Experiential Learning Accelerators

CCEI Holds Annual University-Wide Business Plan Competition

Posted on by Claire Hall

For the third year in a row, the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) at the University of Connecticut School of Business held its annual business plan competition.  The CCEI, led by Executive Director Christopher Levesque ’87, is an academic center within the School of Business that aims to broaden the entrepreneurial opportunities both within UConn, and the greater Connecticut entrepreneurial community at large.

“Over the last couple of years, the CCEI Business Plan Competition has blossomed into a wonderful program on many levels.  Beyond the prize money — which is substantial — it is energizing hundreds of UConn student entrepreneurs to invent and create new products and services.  The program gives students a platform to launch substantial businesses,  creating career paths for themselves and jobs for the State of Connecticut,” notes Eric Knight ’82, President  of Remarkable Technologies and Manager of the UConn Springboard program, who served as a competition judge.

The competition is university-wide – open to students of all levels, majors, and campuses, and there are no restrictions when it comes to the subject of the plan idea – any and all unique business ideas or innovations were considered.   This competition is part of a broader effort by the University to grow the entrepreneurial community and spirit, and this competition attracted talented student teams from diverse backgrounds and experience, but all with a common motivation and drive.

Many of the teams were comprised of interdisciplinary students, which helps to bring a wide array of perspectives and ideas to any project.  Part of the promise of this competition was that all submitted plans would be reviewed by experienced entrepreneurs, investors and UConn faculty.  Additionally, the CCEI hosted multiple workshops dedicated to helping teams improve and polish their plans to help maximize their prospects for success.  At the workshops, the competitor teams were given general guidance on what makes a successful business plan and were then given one-on-one time to work with experienced professional mentors.

Over 130 teams submitted their intent-to-compete, 49 teams submitted official competition entries, and 13 finalists presented their plans to a panel of judges.  The finalist presentations were held April 25th, 2012 at the School of Business.  The judges for this competition were: Christopher Levesque ’87, Director of CCEI; Eric Knight ‘82, President  of Remarkable Technologies and Manager of the UConn Springboard program; Bruce Carlson, President of the IP Factory; Danny Briere, CEO of TeleChoice; Mary Anne Rooke, President of the Angel Investor Forum; Joe Wehr, President of DBMI; and Nat Brinn, Principal at Vital Financial, LLC.

Among the finalists, PartsTech, a team comprised JD/MBA student Gregory Kirber ’13 and MBA student Alexander VanderEls ’12, presented the most well-developed business plan, receiving the competition grand prize of $25,000.  Second prize of $15,000 went to Buses2 (team members Adam Boyajian ’12 and Michael Parelli ‘12), and the third place prize of $10,000 went to Sharelogical (Max Lekhtman ‘11 , Daniel Hanley ‘12, Jay Bahgat ‘14 and Mike Lovino ‘12).

Competition plan winner Greg Kirber noted how the resources surrounding this competition contributed to his team’s success: “The development processes and mentor advising helped strengthen our plan and provided new avenues for exploration.”  He also commented on the sense of fellowship between competition participants, “While a competition by nature, this event has certainly led to lasting collaboration between teams as well as with mentors.”

“The popularity of this year’s competition is a perfect representation of the energy up in Storrs. There’s an incredible amount of students starting businesses and chasing their dreams, and now there are resources like the CCEI competition so students have a channel through which they can pursue their opportunities,” notes Adam Boyajian. “We just graduated, and we can look back to four years ago when there was no place for kids like us to go with ideas, and certainly no mentors or money to help us make it happen.  The pace at which things are happening is incredible, and there is without a doubt some big things coming out of UConn around the corner.”

Chris Levesque is thrilled with the rapidly expanding level of entrepreneurial energy by the students at UConn.  “The creativity, novelty and sophistication of the ideas presented has increased each year and the CCEI Business Plan Competition, taken in conjunction with entrepreneurship courses, Startup Weekend Storrs, Innovation Quest, and other programs is helping to put UConn squarely on the map in terms of student entrepreneurship.”

