On Hawk Hill, they'll train disabled war vets to be entrepreneurs

TENS OF THOUSANDS of disabled GIs have returned home from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan to face daunting challenges ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to lost limbs and other injuries.

Getting help starting or growing a business should not be one of their challenges.

Now, thanks to an anonymous donor, St. Joseph's University is lending a helping hand. In March, the university's Office of Veterans Services will launch the Veterans Entrepreneurial Jumpstart Program.

Modeled after Syracuse University's Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, the program is designed to provide the tools, education and mentorship necessary to enable qualified disabled vets to start and grow their own businesses.

The donor has seeded the program for five years with $1 million. It will be provided at no cost to qualified disabled vets.

"We've tried not to overengineer this," said Ralph Galati, a decorated Air Force veteran who flew on combat missions during the Vietnam War (he was a POW for 14 months) and now heads the Office of Veterans Services at St. Joseph's. "The only criterion is you have a disability [as defined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] and proof of an honorable discharge. And the other criterion is obviously you have the desire to start your own business."

The program is designed in three phases. The first, to begin in March and to last six weeks, provides basics in business fundamentals such as writing a business plan and marketing. The second phase is a seven-day residency that exposes vets to classroom discussions, guest lecturers, one-on-one work with mentors and a "shark tank" model to assess business plans. The final phase enables vets to receive ongoing mentorship and a suite of support services for six months.

Galati, a St. Joseph's alum who worked for IBM for 28 years, said 23 potential candidates had expressed interest in the program and the final list will be culled to 12 to 15 for the first class, although future classes would be larger. (To date, six vets have formally applied. The application deadline is Feb. 6.)

He said all potential candidates were either running businesses or had a good business plan.

"Our concern is not to eliminate candidates," Galati said, "but to have a number in the first class we can manage and has a high probability of success."

The Syracuse program, begun in 2007, has a 70 percent success rate of vets either starting or growing a successful business.

Galati said expectations for the initial class at St. Joseph's were more realistic. He's hoping for at least a 50 percent success rate.

Online: ph.ly/YourBusiness