BagUps: Creating Employment Opportunity for Disabled Vets

In 1990, Jack Licata’s fiancee was in a car accident that left her with a head injury and disabled.

In the 10 years during her rehabilitation, he spent thousands of hours at her side in hospitals assisting her with cognitive and physical therapy. He also got to know many of the other patients. “These were people just like you and me who, through no fault of their own, were disabled,” said Licata. (more...)

Growing Jobs: Assisting Entrepreneurs Leads to Solid Job Growth


There is ample evidence that the formation and growth of new businesses in the United States have a substantial impact on the job creation. Since researchers began reporting on this in the late 1970s, the findings have been refined, showing that new firms – not necessarily small firms – are the dominant source of net job growth. (more...)

Incubator Spotlights

Rutgers Camden Incubator

200 Federal Street, Suite 200
Camden, NJ 08103
(856) 479-9044
www.rutgersbiz.com/

Incubator Contact: Suzanne Zammit

Focus: Economic development and high-tech job creation in the City of Camden. 

Impact on jobs creation: The incubator is currently nurturing 27 companies that employ approximately 210 people.(more...)

NJBIN Events Calendar

Policy Confusion Hinders Manufacturing Sector, New Report

Policymakers in the U.S. seem confused as to the health and direction of the manufacturing sector, according to a report from the Council on Competitiveness, a nonpartisan, nongovernment organization focused on public policy solutions.

In Make: An American Manufacturing Movement, the organization says government agency officials and lawmakers are receiving conflicting information on the status of manufacturing and what can be done to reinvigorate it. (more...)

Have an Opinion or Idea on EDA Regulations? Speak Up Now

The U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration is soliciting your ideas and comments on its regulations through a new Web site.

From now until Feb. 6, interested parties may go to the site and submit ideas to improve or streamline EDA activities. What’s more, the site allows discussion of other submitted ideas – so if others have proposed changes with which you strongly agree (or disagree), you have the opportunity to explain your point of view. (more...)

 

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Fall 2011/Winter 2012


Letter From the President

Welcome to the fall/winter issue of our newsletter!

As this newsletter went to print, the war in Iraq officially ended. Soon, one million veterans will be rejoining the workforce. I was saddened by the dire predictions of the difficulties veterans will face as they settle back into civilian life, but I was heartened by the stories in this issue about two NJBIN companies that are poised to grow and make a positive impact on the veteran community.

Each of our 12 incubators has its own mission and focuses on different types of communities. Some focus on the life sciences community; others nurture the alternative energy community or the specialty food production community. Some incubators focus on economic development in communities that are defined by geographic boundaries, such as Camden Community. Although each focus is slightly different, we all share the same fundamental mission to create high-quality jobs and economic development in New Jersey.

I hope that you will enjoy our stories and share our appreciation of the different types of communities that we serve.

Most Sincerely,

Suzanne Zammit
President, NJBIN

NJBIN Incubator News

NJMC Business Accelerator

SpeechTrans Inc. claimed the top prize at the Venture Association New Jersey Fall Entrepreneurs Expo & Elevator Pitch Olympics in Whippany. The early-stage company, whose advanced translator applications allow people to carry out real-time conversations in more than 20 languages using their smart phones and iPads, earned a perfect score from a panel of investors and finished first out of 28 participants. (more...)

What Are Angel Investors Investing In?

About 50 entrepreneurs in the Camden/Philadelphia region attended a recent event that featured angel investors who answered the question that is on so many minds: what are angel investors investing in? The event was co-hosted by the Angel Venture Fair and the New Jersey Business Incubation Network and was held at the Rutgers Business Incubator in Camden. (more...)

 

 

EDA Study Confirms Value of Best Practices

A new study by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration confirms that business incubation contributes to entrepreneurial success, demonstrates that the most successful incubators employ best practices and shows that incubator programming and management have the greatest impact on client success. (more...)

A Year of Challenges and Triumphs

By David Monkman

As with Forrest Gump’s mama’s box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get with a new year. As I look back to the beginning of 2011, I remember thinking that for every cause of concern, there was a reason for hope, too.