This competition was an extremely effective and successful way to tap into the burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit here at the University and throughout the State.  With the success of the 2012 CCEI Business Plan Competition, the organizers are brainstorming ways to grow the competition even larger next year, perhaps adding a competition track for faculty/staff.  In the meantime, the CCEI is extending an invitation to all teams who submitted a letter of intent to compete in the competition to continue discussions and guide them to take advantage of resources The CCEI can bring to bear.

“Our ultimate intent at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is to identify, mentor and help develop new businesses here in Connecticut; PartsTech, along with Buses2, Sharelogical and the other finalists, represent terrific examples of such promising firms,” stated Christopher Levesque.

“The consistent and sheer volume of ideas that emanate from the student population year over year at UConn is amazing and inspiring,” says Danny Briere. “This is exactly the type of innovation that’s necessary to power our way towards more jobs and companies in the state.”

For more information about CCEI, please visit http://ccei.business.uconn.edu.

CONTACT

Christopher Levesque, Executive Director, Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CCEI)

clevesque@business.uconn.edu, 860-486-4594

Marie LeBlanc, Manager of Marketing and Publicity, UConn School of Business

mleblanc@business.uconn.edu, 860-486-6182

 

Spurring Innovation

Posted on by Claire Hall

University of Connecticut alumni and business leaders gathered on Thursday, May 10th, to attend the panel discussion, “Spurring Innovation: How UConn Enhances Entrepreneurship in Connecticut” on at UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

The discussion was moderated by UConn’s Vice President of Economic Development, Dr. Mary Holz-Clause and a panel of alumni which included:

Eric Knight ’82
Manager, Springboard Program
UConn Office of Technology Commercialization

Christopher Levesque ’87
Executive Director, Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
UConn School of Business

Rita Zangari ’90
Executive Program Director, Technology Incubation Program
UConn Office of Technology Commercialization

The discussion covered topics about UConn’s entrepreneurial programs and incubator projects and how UConn is enhancing innovation and entrepreneurship in Connecticut through these programs led by the panelists.

Video of the panel discussion:
Part 1 – http://youtu.be/pOL3t8Frt6w
Part 2 – http://youtu.be/2yc5dk3Grjo

Building for Connecticut’s Success

Posted on by Claire Hall

“Connecticut is open for business, and we’re going to compete,” Governor Dannel P. Malloy emphasized on November 7th during a presentation at the Graduate Business Learning Center in downtown Hartford, Connecticut.  He was speaking to an audience of over 100 business leaders, community members, and University of Connecticut students and faculty members at the UConn Financial Accelerator’s latest premiere event, “Building for Connecticut’s Success.”  The audience gathered with an interest in the Governor’s insight on the role of financial services in Connecticut’s economic future, and the Governor was eager to address the multi-dimensional issue.

Building on Connecticut’s strengths

Governor Malloy posited questions to the audience, “Who are we?” as Connecticut and “what are our strengths?”  Looking to the past, Connecticut has been a financial services-driven state since the industrial revolution, and Malloy envisions a re-industrialization of the United States.  “If we didn’t build it, we financed it!” repeated Malloy, describing the nature of our state economy as one built for investment and high-volume and precision manufacturing. In particular, he noted that the areas of biosciences, insurance, aerospace, hedge funds, and insurance are growth industries for the state. By defining our strengths, and with a focus on technology and innovation, we can work to create a state that nurtures these industries to bring economic development and job creation to Connecticut.

With location and proximity as key factors in encouraging business and innovation among industries, it would be remiss to mention Connecticut’s advantageous position between New York City and Boston.  Also within the state, we have top institutions in higher education, including Yale and the University of Connecticut, which has recently been ranked as a Top 20 research institution by U.S. News & World Report.  Malloy underlined that “universities have to be part of our economic development as a state,” as the universities can act as economic drivers themselves.

