The Wright State VMAS team hosted local small business owners, Wright State faculty, and the second cohort of the Reynolds & Reynolds Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans for a social evening at the Wandering Griffin.
Back in October 2022, the Reynolds and Reynolds Company and its foundation gifted Wright State University with $3.6 million to endow the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) through the Raj Soin College of Business. The EBV focuses on providing aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools and training needed to be successful in their professional endeavors.
The program consists of three phases, starting with a 30-day online course on basic business concepts and entrepreneurship fundamentals, followed by in-person training at Wright State, and a year of mentorship with an experienced entrepreneur. All expenses associated with the program are provided at no-cost to the attending Veteran.
The EBV at Wright State is part of a larger consortium of higher education institutions, initiated by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. The consortium is comprised of universities across the U.S., including Texas A&M, UCLA, the University of Connecticut, Louisiana State University, Florida State University, Saint Joseph’s University and the University of Missouri. The program as a whole has resulted in almost 80% of program participants starting a business, and of those, more than 90% are still operating today.
The Wright State VMAS team supports this effort through recruiting speakers and program mentors while also hosting a 'social evening' for program participants, giving them a chance to take a break from the busy schedule of the in-person training period. This year we saw a large increase across all categories, with program participation almost doubling.
The range of small business ideas from this year's entrepreneurs opened the door for a lot of different conversations throughout the evening. EBV participants were pursuing ideas in VA-funded home health care services, medical device invention, venture capital, government contracting, business management software, consulting, advertising, and more. These ideas were paired with speakers and mentors from the region that have a proven track record of success.
Some notable local small business owners at this years EBV included the Founder/President of Anderson Financial Strategies, Founder/President of Battle Sight Technologies, and Founder of Scene 75 Entertainment among other local success stories. We want to give a big THANK YOU to the speakers and mentors who donate their time to the success of others.
To learn more about the EBV program and apply, visit the EBV website.
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