Alexandra Myers remembers her uncle taking her on her very first Smoothie King trip when she was 12. The franchise was not only a staple of her hometown in New Orleans, but became an integral part of her life. When she attended the United States Naval Academy, she keenly felt something was missing and instinctively knew a smoothie shop would do well on military bases where healthy meal options are scarce.

LONDON, Feb. 10, 2015—StreetShares announced today at FinovateEurope 2015 the debut of the StreetShares Auto-invest feature which will enable retail investors to easily program their small business loan investments to make automatic bids according to their loan requirements and risk preferences.

If you’ve never been to Afghanistan, it’s tough to understand the terrain, environment, and poverty of the country. It is heartbreaking to a degree. I went there with one mindset on my first deployment and I left with my view completely changed.

Meet Matthew “Griff” Griffin, former Army Ranger of the 75^th Ranger Regiment. His experiences in Afghanistan, both from his time in the U.S. Army and his later return with a medical service and rescue company, led him to create his own business. Combat Flip Flops is focused on providing solutions for war-torn countries.

Halle and Andy Friedman, co-owners of Robert Andrews Laser & Medical Aesthetics, can’t count how many times they've looked at each other and said, “Oh my gosh, this is so much more than we ever anticipated.”

1. Social lenders look beyond a credit score

The rigors of military service can take a toll on a credit score. As a result, veterans face unique challenges when looking for a business loan with lenders who only consider the numbers. But on an alternative social-lending marketplace, individual investors bid to back a portion of a loan to a business. Because individual investors set their own interest rate, they are able to consider any factor they wish. Other factors – such as the borrower’s “pitch,” group affiliation, business model, location, online presence, and customer reviews – are all important to social-lenders. This “whole picture” evaluation is beneficial to veteran-owned businesses.

Written by Mark Rockefeller

Entrepreneurship by U.S. military veterans is a longstanding tradition in America.

Following WWII, millions of American military veterans became business owners. This "greatest generation" sparked an economic boom, and America flourished. Banks were smaller, community-oriented, and supported small business. And business owners had access to veteran small business loans.

Times have changed. 

With many peer-to-peer (now called marketplace lending) platforms available, how does one know where to invest? Consider the following:

Originally published Nov. 4, 2014 on PR Newswire

The difference between a successful small business and a passing fad depends upon your willingness to evolve and explore innovative ways for your business to meet a market need.

In the small business community, we call this concept pivoting.

A pivot [noun] is a person or thing upon which progress depends. To pivot [verb] means to turn and change direction while depending on the central point. As a veteran, this concept is not so different from changing your mission in the military: while the central goal is the same, the tactics you use may change in order to achieve the goal.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 85% of all companies in the U.S. use some form of content marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy. So what exactly is content marketing and why should it matter to you as a veteran small business owner?