Did you know that UConn has a program to support business initiatives for veterans with disabilities? Through the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans resource, or EBV, veterans with disabilities can gain small business training and experiential learning.
The 10-day intensive program takes place at the UConn Stamford Campus as well as at the Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford. The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans provides business training and mentoring to veterans with disabilities looking to start and manage their own businesses. Measuring business feasibility, writing business plans, developing a marketing strategy and cultivating community collaborations are just a few of the skills that participants take away from the bootcamp.
Since the start of the program at UConn, 218 veterans have passed through the program and launched over 180 businesses. According to the EBV website, “34 graduates have found career-track, full-time employment, and 21 have accessed career-track educational opportunities”.
In addition to gaining skills to start and manage a new business, the EBV program aims to help veterans with disabilities gain confidence and navigate the limitations they face after coming out of the military. EBV alumni Jason Otrin thought that he wanted to run his own information technology firm, but after joining the program and speaking to his mentors, he discovered he could build a business connected to his love of aviation. Otrin described his experience as “life changing” and expressed that “[he] felt like [he] earned a mini MBA”. The skills and resources he received during bootcamp helped him to start his business, On Course Drones, which provides on-site and live-on-Zoom training for the FFA Remote Pilot Exam.
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans is offered at no cost and mentorship doesn’t stop after the program ends; following graduation, participants receive 12 months of support and advising.
Learn more about the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans resource here.
Sources:
EBV Alum: ‘To Do What You Love is Priceless’ | School of Business (uconn.edu)