Surveying the past year, hopeful events outweighed concerns, at least in the world of business incubation. We hear more and more of programs expanding, moving into additional space or larger facilities. Every day, it seems, there was new evidence in support of what we already know: Business incubation works.
(more...)

U.S. Congress Approves Six-Year Extension, Funding Overhaul of SBIR/STTR

After five years of failed attempts, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have agreed to a six-year reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. The programs have limped along on short-term reauthorizations – 14 of them since full authorization expired in 2008. The current authorization had been scheduled to expire Dec. 15, but a House-Senate conference committee approved the new measure Dec. 12 as part of the government’s main defense appropriations bill. (more...)

Entrepreneurs Are Key Drivers of U.S. Economic Prosperity

By Erik Pages

It has taken some time, but it now appears that many in Congress are recognizing something that NBIA members have long known: Entrepreneurs are key drivers of U.S. economic prosperity. In the past year, several pieces of interesting entrepreneur-friendly legislation have been introduced. These bills have uncertain prospects for passage, but they seem to be a sign that at least some in Congress finally "get it." (more...)

Business Incubation in the News

Local and national media outlets regularly publish stories highlighting the benefits of business incubation. In just the past few months, NBIA has identified numerous articles featuring members, including the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s Business Accelerator in Lyndhurst, N.J. To check out more business incubation news, visit NBIA's Industry News page.

 

New Jersey: The Right State for Entrepreneurs and Business Venture Development

Are you a visionary entrepreneur with an awe-inspiring business plan? Do you have the technical know-how to be competitive? If yes, an incubator in our network could be the next home for your business. To find out more, send an email inquiry through the “contact us” form on our website (www.njbin.org/). We will be in touch about potential opportunities for your company within our statewide network of 12 incubators.

 

Burlington County College High Technology and Life Science Incubators encourage and assist entrepreneurs with innovative, commercially attractive technology and science ideas to start and grow their companies, in a supportive environment.

The Business Development Incubator at New Jersey City University is an integral part of the Smart Growth Redevelopment Plan for Jersey City-Westside.

The Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies’ core mission is to assist start-ups to become successful companies that will leave the center financially viable, strengthening the economy by commercializing critical technologies and creating jobs.

The Enterprise Development Center at the New Jersey Institute of Technology is New Jersey’s oldest and largest incubator for technology and life-science companies, having graduated over 79 successful businesses since its start-up in 1988.

The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Business Accelerator provides a unique opportunity for entrepreneurial companies focused on alternative energy and green technologies and services.

The Incubator Inc./The BOSS (Business One Stop Service) offers centralized business resources including access to various private /public business development organizations to enable businesses to develop and grow.

The Picatinny Innovation Center works with the US ARMY development organizations to bring new products to market based on Department of Defense technologies, while making new "high tech" products available to the ARMY.

Rowan University’s Rohrer College of Business Incubator is supported by the College of Business and managed by the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

The Rutgers-Camden Business Incubator encourages entrepreneurs to locate their businesses in Camden and assists them with low-cost office and conference space, technical support services and mentoring for successful startup.

With the support of the State of New Jersey, the Burlington Board of Chosen Freeholders, Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the New Jersey Agricultural Experimentation Station, the Rutgers EcoComplex delivers on its four mission areas of solid waste management, renewable energy, water resources, and controlled environment agriculture.

The Rutgers Food Innovation Center is a unique business incubation and economic development accelerator program, which provides business and technology expertise to small and mid-sized food and agribusinesses in New Jersey and utilizes its outreach capacity to reach the food industry throughout the nation.

The Sustainable Business Accelerator is an independent nonprofit incubator that focuses on developing, launching, and growing sustainable technology businesses in central New Jersey.

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) is the world’s leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. Each year, it provides thousands of professionals with information, education, advocacy and networking resources to bring excellence to the process of assisting early-stage companies. An elected, voting board of directors representing the world's leading incubators governs the association.

The New Jersey Business Incubation Network (NJBIN) is a collaborative statewide community of business experts, resources and facilities dedicated to enhancing the commercial success of early-stage entrepreneurial companies, growing higher paying jobs in New Jersey and supporting the Economic Growth Strategy for the State.

Copyright © 2012 NBIA