Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans

The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) program offers cutting edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their service to our country.

The UConn School of Business is proud to participate in this very special program that helps give back to individuals who have sacrificed for our country. EBV demonstrates the power of entrepreneurship in our communities by fostering an essential route for job creation and economic vitality.

The EBV is designed to give focused, practical training in the tools and skills of new venture creation and growth and the establishment of a support structure for graduates of the program.

In the past decade, the program has graduated 218 Veterans and caregivers who have launched 187 businesses, producing more than $150 million in gross revenues, and creating 430 jobs. In addition, 34 graduates have found career-track, full-time employment, and 21 have accessed career-track educational opportunities.

Our mission in the next 10 years is to help transition those retiring from the long-term military posts into civilian careers that can sustain them and their families. The University of Connecticut remains committed to making the University a national leader for Veteran entrepreneurship in 2021 and beyond.

In Memoriam

Michael J. Zacchea
EBV Founder and Director
1968 - 2022
We are forever grateful for Michael's vision, passion, camaraderie and leadership of the EBV program. This life-changing program will live on in his honor.

RSS Veteran Stories

  • Veterans-Turned-Entrepreneurs Demonstrate Initiative, Courage, Dedication
    UConn Today – Keri Yonika, an occupational therapist and a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, has both the knowledge and passion to help young children get a good start in life. She loves her work with neurodivergent pre-schoolers, but not the constant pressure to see more clients. Yonika dreams of owning her own practice and running...  […]
  • New UConn EBV Program Manager: ‘We’re Like a Family…Helping Accomplish Each Other’s Missions’
    UConn Today – “I am excited to have the ability to help people realize their dreams.” That’s how Nicholas Martinelli, a U.S. Army veteran who was part of a team that operated land-based defense systems against enemy rocket and mortar attacks in Iran and Afghanistan, sees his role as the new program manager of the...  […]
  • EBV Honors Lawrence Dapo ’15 With Inaugural Zacchea Veterans Impact Award
    The UConn EBV program has awarded the inaugural Michael J. Zacchea Veterans Impact Award to a program alumnus who played an integral role in protecting former Vice President Dick Cheney on Sept. 11, created a successful Connecticut construction company, and continually supports his fellow veterans. Lawrence “Larry” R. Dapo, ’15 EBV received the award last...  […]

EBV: Helping Our Veterans