4 Military Veterans Build Startups After Serving India

Four military veterans are showing that the discipline and problem-solving skills learned in uniform translate perfectly into building thriving businesses across India.

Anthony Anish spent years as a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force before diving into the startup world a decade ago. The transition was so intense he jokes he told his wife to "just let me be for three years." Today, he's the co-founder and managing partner of Factoryal, a consulting firm helping startups and small businesses grow.

His first venture was MyGate, a platform that helps apartment buildings manage security and daily operations. Anish says his Air Force experience was crucial. "We had a very good understanding of how security systems work because that's what we had done in the service all our life," he explains.

After MyGate, Anish became chief operating officer of T-Hub, a government startup incubator in Telangana. He now also sits on the investment committee of Jamwant Ventures, a fund backing defense technology startups.

Colonel Sanjeev Govila joined the Army at just 16 years old. After 27 years of service, he noticed his fellow officers constantly asked him for financial advice.

In 2010, he and his wife launched Hum Fauji Initiatives to help military families manage their money. The company exclusively serves armed forces personnel and their families, many of whom live in remote areas with limited access to financial services. "We always want to be a big fish in a small pond," Govila says, noting they've helped 3,500 families plan for retirement and their children's futures.

Chandan Singh Rathore flew missions for the Indian Air Force and noticed a critical gap. During emergencies, sensors couldn't communicate with command centers, which couldn't reach people on the ground fast enough.

After leaving the Air Force and studying at IIM Bangalore, Rathore launched Coreshield in 2023. The startup uses artificial intelligence to make security systems at military bases, airports, and power plants smarter and faster at detecting threats in real time. Their main product, Pulse, gathers data from cameras and sensors and spots unusual activity instantly.

The Ripple Effect

These veterans aren't just building businesses. They're creating jobs, solving security challenges, and helping fellow service members plan their futures. Their military training gave them skills most entrepreneurs never develop: staying calm under pressure, understanding complex systems, and leading teams through uncertainty.

Teja Manakame, who joined the Air Force in the early 1990s as part of the second batch of women officers, remembers the excitement when she walked down Brigade Road in Bengaluru in uniform. After six years, she left to explore India's booming IT industry, bringing military discipline to the tech world.

These stories prove that the skills protecting a nation can also build one, one startup at a time.