Veteran Entrepreneurs in India: Navigating Conflicts and Contradiction

India’s growing short-service recruitment in the armed forces (such as Agniveer) is likely to increase the number of veterans returning to civilian work. This makes it important to understand how veterans in India move into entrepreneurship. Using Kurt Lewin’s unfreezing–changing–refreezing model and ideas from the social capital theory, this study asks: (a) what factors help or block veterans in becoming entrepreneurs, and (b) how does networking support this shift. A qualitative multiple-case approach was used for the study. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven veteran-turned-entrepreneurs who were founders of veteran-led ventures based in Bengaluru and New Delhi. Inductive and deductive coding were used to analyse the interview data. The study revealed that veterans can start ventures more quickly than non-veteran entrepreneurs as they bring in the elements of leadership, discipline and trade-related skills they acquired during the military trainings. However, scaling up the business was the harder part as they faced gaps in finance, marketing and civilian-market understanding. Networks also played a major role in veteran entrepreneurial ventures. Close military ties (bonding ties) help with early support, confidence and first customers, but relying too much on them can limit new opportunities. Wider civilian connections (bridging ties) are important for learning, accessing resources and reaching larger markets. Finally, being a veteran creates trust in the market, but it can also create the pressure to focus on service and social goals, sometimes making profit-building more difficult. Based on these insights, we suggest programmes and policies that help veterans build civilian networks and improve business skills, while balancing social mission with financial stability.