Nathan Sinclair: Taking the road less travelled

While graduating college and working the daily grind is a reality for a lot of young adults, Nathan Sinclair decided to take a much different path than his peers--a path that lead him across the world to fight on two different battlegrounds against the War on Terror. Sinclair grew up in Post Falls, Idaho, a stone’s throw away from Coeur D’Alene, home of Pita Pit. Sinclair was a frequent visitor at the college town staple as a student at University of Idaho—little did he know that his favorite late-night spot would become an integral part of his post-collegiate life. In 2007, Sinclair decided to leave school and follow through with his plans to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. After serving his first tour of duty in Iraq in 2009, Sinclair was able to come home for 11 months, working odd jobs for his dad and waiting for his next deployment. When he was called to go to Afghanistan, Sinclair wanted spend his last 10 months of his service wisely, so he began mapping out a business plan to become a Pita Pit franchisee. Starting a business from halfway across the world, even with the franchise system in place, is no easy feat. Sinclair credits his father’s help in passing along information and PDF files of the different locations. “My dad really helped me stay in contact with franchisees and with Pita Pit corporate because it was never that easy to get a hold of me at that point in time,” he says. “It was a lot of work and effort to get this going, but I knew it was something that I wanted to do.” The open communication and support from the Pita Pit corporate office stood out to Sinclair, especially since the company provides support to veterans through the VetFran program and donating to The Wounded Warrior Project. “Everyone in our company respects active duty, the military, and the return of veterans—it’s really a small thing that we can do to help them come back and find opportunity after their service,” says Jack Riggs, Pita Pit CEO and former member of the U.S. Air Force. Sinclair was able to get his franchise up and running within a few months of his return home, setting up shop right off of the infamous strip in Las Vegas around the corner from the University of Nevada. After his third month in business, Sinclair says with confidence that his military experience has helped him grow as a business owner at the ripe age of 28. “In the military, mission accomplishment is the number one thing--it translates just as well into the business world where you make sure you’re doing whatever you can to hit your goals,” he says. In offering guidance to young entrepreneurs, particularly young veterans who are looking for the key to success in their own businesses, Sinclair’s advice is simple: work hard and do something you love. ”If you’re still serving in the military and you’re looking to do something like this, have a plan and write everything down that you want to get accomplished. It doesn’t have to be accomplished in a certain period of time, so don’t get upset if it takes a little longer. Make sure that you know what you want to do and have a plan to get it accomplished and get it done.”