Florida State University veteran entrepreneurship program graduates first Leon County cohort

Florida State University’s Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship has graduated the first cohort of its Veteran Entrepreneurship Certificate Program in Leon County, with 14 veterans completing the Facilitated Business Modeling Program.

Delivered in partnership with State of Florida nonprofit Veterans Florida, the free program is designed to help participants move from business ideas to actionable business models through practical instruction in customer discovery, market validation and entrepreneurial decision making. The six-week program combined interactive workshops, mentoring and applied exercises focused on helping participants evaluate and strengthen their business concepts.

“Veterans bring an incredible combination of resilience, leadership and adaptability to entrepreneurship,” said Eric Liguori, associate dean for research and external relations in the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, who led the program. “What made this cohort especially exciting was watching participants build confidence in their ideas while also building a strong community around one another.”

Participants represented a range of entrepreneurial interests and business development, from early-stage concepts to existing ventures seeking growth and refinement. Throughout the program, participants worked through business modeling activities, explored customer validation strategies and connected with local entrepreneurial resources. In doing so, they learned directly from multiple FSU faculty, including Susana Santos, Bill Lickson, Juliana Binhote, Doug Tatum, and Melissa Roberts, bringing expertise spanning entrepreneurship education, venture growth, finance and innovation and small business development.

Feedback from participants highlighted the practical nature of the program and the value of learning alongside fellow veterans. They praised the program’s open-forum format, its ability to clearly teach how to run a business and how it allowed each attendee to naturally network.

Program organizers said participants consistently pointed to the program’s hands-on approach, real-world applicability and supportive learning environment as key strengths. Several participants also noted that the experience helped them better understand how to refine business ideas, identify customer needs and think strategically about long-term growth.

“This partnership with Veterans Florida reflects the kind of community-centered impact happening every day in the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship,” said Susan Fiorito, dean of the college. “We are proud to support veterans and military-connected families as they pursue entrepreneurial opportunities that can create lasting economic and community impact across Florida.”

“This partnership with Veterans Florida reflects the kind of community-centered impact happening every day in the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship.”

– Susan Fiorito, dean of the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship

Graduates received a certificate of completion from the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship and are now eligible to join the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship’s statewide alumni network of more than 2,700 Florida business owners.

This program builds on FSU’s longstanding commitment to supporting veterans, service members and military-connected families through entrepreneurship education, workforce development and community engagement initiatives.

For more information about veteran entrepreneurship programming at FSU, visit the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship website.