VBE® Spotlight: Fortuna Business Management Consulting
Veteran's Business Enterprise®: Fortuna BMC
Headquarters: McClellan, CA
Year Founded: 2014
# of Employees: 220
Website: www.gofortuna.com
Service Overview: IT Systems Integration, Contact Center & On-Demand Team Building
Founder/CEO: Jack Smith
Service Branch: Air Force
Years Served: 2000-2004
Military Occupation: Computer Programmer
Highest Rank Attained: Senior Airman
Fun Facts:
- My favorite sports team is the Lakers.
- To relax, I hang out on the beach with my wife.
- If I weren't a business owner, I would be helping other business owners achieve that dream. That, or an astronaut.
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What types of services do you offer?
IT Systems Integration, Contact Center & On-Demand Team Building
Who do you primarily serve?
Large California, New York, and other state agencies, as well as the primes that serve them.
When and how did you start your business?
I started the business in May of 2014 with LegalZoom and GoDaddy at my kitchen table.
From the beginning, our focus has been on industrial batteries, chargers, and maintenance services. By combining technical expertise with a commitment to service, we’ve built a company dedicated to reliability, responsiveness, and customer success.
What challenges did you face when starting your business?
Access to capital, growth is hard, not all wins are good wins. Different people will help you at different stages of growth, and they're not the same.
We launched in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in some ways proved beneficial—removing the immediate need for office space and accelerating the development of our remote workforce capabilities. Navigating complex frameworks like CMMC and DFARS could have been barriers, but our deep familiarity with those requirements allowed us to turn them into a competitive advantage.
Workforce development was another hurdle, but we leveraged the DoD SkillBridge program to bring in top-tier transitioning service members and partnered with our network of industry experts to “raise all ships.” Like many new businesses, we faced a steep learning curve around scaling processes, managing contracts, and building a steady pipeline of new work, but those early lessons became the foundation for how we operate today.
What has been the key to your business's success?
Persistence, network, and always try to leave relationships better than when I found them.
What important lessons have you learned that can help others succeed in business?
Scale quickly, delegate often, and promote yourself. Do the things that only you uniquely can do. Leave everything else to the experts who do them.
What common mistakes should they be aware of and avoid?
Not all debt is bad debt, but some debt is really bad debt. Trust but verify. Track and follow up when you partner.
What else would you like the NaVOBA community to know about you and your business?
We're honored for the recognition, and we're excited for the support that it provides us, which allows us to deliver on our mission to connect veterans, reservists, and spouses to the jobs of the future.
We’re proud to have created the Alliance Cyber Gives Foundation, which delivers pro bono cybersecurity services to nonprofits so they can keep their resources focused on mission delivery. Through Bright Ideas STEM classroom grants, workforce internships, and SkillBridge fellowships, we’re also investing in the next generation of talent.
Our story is proof that veteran-owned businesses are more than economic drivers—they are community anchors. We measure success not just in contracts won, but in lives impacted, opportunities created, and trust earned. That’s the legacy we’re building on the Space Coast and hope to share across the NaVOBA community.
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