Business Incubator Series: Jerry Creighton, Enterprise Development Center, New Jersey Institute of Technology – Newark (Part 6)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Jerry: What our success is in, it’s the tech development side; it’s helping the economy grow; it’s creating jobs; it’s attracting businesses and investors to New Jersey, and building a high-tech, world-class workforce of people who want to stay in the state. Those are my mission objectives that are consistent with the university.

I look at that in a couple of different ways. For example, the 90-some companies that I have in here, their combined revenue is $82 million, which is a real good contribution, because of the tax base and everything that goes with that.

I have 799 people employed. On top of that, I have 335 students, as I mentioned. These companies, while they’ve been resident in my center, have attracted $67 million in third-party investment. Those are my 2010 stats.

Irina: How is the incubator funded?

Jerry: We charge clients a fee. We go out for grants when we can. We’re using the facilities on the campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Irina: Can you talk about the fees that you charge the entrepreneurs?

Jerry: If you get a cubicle, it’s a 91 square foot cubicle, the first year rate – we start low, below market to give people a break – would be $350 a month. It goes up $50 a year for the next couple years.

If you have an office, the rate is $21 to $23 a square foot per year. That fee would be a function of the size of the office. The laboratories run $12,200 a year. That’s the first-year rate. They also have an escalation factor.

Services are included up to a point. I will allow a certain amount of hours for somebody to do business plan critiquing or whatever or SBIR research. It’s not an unlimited time frame.  If they need more than the services that I include, they can contract directly with the contractors.

Irina: Do you have any special initiatives?

Jerry: I always have something new coming along. The P2B program (People to Businesses), I talked about, I’m putting that online, building a database that’s going to be online.

I’ve done a collaborative partnership that I’m working on with an organization called Bio New Jersey. They deal with biotech companies.

Some of the companies in the state are downsizing, primarily the farmers. I’m inviting them to join us. We’re doing those kinds of things to come and build in resources.

I’m working to expand the programs with the university, building some more student programs. The center right here on the campus is a great learning lab. So, I’m working with the School of Management, and some of the others, to develop some curricula where it would be combined.

I’m also putting together an angel network. I’m doing my own angel network, which hopefully will produce even more interest in investing in early stage companies.

I run an Angel Forum once a year, in the fall. Usually, it’s in October. I run the companies through my Get Ready for Funding program. I use my entrepreneurs-in-residence to advise as to whether companies are ready.

Then, I invite the angels in. I had more than 100 angels at my last forum, angels, early-stage VCs and some company representatives. I have an ongoing program. If somebody is ready, I give warm introductions. I work very closely with the angel networks that are in the state.

Irina: What are your bottlenecks?

Jerry: The biggest frustration that I, personally, have is the lack of interest by a lot of our politicians, especially in helping early-stage ventures.

There seems to be a lot of emphasis being placed on helping in a lot of areas that don’t relate to us. I would like to see more funding available on the grant side, not just the loan side.

Programs like SBA programs, SBDC programs are designed for what I call lifestyle companies. These are companies like the flower shop or bakery or something like that.

Quick turnaround, quick mentoring, and you’re on the street in a month. Those programs are not helpful to technology-based companies. SBA programs – there are a lot of politicians who talk about how great those are.

The problem with SBA programs is those programs require a lot of collateral. They work for companies that have brick-and-mortar or manufacturing facilities. That’s not what we’re into.

This segment is part 6 in the series : Business Incubator Series: Jerry Creighton, Enterprise Development Center, New Jersey Institute of Technology – Newark
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