Veterans Entrepreneurship Training I (VET-I)

Our free, introductory educational program for active duty service members, US military veterans, and their spouses who seek to learn entrepreneurial skills or pursue business ventures

Eligibility

Active duty US service members, veterans, and military spouses

Program Length

12 weeks. Current cohort is in session. Next cohort runs January 26 - April 13, 2022

Deadline

January 12, 2022

About

Almost 50 percent of World War II veterans and 40 percent of Korean War veterans owned or operated their own companies, according to Syracuse University. Today, just 4.5 percent of the more than 3.6 million men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces since September 11, 2001, have launched their own businesses.

We seek to raise that figure through the Veterans Entrepreneurship Training (VET) program. NYC-centric entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and our team at the Veterans Future Lab offer a curriculum that features a capstone project, hands-on experiential learning, and mentorship. You’ll graduate able to leverage learned entrepreneurial skills into new ventures and career opportunities. Graduates of VET-I are eligible to enroll in an upcoming Veterans Entrepreneurship Training - Level II (VET-II) program.

Curriculum

(VET-I Fall 2021 is currently in session from October 6 to December 22, 2021)

The VET-I Spring 2022 program will be held online on Wednesdays from January 26 to April 13, 2022.

The program is split into three parts:

Week 1: Onboarding
Weeks 2–11: Class lectures from 6–8PM ET on Wednesdays.
Week 12: Showcase of participants’ capstone projects to partners of the Veterans Future Lab community. The capstone provides participants with their first real-world, consequential experience presenting their business ideas.

Classes touch on prototyping, customer channels, business models, legal and accounting matters for startups, and more. Upon completion of the program, students are awarded a VET certificate from the NYU Tandon Future Labs.