The National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE) is a confidential, multi-year study that seeks to better understand military-affiliated entrepreneurs. The goal is to identify opportunities and barriers that military-affiliated entrepreneurs face. This information will be used to create a public dataset that can inform practitioners, policy makers, and communities about these needs and advance opportunities. This research is supported by Walmart.
This brief is designed for funders, program leaders, and policymakers working to build stronger veteran entrepreneurship ecosystems, bringing together insights about veteran entrepreneurial ecosystems from Military Entrepreneurship Forum (MEF) roundtable conversations, the National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE), and other entrepreneurship research.
Business contracting opportunities for veterans and other military-affiliated entrepreneurs come in a variety of forms – consulting, business to- business services, wholesaling, and offering products or services through retailers are common ways these small businesses engage in procurement contracting. Especially for veteran-owned businesses (VOB) or service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOB), unique small businesses opportunities are available when contracting with government through preferential programs involving set-asides or certifications.
The Advancing Military-Connected Entrepreneurship Initiative, funded by Walmart, aims to enhance the entrepreneurship ecosystem and support veterans, military spouses, and other military-connected business owners as they develop their businesses.
The 2022 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs provides detailed insights into the experiences and challenges of military spouse entrepreneurs. This term encompasses spouses and partners of active duty, National Guard, and Reserve service members, as well as veterans and retirees. Based on data from 243 current business owners who self-identify as military spouses, 80% of whom are female, the findings reveal robust entrepreneurial activity alongside critical support needs to ensure their success in the business landscape.
This research brief presents a thorough analysis of the military-connected entrepreneurship ecosystem, detailing the progression of business development from inception to sustainability. Leveraging data from the NSMAE and bolstered by generous financial support from Walmart, it outlines the specific challenges and growth opportunities faced by military-affiliated small businesses. These challenges include navigating access to capital, overcoming operational hurdles, and seizing growth opportunities. This brief categorizes businesses into five stages—Foundational, Startup/Launch, Growth, Acceleration, and Sustainability—characterized by distinct financial conditions, operational challenges, and resource management strategies.
This research brief compares the experiences of rural and urban entrepreneurs using data from the 2022 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs. Local business and entrepreneurial ecosystems are often keys to the success of veteran entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial resources assist with the cultivation and effective utilization of social connections, the identification of suitable mentors for success, access to appropriate financial resources, and the acquisition and application of business acumen and management proficiencies. The specific dynamics of a particular geography are unique, however one way to examine differences between places is to consider the differences between urban and rural places. This research brief provides insights into the different experiences of veteran entrepreneurs across place – both strengths and weaknesses, for urban, rural, and sub-categories of rural places.
Major strides have been made to train and support veteran entrepreneurs over the last two decades, but veteran entrepreneurs still face challenges. Some common challenges include developing and utilizing social capital, identifying successful mentors, accessing appropriate financial capital, and obtaining and utilizing business and management skills. Although challenges vary by location, each local entrepreneurial ecosystem has unique features to support veteran and military connected entrepreneurs.
This brief provides highlights from the 2021 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE) focusing on Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Spanish origin (for example Mexican or Mexican American, Salvadoran, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Colombian, etc.) veteran entrepreneurs. NSMAE monitors trends in the activity, needs, and economic, social, and policy barriers of military-affiliated entrepreneurs in the United States. This annual survey and forthcoming public dataset will be an enduring source of current insights for public and private sector leaders, policymakers, and community-based organization on systemic barriers to and drivers of entrepreneurial success among veterans and their family members.
This brief provides highlights from the 2021 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE) focusing on female veteran entrepreneurs. NSMAE monitors trends in the activity, needs, and economic, social, and policy barriers of military-affiliated entrepreneurs in the United States. This annual survey and forthcoming public dataset will be an enduring source of current insights for public and private sector leaders, policymakers, and community-based organization on systemic barriers to and drivers of entrepreneurial success among veterans and their family members.
This report shares findings from the 2021 National Survey of Military Affiliated (NSMAE) entrepreneurs about their experiences related to entrepreneurship, COVID-19 pandemic, military, and overall wellbeing. In the last decade, the rate of civilian and veteran entrepreneurship has shown signs of decline. However, there has been a surge in entrepreneurship in the U.S. since the pandemic. The pandemic has created conditions favorable for entrepreneurship; however, it has also affected the entrepreneurial activities and specific barriers for military-affiliated entrepreneurs that influence and shape their entrepreneurial activity, even though entrepreneurship is a viable career choice, given the transient nature of military life.
This brief provides the latest insights from the 2021 NSMAE survey. The findings reported here are from both a longitudinal and cross-sectional sample of over 2,000 veteran entrepreneurs. Future briefs will include subsequent data analysis on focused topics and various populations within the military-affiliated community. This annual survey and forthcoming public dataset will be an enduring source of current insights for public and private sector leaders, policymakers, and community-based organization on systemic barriers to and drivers of entrepreneurial success among veterans and their family members.
