Meet Jerome Taylor – EBV Accelerate Participant and Vet100 Honoree

As the founder of Digital Forensic Services, a Maryland-based consulting firm specializing in information technology, Jerome “JT” Taylor has established a reputation in his field as an innovator. His business specializes in helping organizations devise IT strategies that can help drive critical business decisions to meet organizational goals and objectives.

Taylor believes many of his organization’s accomplishments can be attributed to his participation in the Jim Moran Institute’s 2018 inaugural Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) Accelerate program.

“I credit most of my company’s success to these extraordinary programs. Words cannot express the feeling I have for the EBV and the EBV Accelerate programs and the help they provide in assisting vets that have served our country,” Taylor said. “Their support has been instrumental to my success and I will continue to promote these wonderful programs.”

Taylor and Digital Forensic Services have been named to the annual Vet100 list, a compilation of the nation’s fastest growing veteran-owned businesses. The ranking, created in partnership with Inc. magazine and Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), was born out of the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies based in the U.S. Both distinctions are considered hallmarks of entrepreneurial success. The company ranked #84 on the Vet100 list and in the top 2000 on the Inc. 5000 list.

Digital Forensic Services, known for its strong customer service and employee management, is qualified in Small Business Administration (SBA), 8(a) and HUBZone program, and is a certified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). The firm specializes in cyber security, information technology, all source analysis and training.

Developed in partnership between IVMF and the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, part of Florida State University’s College of Business, the EBV Accelerate program provides veterans with the tools and coaching to propel their business to the next phase: sustainable growth. Topics include acquiring growth funding, rebranding for expansion, determining a sustainable growth rate, establishing partnerships, managing cash flow and action planning.

To qualify for the EBV Accelerate program, small businesses must have 50 percent or more ownership maintained by a military veteran, and that veteran must have served active duty with honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions. The company must also have been in business for three plus years and have five or more employees. Offered at no cost to its participants, graduates of other IVMF programs are also eligible.

“We are thrilled to see participants of our EBV Accelerate program accomplishing such amazing things in their communities and in their industries,” said Melissa Roberts, managing director for the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship. “Our team is honored to play a part in educating these inspiring entrepreneurs to grow and scale their businesses. We are so proud of this program and its ability to provide a path forward for military veterans and their families.”

For more information about the EBV Accelerate program contact Lindsey Boomer at lboomer@jimmoraninstitute.fsu.edu.

About the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship
The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship cultivates, trains and inspires entrepreneurial leaders through world-class executive education, applied training, public recognition and leading-edge research. Jim Moran was an automotive pioneer and an entrepreneur at heart, who at the age of 7, sold soda pop at sandlot baseball games in Chicago. With a career that spanned more than six decades, he built an amazing chronicle of achievements in the automobile industry. His vision for the Jim Moran Institute was to provide opportunities that would help others become more successful business owners. A 1995 contribution from Jim and Jan Moran and JM Family Enterprises established the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at the Florida State University College of Business. Since 2011, further enhancements to the Jim Moran Institute and its outreach have been made possible by Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation.

About the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans Accelerate (EBV Accelerate)
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans Accelerate is a first-of-its-kind initiative that equips veteran business owners with the tools and coaching needed to sustain growth. Delivered by Florida State University and Louisiana State University, in partnership with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University, EBV Accelerate is among IVMF's Arsenal of programs designed to meet veterans wherever they are on their entrepreneurial journey. The program leverages the skills, resources and infrastructure of higher education to offer cutting-edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans and transitioning service members. Assistance from the US..S Small Business Administration (SBA), corporate partners and donors allows participants to attend the program at no cost. For more information, visit ebv.vets.syr.edu.