Shark Tank
NOW CASTING FOR VETS

Shark Tank, the Emmy winning, business-themed show is continuing the search for the best Entrepreneurs with the best businesses and products that this country has to offer.

We are currently interested in hearing from America’s Veterans, so if you or any Veteran you know has a great business, product or idea and need an investment to propel you forward, then we want to hear from you.

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Bill Giving More Small Businesses
Access to Federal Contracts
Heads to Congress

Hardy Stone VetLikeMe
16 Jan. 2016

Small businesses amy soon have better opportunities to bid for federal contracts. The U.S. House Committee on Small Business has approved bipartisan legislation to expand and boost the prospects for smaller firms in the federal bidding process.

The measure, H.R. 4341, the Defending America’s Small Contractors Act of 2016, received unanimous committee support and has now advanced to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

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Why Veterans Lending to Veterans
May be the Future of
Small Business Lending

Hardy Stone VetLikeMe
from Forbes (Marc Prosser)
04 Jan. 2016

I recently had a chance to interview Mark L. Rockefeller, the co-founder and CEO of small business social lending platform, StreetShares. Mark is an Air Force veteran who served in Iraq. He has a strong desire to help other vets, which in part inspired the creation of StreetShares.

StreetShares is a P2P crowdlending platform that funds American small businesses. StreetShares funds all kinds of business owners, but StreetShares has a particular focus on helping veteran-owned small businesses. StreetShares funds businesses using what Mark called “social affinity lending.” This means that loans to businesses are supported by investors who share a particular social group membership with the borrowers. Social groups may include: veterans, alumni of the same school, members of the same profession, residents of the same neighborhood, or members of the same organization. StreetShares is starting with veterans. Many of America’s 21.8 million veterans share a strong connection to their fellow vets. By tapping into this loyalty, Mark and his team may be able to produce a better lending platform with lower rates for borrowers and lower risk for investors.

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Business Resources for Veterans and
Active Duty Military Entrepreneurs

Carol Roth Huffington Post

I believe strongly that when you have prepared for and experienced combat, you are more than prepared with the guts, determination and resourcefulness to launch your own business initiative. Veterans seem to agree. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), veterans are 45% more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans. Additionally nearly 1 in 10 small businesses are veteran owned, employing 5.8 million people and generating more than $1 trillion in revenue.

However, while these brave men and women who have served their countries may possess many of the qualities to become great entrepreneurs, there are still resources and expertise they need to make a new business work. With more than 1 million men and women on active duty expected to return to civilian life in the next five years and a higher unemployment rate amongst younger veterans than nationally, it is more critical than ever to help them succeed.

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Legislative Report:
State Contracting with Businesses Owned by
Qualified Disabled Veterans, FY2014
Required by section 18.1261(9) of Public Act 431 of 1984, as amended

The Management and Budget Act (1984 PA 431, as amended) establishes (i) a goal for the department to award each year not less than 5% of its total expenditures for construction, goods, and services to service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOBs), and (ii) a price preference of up to 10% of the amount of the contract for qualified SDVOBs) when competing for state contracts.