A demographic revolution is reshaping American entrepreneurship and blossoming in places like Colorado Springs, where the mayor recently told me the city has a growing reputation for entrepreneurship.

And one reason is military veterans who are leveraging their expertise, discipline and financial security to take risks and follow their dreams. Entire regional economies are being remade in ways our financial system hasnt fully recognized.

Twenty-year military careers end when most people are reaching their stride professionally. The result is 40- and 50-something leaders with guaranteed pensions, full health care and what one veteran entrepreneur told me was “a lot of tread left on the tires.” When they hang up their uniforms, many reach the same conclusion: They’d rather start their own businesses than work for someone else.

Colorado Springs has become a laboratory for this phenomenon. Home to Fort Carson and the U.S. Air Force Academy, the city naturally attracts veterans who choose to stay after completing their service. Veterans represent 17% of the city’s population compared to 6.8% nationally, creating a second-act economy.

These aren’t entrepreneurs betting everything on a startup dream. Their financial safety nets allow them to take calculated risks with different time horizons than traditional business founders.

The numbers tell a remarkable story. Nationwide, veteran-owned businesses generate $984 billion in annual sales across 1.6 million firms. In Colorado alone, veteran-owned businesses contribute $23 billion annually to the state economy. Veterans represent 5.5%

According to Joe Reagan, director of the Colorado Veteran Business Outreach Center (VBOC), there are an estimated 900 veteran-owned small businesses in El Paso County.

Here’s what’s striking from a banking perspective: Recent Federal Reserve data show veteran-owned businesses are more likely to struggle with credit access than other firms, yet they report fewer problems with weak sales, uneven cash flow or operating expenses. This suggests strong underlying businesses that simply can’t get the capital they need.

And therein lies a massive opportunity for banks to serve this demographic and propel economic growth.

Financial institutions typically struggle to evaluate non-traditional backgrounds. Military service disrupts conventional credit scoring through deployment-related residence changes and career paths that don’t translate to civilian frameworks. For example, a veteran who managed supply chains across Afghanistan wants to open an auto repair shop because of a passion for classic cars but lacks documented automotive experience.

Veterans seek financing less frequently than other small businesses. But when they do need capital, they prefer bank loans over credit cards. Their need for individualized evaluation makes them well-suited for relationship banking models that some institutions have abandoned for automated lending platforms.

This “ gap” points to a financial system that was designed for linear career progressions and is not as well equipped to evaluate guaranteed-income entrepreneurs who retired at 40 with leadership experience managing multimillion-dollar operations under extreme pressure.

Some banks, however, have found innovative ways to bridge this gap by combining capital with education. These institutions help veteran entrepreneurs develop comprehensive business plans and provide entrepreneurship training alongside funding. This approach builds on existing leadership skills by developing business acumen.

At Huntington Bank, we do this through funding community partners like VBOCs and through our Lift Local Business program, specifically designed for veteran and other underserved small business owners. We provide education, networking opportunities and access to capital to complement the services of our community partners and help business owners grow.

The results prove this approach works. Default rates for business owners enrolled in Lift Local Business have consistently been lower than projections, which I credit, in part, to the educational component. This matches broader research showing veteran-owned businesses have higher survival rates than typical startups.

Colorado Springs shows what happens when a city gets smart about serving this demographic. The Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation operates as a sophisticated startup incubator focused on aerospace and defense, while organizations like Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, through the VBOC, provide entrepreneurship training for about 50 transitioning service members a month who are interested in starting a small business.

But the news is not all rosy. Veteran entrepreneurship has actually declined over the past two decades despite documented success. Only 4.5% of post-9/11 veterans have started companies, compared to 50% of World War II veterans and 40% of Korean War veterans.

While overall rates of entrepreneurship are down across the board, this downward trend in veteran entrepreneurship could point, in part, to institutional barriers to capital, not necessarily individual limitations. For instance, todays GI Bill doesnt offer low-interest loans to start businesses or farms the way it did for returning World War II vets.

Banks should ask a simple question: Do our systems treat military experience as valuable business preparation or a lending obstacle? Veterans bring strategic thinking, crisis management skills and operational excellence to their ventures. They understand mission-critical planning and execution under pressure — all directly transferable to business leadership.

Today’s challenge is adapting to veteran entrepreneurs who may not meet traditional credit evaluation criteria, gig workers, freelancers and side hustlers whose income patterns don’t fit traditional employment models. The question is whether financial institutions will develop frameworks to serve these non-traditional entrepreneurs.

Banks that learn to evaluate non-traditional entrepreneurs will access a demographic that represents nearly $1 trillion in annual sales nationwide while demonstrating superior business fundamentals. The key question isn’t whether veteran entrepreneurs represent a viable market opportunity — the data clearly support that conclusion.

Imagine that somewhere in Colorado today, a 42-year-old former logistics officer is sketching out a business plan, backed by her military pension. The bank that understands her story will win her business — and thousands like her.

Joe Nimmons is Colorado region president at Huntington Bank.