CONTACT: Randy Blass, EBV Program Director, (850) 644-7859; <rblass@cob.fsu.edu>

June 4, 2008

FSU JOINS NATIONAL GROUP SUPPORTING VETERANS WITH DISABILITIES

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State University’s College of Business has brought the successful Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities to Tallahassee.

“It makes perfect sense that FSU host such a program,” said Randy Blass, FSU faculty member and bootcamp program director. “We have a first-rate entrepreneurship program here in the College of Business.”

FSU has enrolled 15 veterans in the free boot camp, and they will be on campus June 8-16.

Syracuse University launched the initial bootcamp last year. Now business schools at three universities -- FSU, Texas A&M University and UCLA -- are partnering with Syracuse to replicate the program’s success nationwide. Syracuse enrolled 20 veterans with disabilities resulting from military service in Iraq and Afghanistan in its first camp.

The EBV program brings together world-class faculty, entrepreneurs, disability experts and business professionals to train veterans in small business ownership. The training includes online study, a nine-day residency at FSU and 12 months of ongoing support and mentorship from faculty experts. Students engage in experimental workshops to write business plans, raise capital, attract customers, and develop a marketing strategy that is most effective for their business model.

The number of veterans disabled while serving in the armed forces of the United States continues to increase. American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom experienced their most violent year yet in 2007. The number of U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines wounded now exceeds 40,000.

“Given the sheer number of vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with disabilities, our individual contribution may be a small one, but our vision for the program is for it to spread to other universities across the nation,” Blass said. “We hope to inspire them to follow our lead.”

Caryn L. Beck-Dudley, dean of FSU’s College of Business, said FSU is proud to be a part of the national endeavor.

“Starting over can be difficult,” Beck-Dudley said. “Equipping veterans with invaluable skills needed to succeed in starting and owning a business will go a long way in not only transforming lives but also rebooting the economy.”

The average age of these veterans, men and women, is 25. Throughout American history, entrepreneurship has been a means for veterans to make a way for themselves and their families, and to re-engage the economic engine of their communities and ultimately the nation, Blass said. Business ownership offers veterans the opportunity to “own their futures” while also offering the flexibility to accommodate the unique challenges associated with a service-connected disability.

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