Krannert to host entrepreneurship program for disabled veterans
October 22, 2015
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Krannert School of Management will host 23 veterans from around the United States Oct. 30 through Nov. 8 for its seventh annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program.
Participants are post-9/11 veterans with service-connected disabilities and a desire to start their own businesses.
Created at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management in 2007, EBV teaches participants principles of entrepreneurship and small-business management.
Students are accepted into the program based on their passion for entrepreneurship and the feasibility of their ideas for starting their own businesses.
The program, hosted at 10 university business schools around the country, is conducted in three phases: an online learning program; an intensive, on-campus residency session where veterans learn to develop their own business concepts and understand the basic elements of small-business management; and a 12-month mentorship with faculty and other accomplished experts.
The program integrates faculty, entrepreneurs, disability experts and business professionals. Veterans receive instruction on feasibility and market analysis, supply chain management, and financing new ventures.
Two new activities have been added to this year's bootcamp. A partnership with the Purdue Foundry will allow boot camp students three afternoons of startup guidance from Purdue Research Foundation experts. Also, a reception at the MatchBox Coworking Studio sponsored by the City of Lafayette's Office of the Mayor will provide the cohort an opportunity to network with local business leaders.
The students will present their commercialization plans on Nov. 6 at Rawls Hall and at Krannert Center.
Activities during the week open to the public include:
* An opening ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Purdue Memorial Union. Gerry McCartney, System CIO, VP of Information Technology, and Osterle Professor, Purdue University will speak. RSVP at http://ebvopening.eventbrite.com
* A Veterans Affairs program at 11 a.m. Nov. 3 in the Krannert Auditorium on campus. Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, will speak. Free and open to the public as seating permits.
* The EBV Class of 2015 graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Purdue Armory. Lt. Gen. Jefferson Howell USMC (retired), former director of the Johnson Space Center, will speak. RSVP at https://ebvgraduation.eventbrite.com
More information on the EBV program is available at http://www.krannert.purdue.edu/military/ebv/home.asp. Those with questions also can email ebv@purdue.edu or call 765-494-4392.
News service contact: John Hughey, 765-494-2432, hugheyj@purdue.edu
Source: Muna DeStefano, 765-494-4392, mdestefa@purdue.edu
