When Wild Bill's Craft Beverage Co. announced Steven Ortiz as its newest franchise partner in Dallas-Fort Worth this spring, the news reflected the veteran-owned company's broader effort to help former service members transition into business ownership. What made Ortiz's path unusual was how much of the journey had already happened before he signed a franchise agreement. Most prospective franchisees spend months trying to determine whether a concept works. Ortiz had spent years helping prove it.
Ortiz joined Wild Bill’s in 2018 as an event manager, but the role quickly grew. He went on to run the company’s Texas territory, working with event organizers and learning the business from the ground up. By the time Wild Bill’s approached him about ownership, he already understood what the work required, from getting wagons to the right place to making sure the team was ready when the crowds arrived.
"I wasn't just an event manager at that point. I was running their whole Texas territory for them, so I knew the ins and outs of it," Ortiz said. "It wasn't something that I was nervous about or had doubts about when Mike first brought it up to me. It didn't take me very long to decide if I was going to be a part of the franchisee portion for Wild Bill's."
When COVID-19 brought the live events industry to a standstill, Ortiz was forced to rethink his next step. He started a trucking company, kept building his experience as an entrepreneur and stayed in touch with Wild Bill’s CEO, Mike Quilty. Over time, their relationship grew beyond the company’s event operations, with Quilty becoming a sounding board as Ortiz worked through the realities of building his own business.
Wild Bill's Veteran Franchising Program helped lower some of the barriers to ownership through reduced fees and financing support, but Ortiz points to something less tangible when explaining why he moved forward. After corporate life at AT&T, a return to school and a series of entrepreneurial ventures, he'd realized he wasn't interested in going back. Quilty and Wild Bill's team gave him a structure for that next chapter.
"Mike has been more than someone who owns a business. He's been a mentor to me," Ortiz said. "Those resources keep me trusting the process of what they're building and what I'm helping them build."
Learning What to Keep
Before his work with Wild Bill’s, Ortiz served in the Marine Corps artillery, where his role centered on calculating the data crews needed to position their guns. It was precise, repetitive work, with little room for error. That mindset carried into the event business, where small details can quickly become bigger problems once a wagon is on-site and customers are lined up.
"The most important part was computing data as accurately and as quickly as possible because we were sending rounds downrange, and there were friendlies around that could be injured if we weren't precise," Ortiz said. "That translates directly into Wild Bill's. It's all about organization and doing things in the same order every single time."
Ortiz brings that same attention to detail to each Wild Bill’s event. Before a wagon heads out, the team checks the equipment, reviews inventory and handles small maintenance issues that could become much bigger problems on-site. His military background also shaped his thinking about discipline and accountability, though he had to adjust his leadership style once he began managing civilian teams.
Ortiz describes himself during those early years after his service as a "bit of a hothead," someone who had to learn to communicate differently without sacrificing his standards. The expectation that leaders should work as hard as anyone else never changed.
"I was always the type of NCO that wanted my Marines to see me work hard because they could see what I expected them to be doing," Ortiz said. "I've always worked that way ever since then. I'm the first one to pick up a box. If it's the last box, I'll be the first person there."
Building Across the Metroplex
Dallas-Fort Worth presents the kind of opportunity that event operators spend years trying to build toward. The region's size creates a constant stream of festivals, conventions and community gatherings, but it also attracts plenty of competition. Ortiz's team has worked events at the Fort Worth Convention Center, Fair Park, Will Rogers Memorial Center and Mesquite Convention Center, while also serving guests at Anime Frontier, Southlake Oktoberfest, the Steampunk Festival in Mansfield and Frisco StrEATS.
The business has grown from roughly a dozen events each year to nearly 40, and Ortiz hopes to keep pushing that number higher as Wild Bill's pursues college campuses, corporate functions, weddings and private events throughout North Texas. He currently operates three units in the market — two owned outright and one rented from the company — and says success now looks very different from what it once did. He wants more events on the calendar and for all three units to work as often as possible.
"I wish I could have all three out every weekend," Ortiz said. "If we can continue finding events, I'd love to get to 150 events a year."
Expansion has also meant building a team. The business supports two full-time employees and a rotating group of part-time staff members. During busy stretches, family members fill the gaps, helping work events across the Metroplex. Ortiz's sisters and brothers-in-law have all stepped in when needed, and his fiancée, Stephanie Botmley, has become part of the operation after years of watching the business evolve from one phase to the next. Entrepreneurship, Ortiz has learned, often depends on whoever is willing to help unload a trailer, work an extra shift or make a long drive to the next venue.
The Transition No One Talks About
When Ortiz left the Marines, he expected to have to rebuild parts of his civilian life. What surprised him was how hard it could be to get employers to see the value of the responsibility he had already carried.
"I remember being heartbroken," Ortiz said. "I applied because I just needed a part-time job while I was going back to school, and they told me I didn't have enough job experience. I thought, 'How are you telling me I don't have enough experience to be a receptionist at a gym?'"
The memory has stayed with him because it sharpened his understanding of how difficult the transition out of military service can be. Veterans are often expected to translate years of responsibility, leadership and technical expertise into language that civilian employers recognize, sometimes with little guidance on how to do so. For Ortiz, helping other veterans navigate that process has become part of how he defines success.
"If I can provide opportunities, mentorship and support to veterans making that transition, that's probably the most important part of being in the position I'm in today," Ortiz said.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/wild-bills.
