Travel Agencies Aren't Dying. They're Thriving -- Thanks in Part to Military Veterans.

For as long as he could remember, Nick Moyneur had fantasized about launching a company. But by 2014, at the age of 31, he saw no clear way to do it. Moyneur had just concluded six years in the Navy, and he felt disoriented without the regimented military direction he’d been used to. He was also now married, with two young children to care for, and betting the house on an unproven business idea was a nonstarter. “I was going over ideas for a couple of years, and my wife kept shooting them down,” he says. “It was too much risk for her.” And, he admits, she was right.

Related: 5 Veterans Share Their Tips for Successfully Transitioning From Service to Entrepreneurship

At a loss for what to do next, Moyneur took to Google. He began searching terms like “business opportunities for veterans,” which eventually led him to VetFran, an organization that ranks veteran-friendly franchise companies. One of those companies, Dream Vacations, was running a contest called Operation Vetrepreneur, exclusively for U.S. military veterans: Moyneur could present a résumé, a business plan and a video application. If he won, he’d receive one of five free franchise agreements along with training, corporate support and marketing materials -- which is to say, a debt-free ticket to owning a travel agency.

But wait -- weren’t travel agencies left for dead, no longer