Seven business-owning veterans took home a combined $110,000 this weekend at the third annual Institute for Veterans and Military Families Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Syracuse University IVMF.

But no one from SU won the competition or made it to the final round.

The contestants were all graduates of an Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) university-run program. At the competition, they handed in written business plans, orated them through presentations and then gave final elevator pitches to judges, said Ray Toenniessen, managing director of development and external relations at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

EBV, which was founded at SU in 2007, aims to help veterans gain skills needed to start businesses, according to its website.

The program has grown to 10 institutions across the United States, according to the website, including Texas A&M University; University of California, Los Angeles; and Cornell University.

More than 1,200 veterans have graduated from EBV universities since 2007 and more than 670 new jobs have been created as a result of the boot camp, according to the EBV website.

Several months ago, the competition had almost 50 small business owners — each with the hope that they would advance to the final round. By this weekend’s finale, there were just 10 finalists, with seven taking home an award, Toenniessen said.
Toenniessen added that the program’s curriculum is not enough to turn out successful entrepreneurs.

As helpful as EBV is to the veterans, he said, the motivation has to come from the veterans themselves. A great curriculum with great instructions and education can be of help, he said, but it can’t replace the sheer ability to act.

“When you equip them with the right tools and the right training and the right knowledge, it’s just amazing what we see,” Toenniessen said. “So many of them accomplish it with that drive and that action that they have.”

Fortunately, veterans’ military experience tends to serve them well in their entrepreneurial endeavors, said A.J. Florkowski, EBV’s national director. Servicemen and women know how to work as a team, create a clear plan and stay committed to that plan, even in uncertain situations, he said, which tends to carry over well into their startup ventures.

“I think a lot of their experience in the military lend well to them being successful entrepreneurs,” Florkowski said. “And we’re definitely seeing that through the results of our program.”

One of those entrepreneurs is Leah Olszewski, co-founder of Femtac LLC., an Alabama-based women’s apparel company. She said she advanced to last weekend’s finale because she impressed judges in a number of categories, including viability.

Olszewski said EBV was there “every step of the way,” providing her emotional support and expertise in marketing her products and managing her supply. She credits SU’s EBV for first creating the program that helped her get her business off the ground.

“They don’t just talk, they actually act,” she said. “And it’s a breath of fresh air.”

EBV staffers work alongside veterans from the initial brainstorming stage, to business plan development, to the monitoring of sales, Florkowski said. If a veteran needs a logo, then professional designers are provided. If they are in need of legal or financial help, consultants are also available, he added.

In 2011, the EBV program was named as one of the 10 best entrepreneurship programs in the U.S., according to the EBV website. The next year, it was featured in a 2012 CBS News “60 Minutes” segment.

“You see the folks come in at the beginning of the program and you can kind of see the timidness in their eyes. They’re asking, ‘What did I really get myself into here?’” Florkowski said. “At the end, as graduates are going out to start their own businesses. To see that confidence shine through, it’s pretty awesome.”

 

Published on February 7, 2016 at 11:14 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21