Project Opportunity

What Project Opportunity does

Project Opportunity is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization founded in 2010 by retired Army Master Sergeant Joe Giordano to deliver free entrepreneurship training to veterans, active duty, guard/reserve personnel, and military spouses as an alternative to traditional employment. The core product is a 10-week, 30-hour Business Boot Camp built on the NxLevel curriculum and supplemented by subject matter expert presentations from banking, legal, accounting, marketing, and the SBA; graduates receive ongoing business counseling, a mentoring program, professional development workshops, and access to an annual Business Pitch Competition awarding $20,000. Complementary offerings include a 2.5-hour Exploring Entrepreneurship workshop, a dedicated Spouse Entrepreneurship Course launched in 2020, and free business counseling services for alumni.

The business model is freemium in form but nonprofit in substance: there is zero participant pricing, and the organization is funded entirely through grants and corporate sponsorships. Documented funding totals $153,862 from a broad base of smaller sponsors since July 2017, plus a $308,584 three-year grant from the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation starting January 1, 2020. The program reaches participants through community-led go-to-market motion relying on VA Vocational Rehabilitation Services, workforce development corporations, military installations, community organizations, earned media (CBS News Radio Eye on Veterans, PGCTV, DelmarvaLife), and word-of-mouth. Geographic coverage spans eight Maryland counties including the Eastern Shore, Baltimore, Annapolis, Howard, Southern Maryland, Prince George's, Harford, and Montgomery counties, with the program restricted to residents and personnel stationed in Maryland.

Since inception, Project Opportunity has trained more than 250 veterans, achieving milestones of 100, 200, and 300 graduates in 2014, 2016, and 2018 respectively. It was awarded the SBA 2014 Veteran Small Business Champion Award, founder Joe Giordano was named a 2023 Daily Record Veterans in Business & Law winner, and the instructional team comprises credentialed veterans and military spouses with NxLevel and SBA Boots 2 Business certifications. The organization operates with 11-50 employees and has no parent company, subsidiaries, or earned-income revenue streams.

Name

Project Opportunity

Legal name

Project Opportunity

Website

https://project-opportunity.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Project Opportunity is a Maryland-based nonprofit founded in 2010 that provides free 10-week entrepreneurship training, counseling, and pitch competitions to veterans, active duty, reserve personnel, and military spouses pursuing small business ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veteran Entrepreneurship Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB), Entrepreneurship, Startup Incubation & Pitch Programs (EDAMAKAK)

Keywords

• Veteran entrepreneurship training
• Small business education
• Military spouse programs
• Nonprofit workforce development
• Free business bootcamp

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Project Opportunity operates as a nonprofit relying entirely on grant funding and sponsorships from foundations, corporations, government agencies, and workforce development organizations. The program has received over $153,862 in funding since July 1, 2017, and a three-year grant of $308,584 from the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation starting January 1, 2020.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Project Opportunity is a free entrepreneurship training program for veterans, active duty, reserve personnel, and military spouses in Maryland. The core offering is a 10-week Business Boot Camp providing 30 hours of classroom instruction on business planning, marketing, financials, legal entities, sales, insurance, website design, and pitch presentation, supplemented by free business counseling, mentoring, and an annual Business Pitch Competition with $20,000 in awards.

