By Deborah Smarth, Chief Operating Officer/Associate State Director, New Jersey Small Business Development Centers

Small and medium sized businesses might think that sustainability is only achievable by large companies who have the capacity and resources to develop comprehensive plans and hire dedicated sustainability staff.  However, this is a misperception; the most successful sustainability strategies often start with simple, low cost initiatives that even the smallest business can accomplish. There are real opportunities for small businesses to yield significant benefits from the adoption of basic environmental best practices.   
 
For businesses interested in sustainability, but not sure where to start, the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC) offer pro bono sustainability consulting and technical assistance.  Over the past two years small businesses across New Jersey have taken advantage of this no cost service to find ways to integrate environmentally friendly practices into their day to day operations.  NJSDBC’s expert counselors work with business owners to identify ways to increase efficiency through energy conservation, waste reduction, pollution prevention, streamlined procurement and risk management.  Businesses are provided a baseline assessment of their environmental footprint, and a series of recommendations on how to implement sustainable practices.  Small business owners can take advantage of this service, by visiting https://www.njsbdc.com/sustainability-consulting/.
 
In addition to no-cost environmental counseling services, NJSBDC, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, has developed the New Jersey Sustainability Business Registry (NJSBR).  The Registry was created to recognize and promote sustainable businesses across the state.  The NJSBR is open to companies of all types and sizes and there is no cost to join.  Businesses that have implemented five sustainable practices are eligible to create a NJSBR profile and receive membership benefits. 
 
NJSBR membership benefits include free marketing and promotional materials, including the use of the NJSBR logo on your business website, a “Sustainable Business” seal which can be displayed on site, a promotional profile of your company’s environmental efforts on the website, along with recognition and eligibility for the annual NJSBDC Sustainable Business Award.  The NJSBR also offers comprehensive online resources to help organizations set and meet their sustainability goals.  Businesses can apply online at http://registry.njsbdc.com/ to become recognized for their sustainability efforts.   
 
For Stacey Schlosser, owner of Glassworks Studio in Morristown, joining the Registry was a smart business choice:

“I am so proud as a small business owner to have a place to register and be recognized for all of the large and small efforts I am making on behalf of a sustainable future. The process of registering was quite simple and I was able to use the recognition in marketing materials to grow my business by appealing to like-minded individuals. And of course, as a business person every action I registered for actually saved me money with the exception of 100% renewable energy which cost a little bit more. But the overall number is a plus for profitability. Last year Glassworks had its largest profit ever!”

Ultimately, it makes sense, business-wise, to run a sustainable, environmentally responsible business. New Jersey small business owners should explore integrating sustainable business practices for three very simple reasons.
 

• Sustainable business practices often increase profits and reduce waste;
• The practices small businesses need to adopt to increase sustainability are not that hard to implement; and,
• Sustainability increasingly transfers into good PR; especially positive brand association and stronger community engagement.

 
Businesses interested in learning more about how sustainable business practices can positively impact their company should reach out to NJSBDC to schedule a no cost sustainability consultation.  Businesses already committed to and implementing environmentally friendly practices should take advantage of the benefits of the NJSBR by becoming a member today.

Deborah Smarth is the NJSBDC network Chief Operating Officer/Associate State Director.  NJSBDC Headquarters contact information: 973-353-1927, or at sbdcINFO@njsbdc.com  

Pictured from left: Adagio Teas Chief Executive Officer Michael Cramer,  M&T Bank Group Vice President /Metro Market Manager Eleni Monios and EDA President/Chief Operating Officer Tim Lizura

TRENTON (August 19, 2016) – Founded in a New Jersey basement 17 years ago, family-owned and operated Adagio Teas has continued to expand, increasing its footprint into a 40,000-square-foot commercial facility and growing its workforce from a staff of three to 50. When the company wanted to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities and create operational efficiencies, it turned to the Small Business Fund, a program of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) that offers qualified businesses direct loans or participations and guarantees of commercial bank loans.

Elmwood Park-based Adagio Teas, which manufactures and sells gourmet teas and tea-making accessories, began largely as an online tea company in 1999. Today, the company offers a range of products, including the IngenuiTEA, AnTEAdote and realiTEA teabags.

“From my mother’s tiny basement to our state-of-the-art facility in Bergen County, we are proud to be a part of New Jersey’s small business community,” Adagio Teas Chief Executive Officer Michael Cramer said. “With the support of M&T Bank and the EDA, we will be able to continue our growth and focus on providing our customers with the best quality teas and products.”

