The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV), held last month on the Syracuse University campus, offers innovative experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans who are or aspire to become small business owners.
After military service, servicemembers bring back valuable skills to civilian life. The essential experiences gained in the military translate to all aspects of life—leadership skills, technical ability and the drive to serve.
In 2007, Syracuse University founded the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) through the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF). EBV offers innovative experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans who are or aspire to become small business owners. Since its founding, EBV has expanded to seven other universities across the United States.
“What started out as a summer passion project has grown into something I never imagined—our 16th Barnes Family EBV bootcamp, eight consortium partners, and more than 2,400 graduates who have established and grown successful small businesses,” says Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation J. Michael Haynie.
The program is administered in three phases—Phase 1 is 30 days of online instruction on business fundamentals, Phase 2 is a nine-day residency at one of the EBV consortium schools, and Phase 3 is 12 months of ongoing support focusing on business creation and growth. Participants learn from several professionals teaching everything from accounting and financial management to social media and business growth.
The 2023 EBV class at Syracuse University.
Throughout the week-and-a-half long residency, EBV participants work with instructors from Syracuse University to build venture pitches for their businesses, which they present on the last day. The Syracuse-based residency is held at the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building (NVRC). Home to the IVMF, the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, the Office of Veteran Success, Veteran Career Services, Army and Air Force ROTC, the NVRC has collaborative space for research and programming.
Since its inception, 79% of EBV graduates have started or continued to grow their own business and 92% of those are still in operation today. Below are just a few examples of talented and passionate veterans and their ventures.
2023 EBV participant, U.S. Navy veteran Alejandra Amegin enrolled in EBV to grow her business, Jax Natural Healing Center, a holistic center that she started during the pandemic
A Natural Healer
U.S. Navy veteran Alejandra Amegin’s passion for personal transformation and a commitment to a healing cultural trauma led her to establish a holistic center in Jacksonville, Florida. A respiratory therapist by trade, Amegin started Jax Natural Healing Center during the pandemic when she saw a need for a comprehensive range of services to restore balance and vitality to the Jacksonville community, including chiropractic care, yoga classes, acupuncture treatment and more.
Amegin attended EBV at Syracuse University in July and values her EBV experience and the lessons she learned. “I’m in an industry of a lot of emotion, so I was going off of feelings of what might work rather than of backing it up with objective information,” she explains. “What I’ve learned at EBV is that you can still nurture the dream while ensuring that you make sound decisions and implement strategies while your business continues to grow.”
U.S. Army veteran De’Mond Dearing Sr. (right), owner of Resilient Technologies Group, decided to attend EBV after seeing the success rates of other veterans who went through the program.
A Resilient Leader
As a G6 operations sergeant major and former member of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the U.S. Army, De’Mond Dearing Sr. provided tactical communications in support of crisis action operations while deployed worldwide. Now Dearing is the owner Resilient Technologies Group, which provides integrated security solutions to businesses and organizations of all sizes. “What I learned in my time in special operations is the importance of security,” Dearing says.
The EBV classes have already excelled my business. Everything I’ve learned is helpful—from accounting to public speaking to writing proposals and properly pricing products.
—De’Mond Dearing Sr.
Dearing started his business last April and decided to attend EBV after seeing the success rates of other veterans who went through the program. “The information is top tier,” he says of what’s learned. “The EBV classes have already excelled my business. Everything I’ve learned is helpful—from accounting to public speaking to writing proposals and properly pricing products.”
Since EBV's founding in 2007, 79% of its graduates have started or continued to grow their own business and 92% of those are still in operation today.
Safe and Secure
Upon retiring from the military, Lt. Col. Thong Nguyen had a desire to continue to serve. His company, Leyden Solutions, Inc. solves modern security and defense challenges through highly skilled professional services teams and innovative technology solutions. Leyden Solutions provides clients with services such as intelligence, security, information technology and training support.
Nguyen attended EBV to help expand his network and gain valuable insight on how to continue to provide the timeliest, most efficient and critical intelligence to his clients at the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. “EBV is the ideal blend of exposure to entrepreneurship, like-minded veteran business owners and an intense introduction to worthwhile training/business knowledge,” he says. Since attending EBV in 2021, Leyden Solutions has grown exponentially in revenue and employees, all while supporting the challenging missions of their government clients.
