Episode 66: The VEP Effect - How Spears Business is Empowering Wounded Warriors Through Entrepreneurship

When an ad for OSU’s Veterans Entrepreneurship Program appeared on retired staff sergeant Mike Burns' Facebook feed, the wounded warrior saw it as an answered prayer. Despite his struggles stemming from battlefield injuries, including an above-the-knee amputation and a traumatic brain injury, Burns knew the VEP would give him the tools to help other veterans just like himself.

 

It did that and more. Burns used the skills he learned at VEP to establish a nonprofit that now helps veterans across 47 states – Operation Pay it Forward.

 

Dean Jim Payne and Stephen Howard from Spears Business sat down with Burns and Chad Mills, director of the Riata Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, to explore how the Riata Center’s intensive 8-day VEP bootcamp transforms military heroes into entrepreneurs through rigorous training from expert business leaders.

 

• Veterans Entrepreneurship Program
• Operation Pay it Forward