The Bioscience Connecticut Initiative is a prime example of this partnership between government, higher education, and innovation, as it is poised to make the UConn Health Center a leader and a hub of research and clinical work in bioscience.  Malloy stated that he was able to deliver upon his promise by taking the opportunity to pursue Connecticut’s partnership with Jackson Laboratories.  Maine-based Jackson Laboratories will construct a research facility at the UConn Health Center and partner with higher education in order to foster the State’s reputation as a leader in the growing industry.

In addition, Malloy recognized the importance of new business, particularly in the realm of technology and innovation.  The State has invested in creating the UConn Technology Park at the Storrs, Connecticut campus, which will house flexible-use laboratories for collaborative research and business services. Other key initiatives include the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the IP Factory, which both support what Malloy termed as the “monetization of invention.”  Malloy stated “I understand innovation and education,” as he warned that it would be a flaw in our economic development plans to not capitalize on the partnership of universities and government.  By encouraging this partnership, we encourage investment in the state of Connecticut.  “We need better support for invention,” stated Malloy.

Repositioning Connecticut

Competition with other states is a common theme for economic development, and repositioning the state is paramount to attracting new business and keeping current industry.  As one audience member noted, Connecticut has a reputation for being a high-regulation and high-cost state in which to do business.  While our cost of living in the state is difficult to address, Malloy noted that we could address regulation.

In response to the issue of state banks, a question another audience member posed to the Governor, the Governor responded that competition is critical.  The fact is that we have lost state banks to buy-outs from out-of-state banks. Also, due to given regulation and the current model of the banking industry, he’s unsure if we can still be a player.  However, by changing regulation and the lending environment to attract banks here, having state banks revisit old clients and lend to them again, lending to small businesses, and creating an environment of large investment, we can be competitive.

One particular example that Malloy raised was that of the hedge fund industry.  There has been a significant movement of hedge funds into Connecticut, and Malloy notes that it isn’t by accident.  Hedge funds are in a uniquely difficult situation in the post-Dodd-Frank climate which makes it challenging to create new enterprises. Competition for establishment is keener.  Connecticut has an advantage by having an environment where hedge funds are taxed less than the neighboring states. By focusing on bringing hedge funds into the state and giving them an environment to grow here, we will be able to carve and keep our niche in that industry.  The Governor expressed a will to fight to keep the tax advantage over other states as well.

Not only do we need to reposition the state to bring in new businesses, we need reposition the state to bring in and retain our workforce.  As one audience member commented, there has been a trend of college graduates of Connecticut institutions leaving the state after graduation.  The Governor countered that although this may be true, the State has been doing better at the retention of our college graduates, and in fact, the State is doing even better when it comes to importing graduates from neighboring states.  To encourage our Connecticut-educated workforce to stay in Connecticut, Malloy noted that we need more vibrant cities.  Stamford and New Haven have made great strides, but we need to be more urbanized and support education and investment.  We can succeed with a sustained commitment to monetary investment in and around universities.

Where do we go from here?

We want people to move into our state and grow industry, and in order to do this we need revenue for supporting who we are and what we want to be.  Malloy noted that he and his administration are currently focused on job growth, job creation, and job retention.  He stressed an importance of bipartisan agreement to continue to support angel investment, corporate investment, and reshape regulation.  Malloy spoke about new tools available for small businesses, which include subsidies for hiring and a portal for growing business.  In order to rejuvenate our economic industry, we need to build a supporting infrastructure and physical infrastructure, such as transportation.

About the event

This event is the fifth in a series of UConn Financial Accelerator Premiere Events.  Previous events included topics on the municipal debt crisis, the idea of too big to fail, Dodd-Frank legislation, and the Peter Principle as applied to the healthcare industry. This event, “Building for Connecticut’s Success” was sponsored by the University of Connecticut’s School of Business, The Phoenix, and the Hartford CFA Society.

The UConn Financial Accelerator is a financial, educational, and analytical research forum for the University of Connecticut’s School of Business and a pipeline of talent that enhances the local business community.  As a laboratory for project analysis, the Financial Accelerator utilizes a combination of students and highly trained faculty with access to cutting edge technology to develop timely solutions for complex, real-world business cases.  For more information about the Financial Accelerator, please visit http://accelerator.business.uconn.edu/ or contact Dr. Chinmoy Ghosh at 860.486.4431 or via email at cghosh@business.uconn.edu.