Through the Small Business Fund, the company received an M&T Bank loan that included a 50 percent EDA participation. The Fund offers creditworthy small, minority-owned or women-owned businesses assistance of up to $500,000 and features an expedited approval process and fixed interest rates. In addition to ramping up its manufacturing abilities, Adagio Teas has increased its workforce by approximately 20 percent since securing the loan in 2014.

To showcase Adagio’s growth and highlight financing opportunities available to small businesses throughout the Garden State, EDA President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Lizura today visited the company at its Elmwood Park facility. M&T Bank Group Vice President /Metro Market Manager Eleni Monios joined Lizura on the visit. 

“Small businesses and manufacturing play a key role in New Jersey’s robust economy,” Lizura said. “With the Small Business Fund assistance, Adagio Teas is able to increase their product output and improve efficiencies, ultimately creating jobs and helping to ensure the company’s continued success in New Jersey.”

Nearly $24 million has been provided to 76 businesses through the EDA’s Small Business Fund since 2010, with an average loan size of more than $300,000. To be eligible, businesses must have been in operation for at least one full year. Not-for-profit corporations that have been operating for at least three full years may also be eligible. 

Today’s visit complements the EDA’s enhanced efforts to facilitate awareness of the programs it offers to support small and mid-sized businesses and not-for-profits, including a print and digital marketing campaign and social media channels. Centered on the theme “EDA Was Here,” the campaign and new social media presence highlight how organizations, like Adagio Teas, have used the EDA’s financing programs to overcome challenges, meet their needs and grow.

To learn about EDA resources for small businesses and not-for-profits, visit
https://www.njeda.gov/small_midsize_business and follow @NJEDAWasHere on Twitter and LinkedIn.
 
The EDA is part of the state’s results-driven Partnership for Action. Created by Governor Christie and led by Lt. Governor Guadagno, the Partnership is the hub for all economic development activity in New Jersey and is comprised of four interconnected and highly focused organizational elements: Choose New Jersey, the Business Action Center, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the EDA. 
 
To learn more about opportunities for business growth throughout New Jersey, visit the state’s business portal at www.NewJerseyBusiness.gov or call the Business Action Center at (866) 534-7789.
 

CCIT Manager Lenzie Harcum

TRENTON (August 18, 2016) – Bolstering the already active ecosystem at the Garden State’s leading life sciences incubator, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) today announced that Lenzie Harcum has joined the EDA as the manager of its Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT).

Strategically located in the heart of New Jersey’s research corridor between Rutgers and Princeton universities, CCIT not only offers the most wet labs of any incubator in New Jersey, but also provides access to a wide array of resource and networking opportunities essential to the startup community. CCIT provides tenant companies with educational programs and a wealth of supporting resources, including helping to identify funding sources and providing access to small business development resources and administrative support. The incubator routinely hosts events such as New Jersey Founders & Funders, which introduces startup companies to angel and venture investors, and Lunch & Learn presentations that bring in industry experts to discuss topics relevant to emerging companies.

Among his many duties as CCIT Manager, Harcum will be responsible for all aspects of developing and administering CCIT programming. Harcum’s activities will support the growth of the life sciences businesses at CCIT, managing tenant relationships while providing guidance to foster successful expansion or graduation of tenant companies. Harcum will also cultivate the EDA’s relationship with graduate companies, supporting their growth through introductions and continued engagement with CCIT programming, member tenants and CCIT’s advisory board, and will help to develop new opportunities for the EDA within the State’s life sciences sector, resulting in increased technology-driven economic development.

Harcum joins the EDA after a decade spent at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where he ultimately served as vice president of the agency’s Life Sciences & Healthcare Team. He also spent several years leading the University of North Carolina’s technology program. Harcum received his MBA from Campbell University in North Carolina and his Bachelor of Science in Business from East Carolina University.

“With nearly two decades of experience in both the life sciences and economic development fields, Lenzie brings a breadth of knowledge to his position at CCIT,” EDA Chief Executive Officer Melissa Orsen said. “Having such a talented individual at the helm of our life sciences incubator has the dual benefit of increasing CCIT’s visibility and providing yet another resource to help emerging companies grow at CCIT and beyond.”

@NJEDATech spoke with Harcum about CCIT and his plans for its future:

What attracted you to the position at CCIT?
New Jersey has significant life sciences assets including a large pharmaceutical community, an impressive life sciences talent pool, local access to significant academic research and development base and affordable and appropriate lab real estate for entrepreneurial startups. The New Jersey life sciences ecosystem has great strengths and I look forward to helping the community grow further.

