Veterans participate in latest Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans at Syracuse University

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Nearly 30 veterans are preparing to finish their work in Syracuse University’s 11th annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV).

EBV is a nine-day, “intensive” program for veterans who are focused on starting and building a business. The program has the support of the school’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF).

The program is “giving veterans the ability to craft their own vocation,” said Misty Stutsman, director of entrepreneurship and small business at Syracuse’s IVMF.

Stutsman on Thursday spoke with local reporters at Syracuse’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management where veterans were involved in course work.

The program concludes with a graduation ceremony on Saturday.

The participants include veterans from 16 states and Puerto Rico. The group includes six veterans from upstate New York.

Participants have attended classes; networking events and presentations; and have been learning the fundamentals of operating a business from over 30 “accomplished” entrepreneurs and professors.

“It’s not just one week that they’re here on campus from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. It’s actually an entire year’s worth of programming that we put into these veterans,” said Stutsman.

The participating veterans either operate their own business or are working to launch a new business, she added. Organizers like to have participants with a mix of business experience, according to Stutsman.

“Because of that, they get to learn from each other. They get to learn … the successes of the veterans that have been there and done that,” said Stutsman.

Besides the nine-day, in-person seminar at a participating school, EVB also includes a 30-day online course, and 12 months of post-conference support.

Mike Haynie, vice chancellor at Syracuse University and founder/director of the IVMF, established the program in 2007.

Since then, EBV has expanded to a consortium of 10 schools across the country. More than 1,600 aspiring entrepreneurs have graduated from the program in its various locations, 72 percent of whom have gone on to start their own business.

EBV graduates have generated a total of more than $300 million through their ventures, Syracuse said in a news release about the event.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com