Photo Credit: Lisa Ducharme (Your Visual Alternatives)
UConn School of Business, Hartford, CT
It was a great honor to be invited to be a Judge for the final phase of the 2019 Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) pitch competitions.
Now in its 10th year, the EBV program has thrived, with its longstanding partnership with the University of Connecticut School of Business and the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans consortium, which is dedicated to equipping veterans with entrepreneurship skills to successfully execute and manage small businesses.
Founded at Syracuse University in 2007, the program has since expanded to additional universities across the U.S., including Texas A&M, Purdue University, UCLA, Louisiana State University, The Florida State University, Cornell University, Saint Joseph’s University and the University of Missouri –with Syracuse University still serving as national host of the consortium of schools.
The mission of the EBV program is to open the door to economic opportunity for veterans by developing their capabilities in the many steps and activities associated with creating and sustaining an entrepreneurial venture.
Under the able leadership of Mike Zacchea and his team of volunteers and partners, the program selects between 15 to 20 veterans annually from across the United States to learn from seasoned business executives and top professors from the UConn School of Business.
As a 20-year veteran of the Army National Guard and graduate of the UConn EBV program, I am grateful for the numerous opportunities that this program has given me and my fellow veterans around the United States to become business owners and entrepreneurs.
I am equally proud to say that the EBV program served as an incubator for my startup, Czars Shave Club, LLC, www.czarsshaveclub.com; and gave me the skills to grow my news magazine, the Ghanaian American Journal, www.gajreport.com.
I encourage all aspiring veteran entrepreneurs to explore this program and take advantage of its challenging yet rewarding curriculum.
Not only was it great to serve as a judge for the business pitch competitions, it was indeed gratifying for me to be able to interact with the graduating class and share my entrepreneurial experiences.
