SAN ANTONIO — The Small Business Administration (SBA) opened a new Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) in San Antonio, the first expansion of the program in 10 years.
Before the San Antonio location, VBOCs in Texas were limited to Arlington and Edinburg.
“They were created to bring services to veteran entrepreneurs and their families through the entrepreneurial process,” said Megan Tamez.
Tamez is the director of the San Antonio VBOC, as well as the director for veteran entrepreneurship.
“The VBOCS are special for veterans and their families only,” said Tamez.
An Army veteran herself, Tamez says having staff members in the VBOC is crucial to helping veterans with their business needs. She says there is a special understanding between veterans and their backgrounds that could affect a business’s health.
“We don’t always know what’s going on with somebody, or what happened during their military career,” she said. “I was blown up in Iraq. I have a brain injury, but you would never know that [just] looking at me, right? I had to teach myself how to remember things, how to write again. When my husband and I opened our first business, we didn’t have that help, and I really wish that somebody was there to guide me through it and not send me an email to follow some links.”
Michael Pendleton is another veteran who says he would have loved to use VBOC resources when he started his business.
“Learning business, for me, was baptism by fire,” Pendleton said.
Pendleton is the CEO of AI Cowboys, a tech startup serving both private and public sectors. He began his business during his transition from military to civilian life.
“I was trying to figure out who Mike was and what made me happy. Those were the two questions I really went on a journey to try and figure out the answer to,” he said. “I think I came to the conclusion that people lie, but the data never does. That started my journey into data science, which led into AI and machine learning.”
One service offered at the VBOC that attracted Pendleton’s attention was the assistance applying for SBA funding. It’s a process he underwent independently, which is not the easiest task, he said.
“I would say it’s like the movie ‘300.’ It wasn’t quick, and I didn’t enjoy it,” he said. “Understanding the ‘why’ from a subject matter expert goes a long way.”
Three more VBOCs are expected to open in El Paso, Houston and another location to be announced this year.