PENSACOLA, Fla. – After 10 years in the United States Navy, Tom Perez has signed with Meineke Car Care Centers to take over a location in Pensacola, Fla. Meineke said it quickly approved Perez’s franchise application because of his skills and personality. The company also discounted its franchise fee by 25 percent and is financing nearly 75 percent of the entire purchase; however, Perez still needs to raise additional capital to get started. 
To do so, he is the first Meineke franchisee to use Sprigster’s Boost A Hero franchise "crowdfunding" program.
Boost A Hero is dedicated to using crowdfunding to get U.S. veterans the start they need to be franchise business owners. Veterans who are accepted by Boost A Hero create a project campaign telling their story and funding goal. The projects can be viewed on the Sprigster website where people can make contributions. View Perez’s project click here.
“In my 10 years in the military, I spent half that time in hostile environments. Now, I am ready to use my leadership and management experience combined with my education to be a successful entrepreneur,” Perez said. “I know that my military training will help me excel in business because it instilled in me the leadership skills and the work ethic to make it happen. I’m really looking forward to getting started with a great brand like Meineke and I’m very excited to be one of the first people to use the Boost A Hero program for financing.”
Perez, 31, who was honorably discharged last year due to downsizing, served as a master of arms in the Navy. He completed three tours in Iraq and many tours in other locations. He is a decorated veteran who has received four Navy/Marine Corp Achievement Medals, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, three Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, the Global War On Terrorism Expeditions Medal and the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.
“Tom is a great franchise candidate who served our country for 10 years and just recently returned to the U.S.,” said Dave Schaefers, senior vice president of franchise development of Driven Brands. Meineke is owned by Driven Brands, the parent company to six franchised automotive brands, including MAACO, Econo Lube N’ Tune, Aero Colours, AutoQual and Drive N Style, as well as Tortal.net.
“Tom has a great personality and the skills to be a successful business owner," Schaefers added. "Veterans make great franchise owners because they are hard-working and know how to follow a system. We look forward to bringing Tom into the system and we’re doing everything we can to help him get the financing he needs to get started.”