This brief provides highlights from the 2021 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE) focusing on Black and African American veteran entrepreneurs. These findings are based on data collected from 327 Black and African American veteran entrepreneurs, which represents 21% of the respondents that answered the race/ethnicity question of the 2021 survey. This annual survey monitors trends in the activity, needs, as well as the economic, social, and policy barrier of military affiliated entrepreneurs in the United States. These findings will be an enduring source of current insights for public and private sector leaders, policymakers, and community-based organizations on systemic barriers to and drivers of entrepreneurial success among Black and African American veterans and their family members.
This brief provides highlights from the 2020 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs focusing on female veteran entrepreneurs. These findings are based on the data collected from 432 female veteran entrepreneurs, which represents 27% of the respondents that answered the gender question of the 2020 survey. This study monitors trends in the activity, needs, and economic, social, and policy barriers of military-affiliated entrepreneurs in the United States. This annual survey and forthcoming public dataset will be an enduring source of current insights for public and private sector leaders, policymakers, and community-based organization on systemic barriers to and drivers of entrepreneurial success among female veterans and their family members.
This brief provides highlights from the 2020 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs study focusing on Black and African American veteran entrepreneurs. These findings are based on the data collected from 333 Black and African American veteran entrepreneurs, which represents 21% of the respondents that answered the race/ethnicity question of the 2020 survey. This study monitors trends in the activity, needs, and economic, social, and policy barriers of military-affiliated entrepreneurs in the United States.
Some of the key highlights:
The IVMF National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs monitors trends in the activity, needs, and economic, social, and policy barriers of military-affiliated entrepreneurs in the United States. In its inaugural year, the intent was to draw from a cross-sectional sample of over 2,500 veteran entrepreneurs. Future surveys will also track trends and pressing issues. For example, in 2020 the survey was updated to focus on such COVID-19. All NSMAE surveys and forthcoming public datasets will be an enduring source of current insights for public and private sector leaders, policymakers, and community-based organization on systemic barriers to and drivers of entrepreneurial success among veterans and their family members.
This report is the result of the first year of data collection from our National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs – a multi-year, annual and longitudinal study of veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs. Overall, the findings from this report corroborate previous research asserting there is a noteworthy relationship between military service and entrepreneurship. Veteran entrepreneurs are motivated to be independent, creative, innovative, and to serve society and support their communities. On the other hand, they experience an array of barriers to include access to capital, difficulty navigating resources, certification process hurdles, and lack assistance from medical and disability service providers. This study reveals success or failure does not depend on one, but rather on multiple factors related to barriers and challenges veteran entrepreneurs experience.
A presentation given during the 2022 Student Veterans of America National Conference in Orlando, FL discussing the topics of advancing entrepreneurship through education.
A presentation given during the 2021 Student Veterans of America National Conference discussing the topics of advancing entrepreneurship through education.
A presentation given during the 2021 NASPA Virtual Symposium on Military-Connected Students discussing the topics of advancing entrepreneurship through education.
IVMF leads the NSMAE initiative in collaboration with a team of multi-disciplinary researchers from Whitman School of Management.
This ongoing study is made possible through support from Walmart, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Center of Excellence (CoE) for Veteran Entrepreneurship, and the Whitman School of Management.
We would also like to thank Amazon, Disability:IN, Dog Tag, Inc., Enterprise, Fiserv, Florida State University (FSU) & Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, George W. Bush Presidential Center, Hillsborough Community College, Johnson & Johnson, Louisiana State University (LSU), National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NAVOBA), Patriot BootCamp, Peoplefund, Saint Joseph’s University, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Small Business Administration (SBA), Texas A&M University (TAMU), The Walt Disney Company, UCLA Anderson School of Management, University of Missouri, Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC), USAA, Walmart, Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, and Wyndham for their contribution in developing this project.
This study is the result of the collaboration and support of Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Center of Excellence (CoE) for Veteran Entrepreneurship, Fiserv, JPMorgan Chase, Coalition for Veteran Owned Business (CVOB), Riata Center for Entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University, and the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, and many other partners and supporters who shared this research opportunity with veteran entrepreneurs. Finally, this study would not have been possible without the many military-affiliated entrepreneurs who shared their time, business ownership experiences, and insights. Thank you.
In Collaboration With:
Encourage your network to confidentially share their experience! We gain more insights with a greater response, and you can help. We have developed a toolkit full of social media posts and graphics to help you spread the word on your social media channels.
Thank you to our 2024 outreach partners and collaborators. If you are interested in becoming an outreach partner and collaborator please reach out to ivmfsurvey@syr.edu.
Are you a member of the media or a nonprofit organization that supports military, veteran, and military family communities? And are you interested in partnering with IVMF to promote the survey? Please contact ivmfresearch@syr.edu.
For questions about our survey, contact ivmfsurvey@syr.edu.
