It has never been easier to start a business. Co-working spaces like Jersey City-based Indiegrove enable entrepreneurs from different companies to work side-by-side, sharing ideas, while lowering operating costs. But that doesn’t mean entrepreneurship is risk-free.
To help mitigate these risks, New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority offers budding entrepreneurs a variety of support and assistance. Last week, EDA Chief Executive Officer Melissa Orsen and Kathleen Coviello, EDA’s Director of Technology and Life Sciences, visited Indiegrove as part of EDA’s ongoing efforts to facilitate awareness of the programs. During the visit, Orsen and Coviello met with representatives from several Indiegrove members, including web design and development business Blue Bear, EventCombo, which develops and maintains an event tickets and planning platform, and Auction.com, a Ten-X company that runs an online real estate marketplace.
“Indiegrove exemplifies the collaborative nature of New Jersey’s technology ecosystem,” Orsen said. “Not only does it offer low-cost office space and amenities, but it also enables entrepreneurs to interact with each other, encouraging an exchange of new and innovative ideas.”
Indiegrove itself is one of EDA’s success stories. In 2015, the company had outgrown its original space and utilized a $175,000 loan from the EDA to help support the expansion of its facility. Indiegrove Founder Zahra Amanpour used the funding to nearly double Indiegrove’s space, from 6,000 square feet to 10,268 square feet.
“Indiegrove continues to reap the benefits of EDA support,” Amanpour said. “With increased space, we are able to accommodate more members and host events and seminars to further support entrepreneurs.”
In addition to direct loans, the EDA offers a continuum of assistance to help companies in the technology and life sciences industries grow. Programs include:
- New Jersey’s Angel Investor Tax Credit Program, which offers a 10 percent refundable tax credit against New Jersey corporation business or gross income tax for qualified investments in an eligible emerging technology business;
- The State’s Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program, which allows eligible technology and biotechnology companies to sell unused New Jersey net operating losses and research and development (R&D) tax credits to unrelated profitable corporations;
- The Edison Innovation Fund, through which loans, are structured as subordinated convertible debt provides growth capital to early-stage companies to directly fund uses such as hiring key staff, product marketing, and sales.
- As New Jersey’s leading life sciences incubator, the EDA’s Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT) offers 27 wet labs, the most of any incubator in the Garden State. Currently home to nearly two-dozen businesses, the 46,000-square-foot incubator provides tenant companies with educational programs and a host of supporting resources, including help to identify funding sources and access to small business development resources, networking opportunities and administrative support.
- New Jersey Founders & Funders events, hosted by the EDA at CCIT, introduce emerging technology and life sciences companies to angel and venture capital investors via one-on-one meetings.
Programs administered by the EDA have contributed significantly to the economic momentum in Jersey City since the establishment of the Business Employment Inventive Program nearly two decades ago. More recently, the Economic Redevelopment and Growth and Grow New Jersey Programs, created under the Economic Opportunity Act, have continued to drive investment and job creation in Jersey City, including helping to attract such high-profile companies as JP Morgan Chase, Forbes Media, New York Life Insurance, and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
To learn about these and additional programs available to emerging technology companies in New Jersey, visit http://www.njeda.com/tls
For entrepreneurs looking to join Indiegrove’s community, the company offers a range of membership packages from a build-as-you-go option, which offers 10 days of shared workspace, to private offices for up to six people in a company. You can also try out co-working with its Free Co-Working Friday.