UConn’s EBV Program to Benefit from $50K Bank of America Grant

Posted on by Claire Hall

The Bank of America Foundation has announced a $50K grant to support the continued development and expansion of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program at the University of Connecticut School of Business. The EBV program is an experiential business development initiative provided through a network of some of the best business schools in the United States, including UConn.

The EBV program was founded in 2007 to offer training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their military service. The aim of the program is to open the door to economic opportunity for veterans by developing competencies in the many steps and activities associated with creating and sustaining an entrepreneurial venture. More than 300 service-disabled veterans have graduated from the EBV program since its inception and graduates are responsible for the creation of more than 150 new, small businesses. The training is provided at no cost to eligible veterans and is currently offered at UConn, Syracuse, UCLA, Purdue, Florida State, Louisiana State University and Texas A&M University.

The University of Connecticut joined the EBV consortium in 2010 and conducted its first training program last fall. The EBV training consists of three stages: an online curriculum for 4 weeks; resident training on campus at an EBV university for 10 days; and mentoring and continued support for 12+ months. More than a dozen returning Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans attended UConn’s initial classes on the Storrs campus. Going into its second year, Mike Zacchea, a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel and highly decorated combat veteran who directs the program for UConn, anticipates doubling the number of veterans attending in 2011. UConn School of Business alumnus William S. Simon, Walmart U.S. president and CEO, was the featured speaker at the graduation ceremony held in Hartford last fall. Mr Simon will be returning to speak to the 2011 class of UConn’s EBV program at their graduation ceremony this October.

“I cannot think of a single more important endeavor for us than helping support those individuals who have committed so much of themselves on behalf of their nation,” says Dean Chris Earley of UConn’s School of Business. “The EBV program is unique and compelling in that we not only reach out to these highly deserving individuals, but we also help foster the economy through their business successes at a time that the nation needs such ingenuity and impact. We are extremely proud to be one of the host schools for the EBV program.”

“Supporting the EBV program is one way to show appreciation for the sacrifices of our brave men and women in uniform, while at the same time helping to fuel local economies,” said Kevin Cunningham, Bank of America Connecticut president. “In just four years, these budding entrepreneurs have created more than 150 small businesses across the country. This is an exciting partnership, particularly for our Connecticut employees who have served in the military or count themselves among UConn School of Business alumni.”

More information about the EBV Program at UConn is available at http://www.business.uconn.edu/ebv.

 

AACSB Extends Accreditation to the UConn School of Business

Posted on by Claire Hall

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the accrediting agency for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting, has extended the accreditation for the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree programs in business offered by the University of Connecticut through 2016.

The peer review team report notes that the University of Connecticut is to be commended on the following strengths and effective practices:

  • Experiential Learning – Experiential learning gives students hands-on experience with real business problems in business settings and allows the students to network with professionals in the participating companies. Experiential learning has several components including internships and the accelerator labs where students work with companies on projects.
  • Management and Engineering for Manufacturing – This is a joint degree between the School of Business and the School of Engineering that allows engineering students to learn cost accounting, valuation and capital budgeting skills.
  • Graduate Learning Business Center – Located in the heart of downtown Hartford, UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center is a state-of-the-art facility with the latest technology and is also home to the MBA and Executive MBA programs as well as the SS&C Technologies Financial Accelerator.
  • STAR Accounts – Since 2008, each faculty member has been given a Supplementary Teaching and Research (STAR) Account, with funds for each faculty member to spend on any teaching or research activity and travel. Over the past year, more internal grants have been awarded through an open competition process for research and teaching development.

The School has continuously been accredited by the AACSB since 1957.

AACSB Accreditation is known, worldwide, as the longest standing, most recognized form of specialized/professional accreditation an institution and its business programs can earn. AACSB Accreditation Standards are used as the basis to evaluate a business school’s mission, operations, faculty qualifications and contributions, programs, and other critical areas. AACSB accreditation ensures students and parents that the business school is providing a top-quality education.

