A New Jersey has a half million dollars it plans on dividing up among start-up companies looking to move into one of the state's nine collaborative workspaces.

NJ Ignite, a two-year pilot program, will pay up to six months of a company's rent in these spaces, which are known as incubators.

Tim Sullivan, the chief executive officer of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which administers the grant, said incubators "double the rate of success of companies that are not in these kinds of collaborative work spaces.”

“One of the areas New Jersey has been outpaced for a decade or more is in the creation of new companies that are growing and turning into large companies, so we want to help more young companies get into incubator collaborative workspaces so they can thrive, succeed and grow,” he said.

“This will allow entrepreneurs and innovators to be able to put more of their precious start-up capital towards research and development and hiring people rather than just rent.”

Sullivan said that even if just a few of these companies prove successful, that could mean hundreds or thousands of new jobs in the future.

The program is funded through the New Jersey EDA as well as collaborative workspaces.

In exchange, the startup must commit to paying rent for a term equal to the support they receive and develop networking events.

According to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the following collaborative workspaces have been approved to participate in NJ Ignite:

1776 is the nation’s largest network of entrepreneurial incubators with nine campuses across five states. Its newest campus, opening in January at the Cherry Hill Mall, will be a retail incubator with flexible workspace and a pop-up shop featuring local makers.

Building 78 at Kearny Point offers creative office and co-working options for a diverse community of pioneering businesses. Located immediately adjacent to Jersey City and Newark, Kearny Point is a two-million-square-foot flexible office and light industrial business hub on 130 acres undergoing redevelopment.

Startups wanting to be a part of the technology community emerging at Bell Works in Holmdel can join the nearly five-dozen companies already established at CoLabs.

Cowerks provides its entrepreneurs, freelancers and other professionals with co-working space networking opportunities and educational programs from its two locations in Asbury Park.

The Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT) offers the most wet labs of any incubator in New Jersey and is strategically located in North Brunswick, between Princeton and Rutgers universities. CCIT provides its 21 tenant companies with educational programs, access to small business development resources, networking opportunities, and administrative support.

The Enterprise Development Center (EDC) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is New Jersey’s largest technology and life science business incubator. The 108,000-square-foot center currently hosts more than 60 member companies, including NJIT students and alumni.

The Rutgers EcoComplex is a clean energy innovation center and business incubator in Bordentown designed to serve as a hub of education and outreach for the clean/alternative energy and environmental communities.

Food-related startups looking to take their businesses from concept to commercialization can participate in the Rutgers Food Innovation Center’s (FIC’s) business incubator and economic development accelerator. Two of Rutgers FIC’s locations, Bridgeton and Piscataway, were approved to participate in NJ Ignite.

The incubator at the South Jersey Technology Park in Mullica Hill offers collaborative workspace and resources ideal for bringing innovative technologies to market. Tenants at the South Jersey Technology Park have access to Rowan University’s engineering, science, and business faculty and students, as well as their research, development, and commercialization expertise.

 

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