Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab
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Did you know that you can support Seidman Lakers AND veterans through the Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab Fund?
To support the MVE Lab, please click below!
What is the Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab?
The Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab is a pilot entrepreneur accelerator program lasting approximately 3 months. It serves military connected people (veterans, reservists, spouses/partners) with education, mentoring, and the opportunity to win funding for the participant's startup.
The program is primarily for community members and we currently have 20 veterans participating in the first cohort!
Spotlights
WINC advocates for women veterans post-military life
Two women are heading up a consulting group that will educate employers on not just how to hire veterans, but how to retain them.
Henrietta Hadley said many workplaces say they are “veteran friendly” but once they have a veteran on staff, their specific needs are often overlooked.
Local veteran hopes to redefine masculinity for a younger generation of men
A local man is hoping to change society’s view of masculinity through a new non-profit he’s calling ACES.
Awareness, Compassion, Equity, Strength. That’s what ACES stands for, and what Trey Sumner is looking to for the foundation of his new non-profit. Sumner is a veteran and Grand Valley State University alumni, and is developing his business through the Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur-Lab, a program out of GVSU’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He said he got the idea for ACES after seeing “toxic masculinity” within the military.
Veteran, wife hope to open community dental clinic
As a dental hygienist, Blanca Elizabeth Duque-Rico knows the dentist office inside and out, including the advantages and disadvantages certain people face when trying to access dental care, and just health care in general. After seeing this, she and her husband Jorge Ivan Duque decided to take their shot at opening their own clinic, with Duque-Rico’s goal to be a dentist in sight.