Veterans are turning their ideas into business plans, this week at Wright State University.
An Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans is being held this week at Wright State, with sponsorship by Reynolds and Reynolds.
Veteran Tim Green attended the boot camp and said the program is helping him connect the dots.
"A lot of information I didn't know about, or I'm not strong with, and it's enabled me to ask questions, get some feedback and then start thinking about those things and how to be successful," Green said.
Elizabeth Harding, program manager for the boot camp at Wright State, said helping veterans be successful after their service is the goal of the program.
"A lot of veterans leave the service and they might not know what their next steps are or they might feel a little bit lost and there are a lot of them with really great ideas and they don't have the tools to make those ideas a reality," Harding said.
Harding said this is the first such boot camp that has been located near a military base; however, all costs are covered by Reynolds and Reynolds.
"The cool thing about the program is, whether you're local or not, all your flight, your travel, your food, all those costs are covered by the gift from Reynolds and Reynolds," Harding said.
Wright State said a $3 million gift from the Reynolds and Reynolds Company created an endowment to permanently underwrite the costs of Wright State’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans.
The boot camp takes their passion and helps make it happen, she said.
Kwaunia Bright, a Marine Corps veteran, is also attending the boot camp. She said she's already found it very informative for helping her build her trucking business.
Bright said she had retired after leaving the Marines but felt she had more to contribute.
The boot camp has been beneficial by offering feedback and allowing everyone to bounce ideas off each other.
"My business model was my main problem. Once I got here, yesterday and today, I've learned more about the business model, how to capture the client," Bright said.
Harding said other programs are available at other locations and there's no educational or enrollment requirement.
