In the world of business, having strong connections can make all the difference.

This was the central theme of a networking training during the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) hosted by the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship Oct. 1 at the School of Hotel Administration.

EBV offers industry-leading, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small-business management to soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who were disabled as a result of their service to the United States occurring after 9/11. The EBV program at Cornell is the first to offer a specialized program focused on hospitality entrepreneurship.

During the networking session, veterans received instruction on how to maximize their entrepreneurial potential through expanding and managing their network of professional contacts and veteran’s associations. Special emphasis was placed on understanding the importance of social media tools – veterans received a tutorial on how to craft effective profiles on a professional networking site.

EBV is free to disabled veterans and does not require them to use any benefits such as the GI Bill or the Yellow Ribbon Program.

EBV begins with an online course in business and entrepreneurship followed by a nine-day residency on the Cornell campus, where participants take classes led by SHA faculty, as well as speakers from the Culinary Institute of America and industry experts. Upon completing the program, graduates receive one year of continued support and mentoring as they launch their businesses. Across the country, 70 percent of EBV graduates have gone on to start a business, with over 90 percent continuing operations after two years.

A major strength of the program is its ability to help foster a strong peer network that veterans can count on as a vital source of “social capital” as they pursue their entrepreneurial goals, explained Neil Tarallo, senior lecturer at SHA and director of EBV at Cornell.

“Veterans, as a group, naturally tend to bond together and support each other,” Tarallo said. “Every year we see EBV groups really get tight over the course of the week and then as they go out, they continue to support each other as they go through the process of running their businesses.”

There is enthusiastic support for this program across the Cornell community – several community members were involved as guest speakers, 20 Cornell students served as mentors and social media ambassadors, while about a dozen faculty members were involved in teaching and advising the 15 EBV participants over the week.

The EBV program was launched in 2007 at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University and expanded to a consortium of schools. Nationwide, it is supported by the EBV Foundation. Delta, the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, and the Sack Family sponsored Cornell EBV.

Robert Johnson is a writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.