The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base hosted a roundtable discussion on Monday for military spouses and veteran entrepreneurs.
This was in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Personnel and Readiness.
Veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs talked about their business journey with government agencies, and what support they need.
Some of the issues discussed included access to information, marketing and patent protection.
Lisa Coker, an Air Force veteran who owns a business consulting company, said while government agencies offer support, some challenges remain.
“One of my main challenges is getting access to capital and fostering those relationships with the banks and the bankers to ensure when I was ready to grow and scale my business, that I had the capital to do so,” Coker said.
The roundtable is a key step to overcoming some roadblocks in her business, she also said.
“My main takeaway is there are a lot of resources available to us as veteran owned businesses," she said. "I think in just being at the table with fellow veterans who are either further along in their business journey or right behind me, I think having that network of resources where we can share ... information, I think it will be easily solved.”
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also will host a resource roadshow for local businesses in October at Wright-Patt.