VETERAN SPOTLIGHT:
Leland Goldberg gets the mission accomplished FORMER COMBAT VETERAN HELPS OTHERS WITH A NOVEL BUSINESS PROGRAM
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ilitary veterans are more likely to start their own business than people who never served in the military — 45% more likely, in fact. That’s according to SBA statistics, which put the number of veteran-owned small businesses in the U.S. at 2.4 million. Leland Goldberg understands why that is: “In the military, it’s all about a mission, it’s all about working with the team, and it’s all about having a sense of urgency to get the mission accomplished. They feel a sense of empowerment as a result of their experience. That’s why more and more veterans want to be their own boss rather than work for someone else.” Goldberg should know. He is a combat veteran, having served as an Army officer in Vietnam. His tour included his involvement in the Tet Offensive, a massive, countrywide attack staged by the North Vietnamese Army. He says, when he landed back in the States, “I actually kissed the ground.” Now, more than 50 years later, after a successful career in the business world, he is focused full-time on his fellow veterans, helping them learn how to prosper as business owners. He is the Founder/ President of the nonprofit Veteran Entrepreneurial Training and Resource Network Inc. (VETRN), created in 2013. He says the impetus for creating VETRN
Partnering with VETRN Right from the start, Service Credit Union has supported the work of the VETRN MBA program by providing both expertise and classroom facilities. “It’s been a good partnership,” says David Weed, Assistant Vice President of Business Services for Service CU. The missions of the two organizations — to support the military community — 8 servicecu.org | April 2022
dovetail, so when Weed and VETRN Founder Leland Goldberg were introduced, it became clear a relationship would be of mutual benefit in their work. At the time, Weed was providing expertise for Boots to Business, an SBA program for former active-duty military personnel who want to start a business. The VETRN program complements that program with MBA-level entrepreneurial
training for existing business owners. Before VETRN went online because of COVID, Service CU provided classrooms, AV and tech support for four graduating classes. Weed acted as teacher/visiting expert as well as a judge for participants’ business plans. That work continues for the online classes, but Weed looks forward to a return of in-person classes: “I think they lead to deeper relationships among the people.”
