they’ll get their chance to stand in front of business leaders and investors to pitch their companies. A woman named Kim has founded a nonprofit to support female graduates of the foster care system. Marquell is launching a new clothing brand. Andrew is pitching a service that connects event planners to non-traditional event spaces. Scenes like this play out every day, but these entrepreneurs are unlike the characters depicted on HBO’s “Silicon Valley” in one key respect: They’re all veterans. The organization sponsoring the evening’s event, a national nonprofit named Bunker Labs, helps discharged soldiers found and grow businesses of their own. But while Bunker Labs is making remarkable progress, many veterans hunger for these opportunities.
Former soldiers are well-equipped to found and lead great businesses. They think on their feet, handle adversity, and operate cuttingedge technology in the most trying of circumstances. Many veterans are also confident and seasoned. They’ve tested their skills in life-or-death situations.
I know that veterans can thrive in the world of free enterprise because I’ve seen it in my own family. My grandfather Henry Libby sacrificed his hearing operating a mortar on the Italian front in the Second World War. Upon his return, he went to school, worked, and then founded Libby Laboratories, a custom manufacturer of cosmetics that has thrived for decades, creating dozens of jobs.
We need more people like my grandfather. Entrepreneurship is on the wane in America, with 30 percent fewer businesses founded over the past decade compared with previous decades. Start-ups are particularly rare in the cities and towns that provide many of the nation’s military recruits.
An average of 22 veterans take their lives each day. Former soldiers are particularly apt to experience homelessness; many struggle to find gainful employment.
A number of hurdles prevent many vets from making the most of their skills and savvy. They often lack ties to the financial communities that provide start-up capital. Military men and women are often dismissed by funders because they talk with a unique cadence and distinct jargon.
These obstacles aren’t insurmountable. As someone who makes his living growing companies, I’ve seen many businesses succeed because of (rather than despite) their founder’s military background. The key is to focus additional resources on efforts that give veterans the best chance of striking out on their own. Incentivizing big businesses to hire veterans is a worthy cause indeed (and, in fact, a business called Hirepurpose founded by Marine veteran Zach Iscol is helping veterans connect with such jobs) but so is helping veterans embark on an entrepreneurial adventure.
We often talk about how to take care of those who have served but we rarely follow through. Our soldiers are as capable of founding companies as they are of leading platoons. Let’s get them started.