Frequently Asked Questions

Complete the Military Entrepreneur Challenge Application. 

• Applicants must be at least 21 years of age at the time of application.
• Applicants must be a veteran, Reservist, National Guardsman, or transitioning active-duty Military Member of any of the United States Armed Forces, the spouse of a Military Member, or the surviving spouse or child of a Military Member who died on active duty (i.e., a “Gold Star” family member). 

• Applicants must be low-income and otherwise lack the financial means to start, or grow, an early-stage business or nonprofit.
• Applicants must own at least 51% of the business entity described in the application.
• Business entities, as defined in these rules, include sole proprietorships, legally incorporated LLCs, S-Corps or C-Corps (or formal partnerships) created under the laws of any U.S. jurisdiction.
• If the Applicant is applying in conjunction with a nonprofit organization, the Applicant must be the organization’s senior executive director or equivalent in order to be eligible for the grant.
• The nonprofit or business entity will also be evaluated on its positive social, community, educational, military-transition, veterans’ employment, health and wellness, or veterans’ mental health/spiritual impact on the American military and veteran community in addition to or in conjunction with the business or nonprofit functions.

• The application and grant award process will take place on the Second Service Foundation’s website. Applicants will complete their application and submit their business one pager.
• Applications will be evaluated by the Second Service Foundation judges across a number of criteria. 
• Applicants will be notified a minimum of one week prior to the event if they are selected to pitch at the pitch competition. Applicants that are selected to pitch are required to sign the provided “Intent to Compete.”
• Applicants acknowledge they have been selected for one of limited Semi-Finalist positions and, in good faith, intend to compete in the competition. Failure to compete after certifying intent can lead to future disqualification from the Second Service Foundation events.

The following are the criteria we look for in deciding which entrepreneurs receive funding:

• Social impact on the military community
• Personal story and business idea/potential
• What customer need is being filled (product/market fit)
• Team and company history
• How the entrepreneur plans to use the award and the potential impact on their business.
• The Second Service Foundation delivers an annual report to program sponsors on program impact based on continuous measurement and tracking of key outcomes to be identified in joint consultation. These outcomes include: 
  • Revenue increase for small business program beneficiaries 
  • Jobs created by small business program beneficiaries 
  • Veterans and military spouses hired by small business program beneficiaries 
  • Social impact on the military community

• Pitch Competition Participants will be evaluated based on: personal story and business idea/potential, potential impact/use of award funds, product-fit, team/history, and social impact of the business on the military and veteran community. 
• Pitch Competition Participants will be reviewed by judges. Our judges are comprised of the Second Service Foundation staff, the Board of Directors, sponsors, and industry experts. The judges will determine the Semi-Finalists of the Military Entrepreneur Challenge grant. 
• The recipients of the grant are chosen from the Semi-Finalists of each award period and are determined by public vote on the Second Service Foundation website or at an in-person pitch competition event.

Grants and other prizes vary based on event. Please see our event pages for specific grant amounts and other sponsor donated services. 

Grant Winners must complete all compliance to claim award money within three (3) months of competition completion, otherwise the grant will be forfeit.