News
Soldiers of Fortune: GVSU entrepreneur program seeks to create veteran victories
May 05, 2025
By Art Bukowski (Traverse City Business News)
Anyone who’s trying to start a new business (or expand an existing venture) can use a little help from folks with specific expertise.
Veterans who are undertaking either of these tasks might just need a little more. Or, at the very least, instruction tailored to how they operate, what they’ve experienced and the challenges they face.
That’s the idea behind Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab (MVE-Lab), which as of March came to Traverse City after several earlier iterations across the state. The local cohort, supported by GVSU’s presence at Northwestern Michigan College’s University Center, is the 14th group since the program launched in 2018.
In addition to providing critical advice, support and training for veteran entrepreneurs, the program has doled out nearly $300,000 in seed funding since its inception.
“It truly has been one of our most successful, high-impact programs because it's really filling the gap in the ecosystem for veteran entrepreneurs,” said Shorouq Almallah, director of GVSU’s DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. “It’s been growing, and we’re really excited to be in Traverse City.”
Startup labs, accelerators and incubators are plentiful these days, but very few are focused on the specific needs and experiences of veterans. MVE-Lab is led by veterans and supported by locally sourced veteran mentors.
“People who've gone through the same experiences really understand each other. The sense of camaraderie and support is phenomenal … and that social capital has really helped these entrepreneurs succeed,” Almallah said. “Yes, they need funding; yes, they need training; but being surrounded by the right community of peers, mentors and coaches is why the program has been successful.”
Michael Hyacinthe served as a U.S. Navy Seabee combat warfare specialist for eight years. He’s now a successful entrepreneur who serves as lead instructor and ambassador for the MVE Lab. Veterans themselves have a diverse set of experiences and personalities, he says, but at least one nearly universal experience.
“The transition from (active service) to being a civilian is similar, and the hopes and goals of figuring out your next purpose is a very common theme that veterans find themselves trying to figure out,” he said.
There are a dozen people in the Traverse City cohort, which lasts 10 weeks and culminates in a May pitch event in which members of the public and a panel of community judges help determine who will get at least $15,000 in prize money for their business.
“Not only do the cohort members get an opportunity to possibly earn money from an established group of judges, but we invite the community to come and elect three of the cohort members to earn some additional funding through what's called the People's Choice Award,” Hyacinthe said.
And while the pitch night and fun and seed money is great, the lab itself is the most valuable part of the experience. Weekly topics focus on everything that it takes to start and run a business. From ideation to launching and scaling, it’s all covered. And what’s more, the cohort members will be able to clearly communicate this to investors.
“Not all of them will leave with money, but … we make sure that they all have an established pitch deck that starts to tell their vision of their venture that they can present to an investor, they can present to a bank, they can present to a potential partner,” Hyacinthe said. “Each and every one of them will leave the cohort with a game plan for their venture.”
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. The MVE-Lab is interfacing with 20Fathoms, Grove Community Incubator’s Office of Possibilities and other startup/entrepreneur groups in the area.
“One of the things that I really appreciate about what Michael and Shorouq have done is they’ve really worked closely with our local community to ensure that we're embedded in the ecosystem that's here,” said Shannon Owen, director of GVSU’s northern Michigan region. “They understood that we need make sure this isn't just Grand Rapids relocated to Traverse City."
Kevin Brown is a veteran and Marion resident who is taking part in the current cohort. He spent 10 years on active duty in the Army followed by nearly 30 years in the Michigan National Guard. He already runs a honey business and joined the cohort to get help scaling and expanding his operation.
Brown is impressed with the MVE-Lab so far.
“Every Monday is just a huge data dump,” he said. “There’s so much going on, and you’re learning quite a bit. It’s definitely a positive experience and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.”
The program also makes use of community mentors who have specific experience that can help these veterans. One of those in this cohort is Nick Beadleston, a former calvary scout in the 82nd Airborne Division who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s now the executive director of Traverse City’s Grove Community Incubator, which (among other things) nurtures local entrepreneurs.
Beadleston met with the GVSU team early on to help guide the program’s presence in Traverse City and tailor it to the local community. He was impressed with their drive and experience with past cohorts, he says.
“It was pretty quickly apparent that that they're deeply committed to this work and they know some of the important considerations when trying to serve veterans,” Beadleston said. “Their hearts are in the right place, and this is not their first rodeo.”
Grove will host portions of the cohort at its space in the Commongrounds Cooperative on Eighth Street. And while the business startup aspect is certainly exciting, Beadleston says the community building created by the cohort is just as important.
This is especially true considering the massively disproportionate rate of suicide among veterans, he says, which can be attributed at least in part to feelings of isolation. But there are a variety of struggles that are less serious that can also be solved by building a support network.
“Even though the stated topic is business development, I think it creates a really rich opportunity for veterans to show up and talk about where they're struggling,” Beadleston said. “The conversations always start with business and then lead to other areas where they could use support. And it’s not just dramatic Hollywood PTSD stuff either.”
MVE-Lab Pitch Night
Where: City Opera House
When: 5pm-8:30pm, Mon., May 19 (meet and greet first; pitches start at 6 p.m.)
Who: Anyone can attend for free (registration requested)
More info and to register: gvsu.edu/mve