These Vetrepreneur Hall of Fame inductees transformed military experience into iconic businesses that changed industries – and American life.

Countless veterans have helped build the United States into one of the world’s most successful nations. As America celebrates its 250th birthday, the Veterans who have earned a place in the Vetrepreneur Hall of Fame deserve special recognition. Though their stories differ, these men share two important traits: They served in the U.S. military, and they leveraged the leadership, discipline and determination they developed in uniform to build iconic businesses. We tip our hats to these pioneering Vetrepreneurs. 

Selection for the Vetrepreneur Hall of Fame was based on the following criteria:

• Military: Candidate must have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Success: Candidate must have built a highly successful business.
• Hands-On: Candidate must have actively operated the business. Maturity: Business must have been operating for at least 10 years.
• Era: Candidate can be alive or inducted posthumously.
• Innovation/Impact: Business that the candidate built had a profound impact on its industry and society at large.

Conrad Hilton – WWI Veteran Invents the Modern Hotel

Founder – Hilton Hotels, U.S. Army Veteran (World War 1)

Born on Christmas day in 1887, Conrad Hilton worked in his father’s general store in San Antonio, N.M., as a young boy. He attended a military academy, St. Michael’s College in Santa Fe and the New Mexico School of Mines. At the age of 25, Hilton was elected as a Republican representative to New Mexico’s first legislature after the territory became a state in 1912.

Disillusioned by the reality of politics, he declined to run for a fourth term in 1916. “Connie” Hilton instead set his sights on banking. His first venture ended badly, and in 1917 Hilton enlisted in the Army. After serving in France during World War I, Hilton returned to his New Mexico home. In 1919 he moved to Texas with the intention of buying a bank. When the deal fell through, he instead bought the Mobley Hotel in Cisco for $40,000. Hilton was 31 years old. Hilton innovated by adding a newsstand, tobacco shop and novelty shop to the lobby. He instilled the Army’s “esprit de corps” in his 21 employees, setting the tone for all Hilton properties.

He began leasing other hotels – including the Waldorf in Dallas – and buying and fixing up run-down hotels in Texas. He built six more hotels in two years and was working on a seventh in El Paso when the stock market crashed in 1929. We don’t have the space to tell Hilton’s remarkable story of survival during the Great Depression, but he did survive and began buying financially distressed hotels across the U.S.

In 1946 Hilton created the Hilton Hotels Corporation with nine properties. In 1949 Hilton gained control of the famed Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. In 1948 he set up the subsidiary Hilton International and opened hotels in cities around the world, becoming the first true global hotel chain. Today Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. includes nearly 8,000 properties under 22

Warren Avis – Bomber Pilot Brings Rental Cars to the Airport

Avis Car Rentals, U.S. Army Air Force Veteran, (World War II) 

Renting a car at the airport is something most of us take for granted. But it wasn’t always that way. After World War II ended, Army Air Forces bomber pilot Warren Avis continued to fly to commercial airports. He was frustrated by the long lines to hail a cab, giving birth to the idea of renting cars at the airport. After the war Avis returned to Michigan where he had grown up. He opened a Ford dealership with a partner before starting Avis Rent-aCar in 1946 at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Mich., with an $85,000 investment.

It was the first time a car rental office was available at an airport. Car rentals were otherwise located in city centers or business districts. He soon opened a second office at Miami Airport. Besides locating his offices at airports, Avis innovated in other ways. He was the first car rental company to sell franchises, and the first to use new cars exclusively. Avis was also the first to offer a corporate credit card to companies, which allowed their employees to rent a car without putting down cash. He also partnered with American Airlines on advertising, putting Avis ads in the backs of seats. By 1950, Avis had 75 locations.

When he sold the company for $8 million in 1954, there were 350 locations – including franchises in Europe, Canada and Mexico. It was the second largest car rental company in the world at the time, second only to Hertz. Avis spent the rest of his life buying and selling businesses – the quintessential vetrepreneur. So the next time you pick up a car at the airport, you can thank the innovation of Warren Avis. 

Gordon Logan – Air Force Vet Capitalizes on Lack of Salons for Men

Founder – Sports Clips, U.S. Air Force Veteran 

Air Force Veteran Gordon Logan saw a gap in the haircut market and took advantage of it. Logan owned and operated hair salons throughout Texas, but he didn’t see an option that catered to men and boys. So in 1993 he developed the concept to provide a “championship haircut experience in an exciting sports environment” and opened the first Sport Clips in Austin, Texas. It soon expanded to Houston and grew steadily.

In 1995 it became a franchise, with 50 stores open in 1998. Today there are nearly 1,900 Sport Clips in the United States and Canada. Logan attributes much of his success to his military experience as an aircraft commander in the Air Force. “There is no question that my service in the USAF helped build the skills I would need to establish my businesses: The need to build strong relationships to enable us to work together as a team towards common goals, the need for urgency in mission accomplishment and the thought that ‘failure is not an option’ have stayed with me during my career,” Logan said. “Being honored as an inductee into the inaugural Vetrepreneur Hall of Fame is a recognition for which I’m grateful and I am humbled by this honor. I surely would not have accomplished my goals had I not been surrounded by supportive and dedicated partners. We have tried to do our best to ‘pay it forward’ through our VFW Help A Hero Scholarship program, Dream Flights for senior Veterans, the Gratitude Initiative to help the children of Gold Star and Special Forces families, and other Veteran-supportive organizations. Hopefully my success and recognition will serve as an inspiration to younger Veterans as they begin their civilian careers. I am confident that the newly established Vetrepreneur Hall of Fame will encourage others to aim high and achieve great success.”

Dave Liniger – Former Airman Turns a House Flip Into a Global Powerhouse

Co-Founder, RE/MAX, U.S. Air Force Veteran 

What began as a simple house flip by a young Air Force airman looking to supplement his modest military paycheck grew into a global real estate empire with more than 145,000 agents in over 8,500 offices in more than 120 countries and territories. That success – and his transformative impact on the real estate industry – earned Dave Liniger a place in the Vetrepreneur Hall of Fame. Today retired, Liniger is a sought-after speaker, author, philanthropist, serial entrepreneur and avid outdoorsman. His road to success, however, was anything but easy.

Born in Marion, Ind., Liniger served five years in the Air Force, including assignments in Vietnam, Thailand, Texas and Arizona. His final duty station was with the ROTC program at Arizona State University in Tempe. To supplement his military income, he worked three side jobs: delivering newspapers, pumping gas and working at a movie theater. Eventually, he saved enough money to purchase a small home in need of repairs. After six months of renovations, he sold it for a $5,000 profit. Liniger was hooked. Over the following years, he continued buying and renovating homes and earned his real estate license to avoid paying commissions.

After leaving the Air Force in 1971, he worked as a real estate agent before moving to Denver. In 1973, he and his girlfriend, Gail, founded RE/MAX. The company’s name combined “RE” for real estate with “MAX” for maximum commission. The pair later married and, within five years, built RE/MAX into Colorado’s largest real estate company. The firm’s revolutionary business model allowed agents to keep the maximum share of commissions while receiving high-level support from the company – a concept that reshaped the industry. RE/MAX began franchising in 1975 and grew into one of the world’s most recognizable real estate brands. Liniger retired as CEO in 2018.