“I love what we do everyday,” said Veteran and business owner Jeremy Mock. “Honestly, I started it as a hobby, I was just going to keep myself busy and support something that I wanted to do.”

Mock started EGA Associates in 2012. It provides government staffing and contracts for the department of veterans affairs.

“When I go out to the VA hospitals you see the impact that we’re having out there on folks and its just so rewarding, it’s what I want to do,” said Mock.

Mock says his business has grown to 36 different states and employs more than 400 people now, and he knows his success would have never been possible without using his Veteran network. 

“We’re just trying to showcase where veterans are succeeding and how to promote them, hire them and buy from them,” said Alex Archawski, he’s the founder of the Greater Philadelphia Veterans Network.

GPVN gives guidance and insight to Veterans who want to start or grow a business by connecting them to other Veterans in the field, or with someone who can mentor them. 

“Those that are very successful, they may not need us, but those that are on the fence, they need us the most so we’re trying to raise everybody’s game tone better veterans, to be better professionals,” said Archawski.

GPVN isn’t the only organization helping Veterans launch and grow businesses in the greater Philadelphia area. St. Joseph’s University has what it calls the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans. The university has run 12 programs and helped more than 220 veterans since 2016. The last phase of the bootcamp is a pitch competition. 

“I always remind them, everybody’s a winner because you’ve gotten a chance to practice the message that you’re going to be saying over and over when anybody acts you what it is that you do,” said Hank Gillen, director of Veterans affairs at St. Joes.