Entrepreneurs

The Veteran Entrepreneur Program (VEP) is a team of five veterans assisting fellow veterans and their families with their entrepreneurial journey. VEP has five districts: North, South, East, West, and Central. Due to the small nature of our team, we work closely with our community partners such as the US Small Business Administration (SBA), the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), the Small Development Business Center (SBDC), and more to provide individualized services to you within your local community.

If you are a veteran with an honorable or general under honorable discharge from the US Military, starting a NEW 100% Veteran-Owned business on or after January 1, 2022, you may qualify for a Veteran Verification Letter, which waives the Secretary of State registration fees and certain taxes for the first five years of business.

The VEP strives to process every request within 7-10 business days, if connecting with the VEP through the Connect with a Business Consultant link, please look for an email ending in TVC.TEXAS.GOV within 72 business hours, though we often respond quicker. The email may go to a junk or other folder.  

The Veteran Entrepreneur Program assists veterans and their families through the entrepreneurial process. We assist with business plans, government contracting, financials, capital acquisition, community referrals, and much more.

If you are a veteran with an honorable or general under honorable discharge from the US Military, with 51% ownership and management of your business, you may qualify for a Texas Veterans Commission Veteran-Owned Business Logo to use with marketing your business as Veteran-Owned.

VEP has created a government contracting guide outlining the County, State, and Federal contracting process. To learn more, reach out to us through the “Contact a Consultant” button on our main page and choose Contracting.

The majority of available grants are for non-profit organizations. While some grants are geared towards for-profit entities, business owners must search for a grant that matches their needs.

Our Funds for Veterans’ Assistance Program provides grants to non-profit organizations that provide services to veterans within Texas.

If you are a veteran or a family member of a veteran, the VEP can assist you in starting your own business.

To qualify as a Veteran-Owned Business through the Texas Secretary of State, all owners must be veterans as outlined in TAX CODE CHAPTER 171. FRA

Yes. The VEP can assist you with your business plan. We provide veterans and their families with our Vetrepreneur Business Roadmap, which includes foundational information on launching a business, including business plan templates and other information every business owner should know before, during, and after opening their business. To learn more please contact us at Connect with a Business Consultant.

The VEP does not offer small business loans. We do work with community partners who work with start-ups to provide small business loans to veterans. To learn more, reach out to us through the “Contact a Consultant” button on our main page and choose Capital Acquisition.

No. The Veteran Entrepreneur Program uses your documentation only to verify eligibility. Once the verification process is complete, the program does not retain any qualifying documents.

Yes. Governor Abbott signed House Bill 346 (89th Legislature, 2025) into law on June 12, 2025, making SB 938 (87th Legislature, 2021) permanent legislation. Qualifying veteran-owned businesses will continue to receive the waiver of certain filing fees and the first five years of state franchise tax.