Starting a business takes courage, adaptability and discipline, qualities that are deeply embedded in military service.

“In the Marines, the biggest thing they teach you is how to complete the mission regardless of conditions…how to run on the fly and figure it out,” says Siloam Springs native Ben Lowry. When it comes to starting a small business, “that’s a pretty big arrow in your quiver that a lot of veterans have.”

Ben’s Marine Expeditionary Unit took him around the world, from Bahrain to Singapore. When he returned home and settled back into civilian life, he purchased Northwest Arkansas Sheet Metal, an HVAC company that has served the region since the 1950s.

In just two years, Ben has doubled the size of the business, both in personnel and revenue. “We’re creating a lot of jobs and doing a lot of good work,” he says.

But alongside this success has come the growing pains of small business ownership.

“I was 33 when I bought the business, and I’ll be honest, sometimes I still feel like I have no idea what I’m doing,” jokes Ben. “The main challenges are things that aren’t in the textbooks – everything from building relationships to collecting late payments. Another big thing is realizing that if you are lucky to be around for long enough, your team will go through good times and hard times. Being a leader means also being a strong person to lean on.”

To continue honing his skills as a leader, Ben joined the Veteran-Owned Small Business Accelerator (VOSBA) in the spring of 2025. A specialized partnership between the Venture Center and the Small Business Administration (SBA), VOSBA is tailored to provide free technical assistance to veterans and help them translate military skills into business success.

Over the course of 12 weeks, participants engage in a structured series of workshops and mentorship sessions, focusing on everything from strategic road-mapping and financial management to marketing and leadership, all tailored to the unique needs of veteran-owned businesses.

With support from the Walton Family Foundation, the program leverages the Venture Center’s entrepreneurial resources and network in a state whose veteran population exceeds the national average by around 15%.

The foundation supports the Venture Center and others working to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Northwest Arkansas, creating a strong and diverse pipeline of talent and removing barriers to success.

Critically, VOSBA helps participants understand and access federal programs and contracts available exclusively to veterans. But to access these set-aside opportunities, they must first be certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Daniel Shutte is vice president of strategic partnerships at the Venture Center. He says the inspiration for the program was an entrepreneur friend who had also served. “He told me that when he left the military, no one told him about all the resources available to help veterans. Because he served his country, he could have effectively accessed all kinds of government contracts if he had the right information and the right certification.”

Today, the accelerator works directly with the SBA to support veterans in every stage of the certification process. Ben says Daniel and his team have been invaluable.

“The federal programs and websites are pretty hard to navigate, and figuring out who to talk to is a challenge,” he says. “This program cuts through the BS and shows you how to get it done.”

Alongside nine other veterans, Ben says that weekly meetings touched on every opportunity available to veteran small businesses, from how to find and apply for set-aside contracts and obtaining surplus government machinery and equipment, to applying for SBA loans and free, available marketing opportunities. Speakers and mentors included representatives from the regional SBA office and Veteran’s Administration.

Andy McIndoe is another participant. A former Special Forces Commander with the Green Berets, he joined the accelerator to go after more federal contracting for his business, Alpha Echo, a predictive model to help businesses deploy capital more effectively after a disaster. “When a hurricane or tornado hits, our system rapidly assesses the damage, giving everyone in the field the ability to assign resources faster and more effectively,” says Andy.

Andy says while his military service prepared him well for entrepreneurship, there have been a few blind spots that the program has helped him overcome. “For the Green Berets, the number one goal is to understand your environment. Raising capital for a small business is definitely a different environment than I’m used to. Having folks who understand how this environment works has been hugely helpful.”

For Andy, the biggest benefits of the program were the direct connections made with the SBA. Of the opportunities revealed during his time in the accelerator, he says that “while not every tool is going to work for everyone, knowing they exist and how to use them makes a big difference.”

Back at Northwest Arkansas Sheet Metal, Ben has won his first federal contract. Several more are in the pipeline. As his small business continues to grow, he’s glad it’s happening in his hometown.

“Northwest Arkansas is really friendly to entrepreneurs. There are a lot of people in growth mode who want to collaborate and do business together. It doesn’t matter if you are well-established or not, if you are willing to work hard and take risks, there is a lot of opportunity here.”