Eric Frazier served 19 years in the Army, enlisting after high school in 2003. He served two tours in Iraq and two more in Afghanistan. He retired in 2023 and decided to pursue a longtime dream — to build and operate a skating rink in central New Jersey.
Matt Miller served 20 years in the Army, stationed in a variety of places, including three overseas deployments. He accepted a medical retirement in 2023. Returning to civilian life, he, too, had a dream — to leverage his love of watches into a full-time business. To that end, he launched OTM (On the Move) Watches, a New Jersey-based disabled veteran-owned and -operated small business.
The business dreams of Frazier and Miller recently converged at Rider University, more specifically at its Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.
This center was founded by Ronald Cook, today its executive director. Cook has been a fixture at Rider since 1993.
“I have been here so long,” Cook said, “I tell today’s students that I taught some of their parents.”
Cook created the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in 2006. In 2014, he created the Veterans Entrepreneurship Training program, a separate initiative targeted specifically for military veterans, their spouses and dependents. He secured the funding he needed from the New Jersey Bankers Association Charitable Foundation.
“We started with the New Jersey Bankers Association in 2015, and they have been very supportive of this mission,” Cook said, also acknowledging Rider University’s contributions. “Rider generously donates the classroom and the other resources we need, including the university’s data base.”
Cook crafted the VET program into a six-week course, which is offered each summer to military veterans free of charge. The class size for the program is limited to 20 participants.
Cook says participants enter the program at different phases of their entrepreneurship.
“They all have a business concept and are interested in investigating its potential,” he said. “Our purpose is to help the veterans evaluate the feasibility of their concept. I get to know their business ideas and provide them with individual attention and feedback.
“I am less concerned with their business idea having a reasonable shot. I try to show them a process that helps you make good decisions.”
Frazier participated in the VET program in 2024 and Miller in 2023. Both agreed to talk about their experiences in the program.
On their transition to civilian life
Eric Frazier: When I left the Army, I started working at Princeton University, and I found my rhythm working for its ROTC program. With the coming of the COVID pandemic, I had to leave that job. Then, I worked at a logistics company, but I wanted to go into business for myself because that would give me a sense of something that is mine. When I saw there was an opening at the VET program, I applied. When I was accepted, I remember thinking, ‘This could be everything for me!’
Matt Miller: I accepted a medical retirement in 2023 after 20 years. I started OTM Watches and I attended the VET program to get some insights on starting and running a successful business. I wanted to leverage the skills and discipline I learned in the military and acquire the knowledge needed to navigate the business world.
On their dreams
EF: I remember how much fun we had as kids at our skating rink. Today, there is no skating rink in central New Jersey. This is the business I want to open, and, in my heart of hearts, I know this will make me feel good. I have so many good memories and I want to create the same memories for others. I want to give them the same joy.
MM: I want to own my own business. I have always been into watches, and I felt the watches I could produce would add a lot of value to the marketplace.
On their experience at the VET program
EF: The class was small. I soaked up everything possible. I learned a lot from Dr. Cook, and I came away from the class with an entrepreneurial spirit. The program gave me much information, from the building blocks of what I need to begin, to the market research, to the factors I need to maintain the success of the business.
MM: When I presented the idea of my watch business, the feedback was pretty positive. Some thought it would be difficult because there are so many watches on the market. I knew it was going to be tough. Things are moving in the right direction, but it is a business, and I understand that. One thing the military taught me is, adapt to the situation.
On the difference between the military and the civilian worlds
EF: Military training makes you monolithic, and you have to be accurate at your work. The military has a chain of command and a process. In the civilian world, relationships are more important. In the civilian world, nothing is usually about life or death. That makes it especially difficult to transition to civilian life. It is not easy to be a version of normal in civilian life.
MM: In the military, you put in the time, and you do what you have to do to get the job done. The military is very structured and has rules. Business is not so black-and-white. I think you have a lot of vets that have a hard time without the structure. You have to find a new rhythm of life.
Their advice to veterans starting a business
EF: Sit back and listen. Be quiet and be humble. You can learn from everyone if you listen. No matter how rough it seems, and, in my case, it has sometimes looked bleak, you have got to hang in there. I believe there is a place for what I want to do. There is a special way that this program makes you believe you can do it if you imagine it.
MM: I would take this class again if I were transitioning now. I would like to see Rider offer a second class — more intensive on building the business. That would be a great one for me.
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Currently, Frazier is crafting the business proposal he will submit for funding with the hope of breaking ground on his skating rink within a year.
Miller introduced his first OTM watch in 2023. He describes it as an “everyday watch with unique angular design and hands.” His business is currently online. Miller said OTM Watches will soon add a women’s watch and a unisex watch to its product line.
“Military people are used to hard work and completing tasks,” Cook said. “The challenge for them now is they have to operate outside the very disciplined military structure they are used to. They have to decide what to do on their own. I tell them that the business landscape is messy and complex, and your information will never be perfect, so don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