As of April 2011, 620 member institutions hold AACSB Accreditation. Overall, 38 countries are represented by AACSB-accredited schools. Only 10 percent of all U.S. colleges of business have all of their programs – accounting, business, undergraduate and graduate – accredited by AAACSB.

CCEI Holds University-Wide Business Plan Competition

Posted on by Claire Hall

For the second year in a row, the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) at the University of Connecticut School of Business held a business plan competition. However, this year the competition was expanded university-wide to include any unique business ideas and innovation from all academic levels and majors at UConn, attracting 76 UConn teams to submit their intent to compete. “We are thrilled with the level of interest in entrepreneurship we discovered through this competition,” states Christopher Levesque, Director of CCEI. “The finalists not only submitted strategically sound and well expressed business plans, but also greatly impressed the judges with the refined delivery of their presentations.”

There were many interdisciplinary teams, which helped bring a broader array of perspectives and ideas to any project. Part of the promise of this competition was that all submitted plans would be reviewed by experienced entrepreneurs, investors and UConn faculty. Additionally, this year, The CCEI hosted a workshop in late March dedicated to helping teams improve and polish their plans to help maximize their prospects for success. At this workshop, the competitor teams were presented a brief seminar on what makes a successful business plan and were then given one-on-one time to work with professional and student mentors.

There were 36 official competition entries and ten finalists. The finalists were offered additional mentoring meetings, and many teams took advantage of this in order to continue to improve their plan under the guidance of an experienced entrepreneurial mentor. The finalist presentations were held in late April at the School of Business. The judges for this competition were: Christopher Levesque, Director of CCEI; Kevin Bouley, President & CEO of Nerac, Inc.; Mark Van Allen, President of UConn R&D Corporation; Danny Briere, CEO of TeleChoice; Mary Anne Rooke, President of the Angel Investor Forum; Eric Knight ’82, President of Remarkable Technologies; and Amit Kumar, Senior Business Consultant at UTC Power.

Eric Knight noted, “The University has unlocked a fertile, untapped business energy that could be of tremendous benefit to the State of Connecticut. From this one competition alone, perhaps a dozen real businesses will be born. Who’s to say we don’t have the next Facebook percolating in our midst? Or the next generation of fuel-efficient transportation?”

Among the finalists, Tennis Professionals, a team comprised of two senior Resource Economics majors, Andrew Marcus ’11 and Jesse Silkoff ’11, presented the most well-developed business plan. The CCEI is pleased to award them the grand prize in our 2011 UConn Student Business Plan competition. Second prize went to Hemskies, and third to Combat to College.

“Jesse and I entered the CCEI competition with plans of expanding TennisProfessionals.com after we graduate. It was a great experience writing the business plan, making the finals, and presenting the business plan to respected business executives,” notes Andrew Marcus. “It is one thing for Jesse and I to believe in our own business idea, it is even more satisfying to win a competition and see that others believe in our business as well.”

This competition was an extremely effective and successful way to tap into the burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit here at the University and throughout the State. With the success of the 2011 CCEI Business Plan Competition and the strong student interest in entrepreneurship, the competition organizers plan to run next year’s event over a longer and more continuously mentoring and refining period. In the meantime, the CCEI is extending an invitation to all teams who submitted a letter of intent to compete in the competition to continue discussions and guide them to take advantage of resources The CCEI can bring to bear.

“Our ultimate intent at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is to identify, mentor and help develop new businesses here in Connecticut, and Tennis Professionals, along with the other finalists, represent terrific examples of such promising firms,” stated Christopher Levesque.

For more information about CCEI, please visit http://ccei.business.uconn.edu.

Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans at UConn to Benefit from $1M Wal-Mart Foundation Gift

Posted on by Claire Hall

At a White House event today hosted by First Lady Michele Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, the Wal-Mart Foundation announced a two-year, $1M grant to support the continued development and expansion of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program, an experiential business development initiative provided through a network of some of the best business schools in the United States,  including the University of Connecticut.

