New Jersey’s Largest High-Technology Business Incubator

The right location for success:
Increase your speed to market.
Reduce the cost of commercialization.
 

M2M IMAGING formerly known as Supertron Technologies Inc, a developer of next-generation solutions for high-performance preclinical and clinical MRI coils won successful Series C financing of $3.5 million. more...
 

Noble Device Technologies announced that the company would receive $8 million in equity financing that would get its infrared imaging technology to the product stage. more...
 

Sandi Webster, Principal of Consultants 2 Go, was one of twenty winners of the 2006 Make Mine a $Million Business program in New York City. more...

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

If you wish to have your company considered for Enterprise Development Center residency, you will need to meet certain requirements. Prospective tenants must:
  1. have been operating less than 4 years
  2. develop or advance proprietary technology which contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenues
  3. be a "for-profit" enterprise
  4. be a New Jersey based company
  5. have a business plan either in "final form" or sufficiently complete to answer the following questions:
    • Market(s) - sizes, trends, customer needs, competition
    • Product(s) - describe and explain how your product will address customer needs
    • Intellectual content of business - does the business contain proprietary intellectual property; if yes, how is it protected?
    • Strategic Competitive Advantage - what will you do better than anyone?  Why will customers buy your product?
    • Market Entry Plan - what are your business's specific plans for entering the market?
    • Management Team - background and relevant experience of business's principal management personnel; what evidence do you have that your team can get the job done?
    • What are your company's financial projections?
  6. demonstrate the potential to gain and/or provide a benefit from the relationship with EDC, its tenants or New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Other Entry Guidelines

Businesses currently located in other facilities in New Jersey who propose only to continue their existing business "as is" will not be accepted.

High-tech manufacturing candidates are screened to assure the EDC facilities can accommodate the manufacturing process and by-products

There may be special considerations that would make it advantageous to the EDC to consider waiving one or more of these guidelines. Should this occur, the EDC advisory board and/or management will review any special considerations thoroughly.

Please note that acceptance of an applicant into the incubator does not imply or express a guarantee of business success for the applicant company. By the same token, rejection of an application does not imply or express a prospect of an unsuccessful business model.

Continuing as an EDC Tenant

EDC tenants are initially offered a maximum of thirty-six (36) months occupancy. This occupancy is provided through mutual-ly renewable one-year lease terms. The EDC looks at certain factors when renewing a lease.

A tenant company must

  1. Meet the minimum objectives of its business plans.
  2. Update its business plan as experience and opportunity dictate, but not less than annually.
  3. Be in compliance with all Service Agreement requirements.
  4. Be in compliance with all Lease Agreement requirements.
  5. Foster and maintain relationships with other EDC tenants.

In certain cases, EDC management may agree to extend a tenant company's lease in six-month increments, not to exceed an additional 18 months. Check the EDC web site, www.njit-edc.org, for an explanation of these criteria.
 
 Graduation Guidelines

The EDC periodically reviews each company to evaluate it for graduation. Reviews take into account these factors:

1. Adequacy of space to meet the company's changing needs.
2. Employment goals and opportunities being generated.
3. The company's need for and use of incubator services.
4. The company's development strategy as evidenced by the preparation of business and marketing plans and cash flow projections.
5. The company's relationship to other businesses located at the incubator.

In all instances, a company will be graduated if:
1. Business has completed three (3) years in the incubator.
2. The company's space requirements exceed incubator capacity.

 
 
 WOW- Incubation Without Walls

The EDC has created a new program tailored to the needs of high potential entrepreneurs who value the networking, mentoring and access EDC can provide but choose to participate as virtual rather than residential incubator clients.

  • Initial assessment and review of your technology-based business and the continuing support of the EDC Leadership Team
  • Training in state, federal, commercial and private funding sources, including a two-hour session with a grant expert who will search for grants specific to your technology business and provide assistance in grant development
  • Referral to NJIT university resources including academic experts, technology and manufacturing Centers of Excellence, MBA and technical students teams and interns to assist with product and strategy development
  • Access to library data bases, including scientific and market-research reports
  • Introduction to firms providing legal, strategic, accounting and other related services for EDC companies
  • Invitations to EDC Angel and VC events, to monthly entrepreneurial networking forums, to workshops on business acceleration, and to external speakers sessions
  • Use of EDC conference rooms for your meetings and the EDC mailing address for your business correspondence, shared space for logging into email as well as on-site parking

In your second year as a virtual client, you will have access to the EDC Incubator Seed Fund to subsidize grant writers, business plan optimization, marketing tools, organizational design and other related services
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