DAV Patriot Boot Camp helps Veteran entrepreneurs build businesses and community
VA News ·
DAV Patriot Boot Camp helps Veterans and military spouses build businesses through training, mentorship and lasting connections to a supportive community.
Editor’s note: The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on the part of VA. Veterans should verify the information with the organization offering.
Veterans and military spouses looking to grow their businesses and build lasting connections can apply for the next DAV Patriot Boot Camp , Feb. 17-19 at DAV headquarters near Cincinnati. Applications close Jan. 18 or when all seats are filled, whichever comes first.
The three-day entrepreneurship program offers training, mentoring and networking. Selected participants will also have the chance to compete in DAV Patriots Pitch , a “Shark Tank”-style pitch contest where Veterans and military spouses present their business ideas to a panel of Veteran investors, industry experts and successful entrepreneurs. The contest offers up to $10,000 in non-dilutive funding prizes to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
Apply now or learn more at patriotbootcamp.org.
For entrepreneur Katherine Pratt, the program’s value extended beyond business training. Connections she made through DAV Patriot Boot Camp helped her create a nonprofit that connects Veterans with financial literacy and wellness resources.
One of her fellow alumni now sits on the nonprofit’s board. A cohort mentor who is a licensed therapist serves as its mental health liaison. Pratt also stays in regular contact with other alumni and mentors.
“I would say Patriot Boot Camp really invigorated me to double down—like really double down,” Pratt said.
Her experience illustrates how the program’s community can help founders expand their work long after boot camp ends.
“Watching our program alumni collaborate and make even greater impacts by working together is incredibly rewarding,” said Matthew Feldhaus, director of DAV Patriot Boot Camp. “That sense of community is critical to the success of our program and the larger Veteran entrepreneur space.”
Pratt has long felt called to serve Veterans, inspired by her military family and her husband’s time as an Army Ranger.
In 2025, she combined that commitment with more than two decades of experience in the corporate financial sector. She retired from what she called her “big girl” job and founded Synergistic Credit Union Solutions, a consulting firm that helps credit unions better understand and serve the Veteran community.
Soon after, she discovered DAV Patriot Boot Camp . Through her cohort, she met two Veteran founders who helped her expand her reach by creating the nonprofit. Pratt sees its focus on financial literacy and wellness as critical to overall well-being and suicide prevention.
Through the program, founders meet people from across the country representing various industries and levels of expertise, including mentors who volunteer their time to help entrepreneurs succeed.
For Pratt, the value of those relationships comes down to a simple idea: “Iron sharpens iron.”