EBV graduate makes Inc. 5000

A company launched by a graduate of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) ranked 106 on Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing private companies.

Retired Marine John Raftery attended the EBV in 2007. The program launched at Syracuse University that year and is now overseen by the school’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF).

Raftery’s Waxahachie, Texas–based construction company, Patriot Contractors, made the Inc. 5000 this year with a reported three-year growth rate of 2,826 percent. The company generated $4.9 million in revenue in 2011, up from $168,229 in 2008, according to Inc. Magazine.

“The truest embodiment of a successful entrepreneur, I am proud of John and, more importantly, further driven to see his story repeated 10 times over for the thousands of veterans returning to the civilian workforce during the next decade,” IVMF Executive Director and Founder Mike Haynie said in a news release.

EBV aims to train post-9/11 veterans with service-related disabilities in entrepreneurship and small-business management. The program has expanded to universities including Texas A&M, Purdue, the University of Connecticut, Louisiana State, Florida State, Cornell, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

It has graduated nearly 500 veterans who have created more than 180 new small businesses.

“We are very blessed and honored to be recognized on the Inc. [5000] list of America’s fastest growing private companies,” Raftery said. “In addition, as a veteran business owner, it is important for me to recognize the training I received in entrepreneurship and small business management through the EBV program, founded at Syracuse University.

“I graduated from the program in 2007 and the online training, residency experience, and ongoing support and mentorship have been critical to my successful transition from post-service to operating a successful venture.”

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com