The EBV program was founded in 2007 to offer training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their military service. The aim of the program is to open the door to economic opportunity for veterans by developing competencies in the many steps and activities associated with creating and sustaining an entrepreneurial venture. More than 300 service-disabled veterans have graduated from the EBV program since its inception and graduates are responsible for the creation of more than 150 new, small businesses. The training is provided at no cost to eligible veterans and is currently offered at UConn, Syracuse, UCLA, Purdue, Florida State, Louisiana State University and Texas A&M University.

The University of Connecticut joined the EBV consortium in 2010 and conducted its first training program last fall. The EBV training consists of three stages: an online curriculum for 45 days; resident training on campus at an EBV university for 9 days; and mentoring and continued support for 12+ months. More than 20 returning Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans attended UConn’s initial classes on the Storrs campus. At the graduation ceremony held in Hartford, UConn School of Business alumnus Bill Simon ’81 , Walmart U.S. president and CEO, was the featured speaker.

“I cannot think of a single more important endeavor for us than helping support those individuals who have committed so much of themselves on behalf of their nation,” says Dean Chris Earley of UConn’s School of Business. “The EBV program is unique and compelling in that we not only reach out to these highly deserving individuals, but we also help foster the economy through their business successes at a time that the nation needs such ingenuity and impact. We are extremely proud to be one of the host schools for the EBV program.”

In all, the $1 million gift from the Walmart Foundation will help send 300 veterans with disabilities to entrepreneurship bootcamp at one of the university partners, as well as facilitate the expansion of the program to two additional schools. The funds will also support small business training for more than 100 military family members. UConn, as a member of the consortium will share equally in the proceeds from the gift.

More information about the EBV Program at UConn is available at http://ebv.business.uconn.edu.

An Entrepreneur’s Journey

Posted on by Claire Hall

I feel that an introduction is probably the best course of action as many people reading this article will have no idea who I am. My name is Joe Nunez, and I am a former US Marine, Disabled Veteran and member of the newly graduated, inaugural class of the Entrepreneurship Boot camp for Veterans with Disabilities at the University of Connecticut’s School of Business. I was born in Brooklyn, New York and my family moved to San Antonio, Texas when I was just three years old. I spent my entire childhood in San Antonio, graduating high school and leaving for Marine Corps boot camp three weeks later. In 2005 I was injured while participating in unit physical training, requiring two extensive surgeries on my ankle just to be able to walk without a limp. By the end of 2006 it had become painfully apparent that I would no longer be able to wear the uniform of a US Marine for very much longer. The Marine Corps treated me well and allowed me to finish my contract and I separated honorably after seven years and four months of service in October of 2007.

Since leaving the Marine Corps I have been working in the industrial laundry industry in a variety of roles. After being laid off three days after Christmas of 2009, my wife and I decided that we needed to begin exploring our options for financial security that did not depend on anyone else’s judgment or hard work (other than my own). We decided to begin cultivating an idea for a business that would take my existing skill set and apply it to a larger market capable of providing our family with a comfortable living. The only problem was that neither of us knew where to begin. So the idea lay dormant for several months, recurring in my head every so often. I was frustrated by the lack of direction I had as I took another job and desperately hoped I’d be able to find a way to make my dreams come true.

In summer of this year, I received a phone call from a very dear friend and former Marine, Darryl Hill. Darryl is one of the most gifted networkers I have ever met, getting business contacts in even the most innocuous of places. He was calling me to tell me about a course he had recently attended that he believed I could benefit from. The course, The Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans (or EBV for short) was designed specifically for veterans with disabilities who had served our country honorably and had a desire to be in business for themselves. I was skeptical at first I must admit, because what Darryl was describing to me sounded too good to be true. The course is provided at no cost to the veterans he explained, and anything and everything you will need while you are there is provided. The instruction is world class and you really do learn a lot about what programs and opportunities are available to veterans. In my life experiences, when something sounds too good to be true, it generally is. I applied nonetheless and completed a phone interview a few weeks later.