Product overview

Project Opportunity is a single, unified free entrepreneurship training program designed specifically for veterans, active duty military, reserve personnel, and military spouses in Maryland. The core offering is the Project OpportunitySM program, which consists of three phases: an Exploring Entrepreneurship workshop, an eligibility assessment, and the Business Boot Camp (a 10-week, 30-hour training program). The company also offers complementary services including a Business Pitch Competition for graduates to secure funding, a Mentoring Program for ongoing graduate support, a Spouse Entrepreneurship Course for military spouses, and Business Counseling Services for graduates. Classes are held at various locations throughout Maryland including Eastern Shore, Southern Maryland, Anne Arundel, Howard, Harford, Montgomery, Prince George's County, and Baltimore.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project Opportunity Business Boot Camp A 10-week, 30-hour classroom entrepreneurship training program covering business planning, marketing, financials, legal entities, sales strategies, insurance, website design, and business plan presentations; designed for veterans, active duty, reserve personnel, and military spouses in Maryland.
• Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshop A 2.5-hour introductory workshop that introduces entrepreneurship concepts, discusses motivations for starting businesses, covers characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, provides an overview of the Project Opportunity training program, and includes an entrepreneurship self-assessment; intended for prospective veteran and military spouse applicants.
• Business Pitch Competition Annual pitch competition for Project Opportunity graduates offering award money to present business concepts before successful business professionals, with categories including Established Business, Early Start-Up, and Non-Profit; provides real funding to veteran entrepreneurs.
• Spouse Entrepreneurship Course A dedicated 30-hour course (3 hours per week for 10 weeks) for military spouses using the NxLevel curriculum supplemented by subject matter experts, teaching them how to research, write, and develop a business plan.
• Mentoring Program Post-training mentoring program providing ongoing guidance and entrepreneurial techniques to graduates to support business development beyond the classroom.
• Business Counseling Services Free one-on-one business counseling and coaching for Project Opportunity graduates covering business plan refinement, marketing strategies, financial management, capital sources, growth strategies, certifications, and website consultation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250 veterans trained since 2010, all currently pursuing small business ventures
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Chow CorpminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2021Formed Entrepreneurial Partnership in April 2021 with Chow Corp to support veteran entrepreneurship.
• VA Maryland Health Care System Vocational Rehabilitation ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Received $5,000 grant from the VA Maryland Health Care System Vocational Rehabilitation Services Compensated Work Therapy Program used towards conducting a class for Disabled and Homeless Veterans in the Baltimore Region.
• Employ Prince George'scoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for funding to continue classes in Prince George's County. Formed initial class in Prince George's County in Spring 2019 with twelve veterans graduating.
• Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation to receive Walmart Foundation grant and expand program.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• American Corporate Partners (ACP): Nonprofit providing one-on-one career mentoring for post-9/11 veterans, including some entrepreneurship mentoring. Partial overlap with Project Opportunity's mentoring and counseling offering, with a broader career scope beyond entrepreneurship.

Direct peers

• Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC): SBA-sponsored program providing business training, counseling, and resource referrals to veteran entrepreneurs. Directly overlapping service offering with Project Opportunity's curriculum and counseling stack, delivered through a federal program rather than an independent nonprofit.
• StreetShares Foundation: Nonprofit supporting veteran small business owners through education, competitions, and access to capital. Closely comparable mission and program stack (training + competitions) to Project Opportunity.
• Warrior Rising: Nonprofit veteran business accelerator providing training, mentorship, and capital to veteran entrepreneurs. Directly comparable mission and operating model to Project Opportunity's free boot camp plus follow-on support.
• Patriot Boot Camp: Veteran-led nonprofit running intensive entrepreneurship boot camps, mentorship programs, and a startup community for veterans and military spouses. Highly comparable in audience and free training model, though delivered in intensive weekend/camp formats rather than 10-week cohorts.
• Dog Tag Inc. Nonprofit fellowship program that combines business education and entrepreneurship training for veterans with a working bakery/café business. Directly comparable in mission and free-program delivery model, with a distinctive experiential layer.
• Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University: University-affiliated institute delivering entrepreneurship programs (including Veterans Future Lab) for veterans and military families. Direct peer in mission and structured training approach, with significantly more institutional and funding resources.
• Bunker Labs: National nonprofit that supports veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs through education, community-building, and access to networks and capital. Closest direct peer to Project Opportunity in mission, structure, and target audience, but operates at national scale versus Maryland-only.

Others

• Boots to Business (SBA): SBA entrepreneurship training program for transitioning service members that often serves as a feeder into Project Opportunity's deeper boot camp. Ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor; complementary federal program.

Broad incumbents

• SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives): Largest free small business mentoring and education network in the U.S., funded by the SBA. Overlaps with Project Opportunity's free mentoring and counseling services but serves all entrepreneurs nationally, not specifically veterans.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@projectopportunitysm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Project Opportunity