Patrick Alcorn, Veterans Entrepreneur Program

Patrick Alcorn served nine years in the U.S. Army, including a time at the U.S. Military Academy where he played football and earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management. He emphasizes the often-overlooked strengths of veterans in franchising. “Most of America, when they hear the word veteran, they think about the veteran that has PTSD or a wounded warrior; they forget that veterans are more than their incapacities,” he explains. Alcorn believes in leveraging military experience for entrepreneurship, stating, “They have been part of the largest franchise system in the world, that’s the Department of Defense.” His focus is on supporting veteran-owned businesses, asserting that “the best way to deal with challenged veterans is to focus on building veteran businesses.” He notes the positive economic impact of veterans, sharing that “veterans will hire veterans. Veterans will give back to veteran causes. Veterans grow the economy.” As the founder of the Veterans Business Outreach Center at the University of Texas Arlington, Patrick has helped over 3,000 veteran small business leaders and initiated the Business Beyond the Battlefield Conference to promote education and resources for military-connected entrepreneurs.