When I received my acceptance letter to the program, a whirlwind of activity began. I participated in a rigorous, 30 day online course that provided some of the key components of what would eventually become portions of my business plan. After the online portion I was whisked away to the beautiful campus of the University of Connecticut to spend 10 very long, very challenging days going through classes and writing my business plan. Days began early and ended late. We were given world class instruction by the amazing instructors at the UConn School of Business, all of whom had volunteered their time and energy to give the 14 of us all the tools necessary to be successful. UConn rolled out the red carpet for us in every possible way, including allowing us the privilege of walking out onto the football field during a Huskies game to receive personalized, signed footballs as thanks for our service to this great country of ours.

When I left the University of Connecticut I had an entirely different perspective on life, my business and my potential. I am now in the development stage of my business and am actively working to secure the funding necessary to open San Antonio’s first Residential Laundry Service. I cannot overlook the fact that without the fine folks at the University of Connecticut’s School of Business, I would still be working for someone else, wondering when the next layoff was coming. Instead I am working for myself, working harder than I ever have before but loving every minute of it.

To my fellow veterans I thank you for the friendship, camaraderie and objectivism that lead me to where I am today. Every veteran in the course is a fine example of the best the US Military has to offer and I wish each of them good luck in their selected business ventures.

To the School of Business Staff, Dean Earley, Course Directors Mike Zacchea and Kathleen Dechant, graduate students and volunteers, thank you for giving of yourselves to help each of us realize our dreams.

To the students of the University of Connecticut, thank you for your hospitality and warm welcome to the UConn family. I only ask that you pay it forward and tell everyone you know about the course and the great people at the School of Business. Next time you meet a veteran, shake his/her hand and thank them for their selfless service to our nation. No matter your political, social or religious views, these fine men and women give of themselves to protect the very blanket of freedom you sleep under every night.

Joe Nunez

A Letter from the EBV Coordinator

Posted on by Claire Hall

My dear friends,

Spring is upon us already in New England. The semester is rapidly winding to an end as we shake off the long winter, and of papers and presentations and final exams. This semester has seen a flurry of activity at the EBV program at UConn. The graduate assistants have been working to collect data and assist veterans start their ventures. Planning is already under way for next year’s program. We are working hard on expanding our public engagement and outreach to realize our vision of becoming the New England center for veteran business education and transition.

It’s amazing how far we’ve come since we began the online phase of the program in August. In just the 6 months since we parted company at the Storrs campus we’ve gone from exploring ideas and doing market research on a chosen industry, to acquiring and developing the skills necessary to start a business, to starting the business! Eight of you have started businesses, and one of you has enrolled in a full-time MBA program! It’s incredibly edifying for all of us to be part of the solution, helping veterans start businesses and forge a new identity as an “entrepreneur.”

As the seasons change, though, so we will see some personnel changes in 2011. First, Melissa Martin will be leaving us. She has landed a prestigious and high-profile internship with a well-known NY public relations firm. She did an amazing job for us as an administrative assistant and will be sorely missed. I know she will be phenomenally successful in her new endeavor.

Second, Kathy DeChant has announced she will be retiring in May. Kathy was the moving force that made the EBV happen. I owe her a debt of gratitude larger than I can articulate for offering me the chance to be part of the EBV. I wish her all the best and know she will always be a friend of the program.

Finally, Lane Barrow has agreed to join the EBV as the faculty advisor. All of you remember Lane’s incredible devotion and energy in helping us prepare for the final pitch competition. This is truly a labor of love for Lane, himself a veteran of the Viet Nam war, and we are very lucky to have him formally involved. I thank him for his service, and welcome him aboard.

To wrap up, let me congratulate all of you as you continue to meet the dual challenges of post-combat and post-military transition and of starting a new career and venture as an entrepreneur. I have gotten far more out of being a part of the program than I have put into it.

To our friends, supporters, graduate assistants, veterans, and the UConn community, I wish each of you and your families health and happiness and every success in 2011.

Semper fidelis

Mike Zacchea