Veterans

University Celebrates Entrepreneurial Spirit and Commitment to Veterans at 12th Flagship Business Intensive

Tuesday, July 30, 2019, By Leah Lazarz
Large group of people standing in three rows

Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans Class of 2019

Last week, 25 veterans from 17 states advanced their goal of business ownership by attending classes, networking events and presentations to learn the fundamentals of running a business from accomplished entrepreneurs and professors as part of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 (IVMF) , an eight-day, no-cost-to-veterans intensive on starting and building a business.

The courses covered a comprehensive range of topics, from financing and accounting to legal issues, marketing, personal branding, human resources and more. Program speakers included:

  • Ted Lachowicz 鈥72 , entrepreneur and EBV Foundation founder
  • Alex McKelvie, professor of entrepreneurship, associate dean for undergraduate and full-time master鈥檚 education and chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises in the
  • Elizabeth Wimer, adjunct instructor in the Whitman School
  • Ginger Wagner, professor of accounting practice in the Whitman School
  • Chris Dambach, owner of Industry Standard USA and and EBV graduate
  • Logan Bonney, co-founder and CEO of Anything But Beer and an EBV graduate

This year鈥檚 program earned 鈥96 in attendance to interview IVMF Chief Operating Officer Maureen Casey and EBV participants as part of the network鈥檚 鈥淐losing the Gap鈥 series on women’s advancement in the workplace.

鈥淣ow in its 12th year, EBV has grown to include nine colleges and universities, almost 2,000 graduates and successful business ventures in nearly every industry,鈥 says 黑料不打烊 Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation and IVMF Executive Director J. Michael Haynie. 鈥淭he program has endured as a result of the milestones and accomplishments of our graduates as well as the power entrepreneurship offers to change lives, families and communities.鈥

While on campus, program participants also took part in local sights and experiences such as:

  • a night at Empire Farm Brewery in Cazenovia, including dinner, remarks from Tim Butler, U.S. Army veteran and Empire director of brewing operations, a sampling of local craft beers and live music;
  • dinner with local entrepreneur John Stage at Stage鈥檚 nationally known Dinosaur Bar-B-Que; and
  • tours of the 黑料不打烊 campus and the Dome

鈥淭he military prepares you to be an entrepreneur, but what鈥檚 missing is the translation of those skills,鈥 says Thad Hunkins, EBV 黑料不打烊 2019 participant, U.S. Air Force veteran and CEO of both NCC Systems and TC Loox Consultants LLC. 鈥淓BV has been the answer to that critical missing piece.鈥

The EBV was founded by Haynie in 2006, with the Whitman School. The flagship program of the IVMF鈥檚 ARSENAL of entrepreneurship programs, EBV is designed to prepare and empower veterans and their families for success in business ownership. Of the nearly 2,000 aspiring entrepreneurs who have completed EBV, 79 percent have gone on to start their own business, and 92 percent of those are still in business.