According to one military veteran, the challenge of starting his own business rivals that of being a Green Beret.
FRsix founder & CEO Fran Racioppi recounts his experience launching his company on a new episode of Warrior Money, hosted by Patrick Murphy and Dan Kunze. FRsix provides security operations and training services to companies in both the public and private sector.
“People ask me, ‘Was it hard being a Green Beret?’ And my answer is no. It's harder being an entrepreneur,” Racioppi says. “You’re rich and you’re poor four times a day.”
"Funding the business is inherently difficult unless you have money. If you don’t have a tremendous amount of money to invest in the business, then you’ve got to get creative in being able to do that,” Racioppi explains.
One option, he says, is to bring in new partners that offer access to new avenues of capital. However, that often comes at the cost of giving up equity in your business. FRsix, Racioppi notes, has chosen not to pursue that path thus far.
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“The way we've had to do that is get super creative in going out there and finding strategic partners who will lend us cash for cash flow,” he tells Warrior Money. “The smaller regional banks, the local banks — They have a higher degree of risk that they’re willing to take. They’re going to give you a lot less money, but sometimes a few thousand dollars… when you’re a small business, can open up a lot more opportunity.
Racioppi offers more insight into what he learned on his journey from military service to entrepreneurship in his full conversation with Murphy and Kunze on Warrior Money.
Hosted by former Congressman Patrick Murphy and veteran investor Dan Kunze, Yahoo Finance’s Warrior Money is a weekly vodcast dedicated to uplifting military veterans transitioning into civilian life. Through insights from fellow veterans and high-ranking government officials, Murphy and Kunze are helping set vets up for success through financial education and inspiration.
This post was written by Nick Riccardo.