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14 Worcester Business Journal | October 2, 2023 | wbjournal.com Member FDIC UniPay, UniBank's online payment solution, is designed to make accepting online payments fast, easy, and secure, while providing "pay anytime" convenience to your customers. Simple. Efficient. Secure. Kristy Genga AVP, UniPay Relationship Manager 508.849.4245 Kristy.Genga@unibank.com 877.227.1157 ยท www.unipaydirect.com Visit us online at unipaydirect.com or contact Kristy to get started today! the same learning curve while trying to figure out how to get a business off the ground. Business development key is can also be a challenge when applying for a loan, said Michael Duffany, chief lending officer at Hanscom FCU. Duffany is helping lead commercial lending expansion aer his hiring in January. e credit union added business development staff to help veterans sharpen their business plans ahead of their loan applications. e son of a veteran entrepreneur, Duffany said many veterans have excellent skills in their fields; they just need a boost in business acumen. "ere's no better time than the present, if you have a decent idea to open a business," Duffany said. For Carla James, a background in the U.S. Air Force actually gave her a leg up when she was just starting out as a self- employed soware engineer back in the early 2000s. Now the CEO of Lincoln-based Solidus Technical Solutions, a soware firm founded by another female veteran, James said military experience was a credibility boost right out of the gate. She was comfortable working in a male-dominated field, and she estimates the soware engineering industry is Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Innovets Pitch Competition. In May, three startups received cash to help meet their startup costs. Among them was Groton native Michael Kerwin, who patented YouV Sunscreen, which uses UV LED lighting built into the bottle to ensure sunscreen is evenly applied. Kerwin, a 29-year-old West Point graduate and former Army infantry officer, said the money is a big boost for his initial manufacturing and marketing plans in the daunting world of startups. Kerwin said he'd like to eventually apply for a business loan to help fund inventory, but getting there is a challenge. "Strategically planning the business, it's very difficult to know what I should be doing now to get to that point," Kerwin said. Part of the challenge lies in the divide between workplace cultures of the military and the private sector, Kerwin said. ough he has a mechanical engineering degree from a top military school and works as a manager for the utility Eversource, Kerwin had to get used to different terminology working in the private sector, and he imagines other veterans and former military personnel experience F O C U S BANKING & FINANCE How veterans get their business financing In a 2021 national survey of military-affiliated entrepreneurs, getting a bank loan was the sixth most used form of financing for their businesses. % who funded their Financing for businesses businesses with it in 2020 Personal savings and family ....................................45% CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program ............43% Business credit cards ...............................................33% Economic Injury Disaster Loans .............................24% Personal credit cards................................................23% Business loan from bank or other financial institution .....................................22% Government-guaranteed business loan .................11% Personal and family assets ......................................10% Business loan from government ...............................9% Grants ...........................................................................7% Source: Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families Continued from previous page Lisa Ducharme, executive director of the Mass. Veterans Chamber of Commerce Michael Duffany, chief lending officer at Hanscom Federal Credit Union