What do you envision as your goals during your first few months at CCIT?
Having spent the past ten years developing the New York City life sciences community, it is important to begin developing relationships with the life sciences stakeholders in New Jersey. These stakeholders are important resources for the entrepreneurial community. I look forward to building New Jersey’s bio community while creating new programming to benefit the CCIT community. I also look forward to raising the visibility of New Jersey’s life sciences assets.

Given your vast experience with the economic development and biotechnology companies, what’s one piece of advice that you have for emerging biotechnology companies?
Choose wisely when seeking private investment. Securing an investor is more than just gaining access to money. The right investors will leverage their network and strategic contacts to benefit the company.  They will provide management guidance and technical expertise.

  
Coworking spaces like Cowerks enable entrepreneurs from different

TRENTON (August 11, 2016) – Illustrating the important role that coworking spaces play in fostering innovation among entrepreneurs, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) announced it has closed on a loan to Cowerks to help the shared workspace and tech hub expand its footprint in Asbury Park.

Coworking spaces like Cowerks enable entrepreneurs from different companies to work side by side, sharing ideas. They are often located near mass transit routes, reflecting renewed interest in urban living and working arrangements. For entrepreneurs and startup companies with limited access to immediate revenue, coworking spaces do not require members to sign long-term leases and also offer mentoring networks for their members. 

Cowerks currently has approximately 250 members, with a high concentration of software developers. Founded in 2010, Cowerks has outgrown its current office space of 1,600 square feet in Asbury Park and plans to use the loan to occupy and build out another facility in the city, close to its existing location and near the transit center. Cowerks also anticipates expanding its existing location.

“Funding provided through the loan will help us quadruple our available space for startups and entrepreneurs to run their business,” Cowerks Co-Founder Bret Morgan noted. “With the expanded facility will also come opportunities for us to hold even more classes and workshops, enabling us to become the go-to resource for technology and entrepreneurial activities in the area.”

Morgan and fellow Cowerks co-founder Danny Croak are already heavily involved in the Jersey Shore’s technology scene, and Cowerks regularly hosts tech-related events and workshops focused on startups, software development, internet marketing, business development and legal/accounting advice for small businesses. Cowerks is also home to the Jersey Shore Tech Meetup. The group, which currently has more than 1,600 members, is ideal for those looking to network, learn, and grow their businesses.

“Danny and Bret exemplify New Jersey’s entrepreneurial spirit, EDA Chief Executive Officer Melissa Orsen said. “Growing the State’s innovation ecosystem remains a top priority of the EDA, and we are thrilled to support an organization that shares this commitment.”

Cowerks routinely hosts Coffee and Coworking events, which provide an informal setting for entrepreneurs, developers, designers, and investors to network, as well as lunch and learns, during which industry leaders are available to answer entrepreneurs’ questions. Beginning on Monday, August 15, Cowerks will partner with the College of Robotics in Oregon to offer Monmouth County students a five-day robotics curriculum. Students can choose to participate during the week of August 15 or August 22. More information can be found online. 

Cowerks is also a co-producer of this year’s Asbury Agile, the Jersey Shore Tech Meetup's largest gathering of web and mobile professionals, startup entrepreneurs, designers, developers, small business owners, and tech enthusiasts. More information can be found at http://www.asburyagile.com  

Cowerks has also established strategic partnerships with Rutgers University, NJ Makerspace Association, NJ Tech Meetup and WithumSmith+Brown. Specifically, these partnerships expand the scope of industries with which member companies have access to resources and helpful information. For example, tomorrow, August 12, an accountant from WithumSmith+Brown will be on site to answer accounting questions for tenant companies and the technology community at large.

@NJEDATech asked Morgan about Cowerks’ experience in New Jersey and its plans for the future:

Why did you choose to establish Cowerks in New Jersey?
Whether you consider yourself a musician or artist, a mobile app developer, a startup, a maker, or any combination of the aforementioned, Asbury Park is an incredible melting pot for creativity and talent.

We are quickly approaching a positive inflection point for technology and entrepreneurship in both New Jersey and at the Jersey Shore. What we are building is bigger than any one individual or business and that is evident in the community that has grown in and around Cowerks these past six years.

On a personal note, Danny and I are both Asbury Park residents, so it’s only natural to want to work where you live.

What do you consider Cowerks’ biggest success to date?
I’m particularly proud of the grassroots community we’ve built here in Asbury Park. Over the past six years we’ve completely bootstrapped a tech and entrepreneurial community in an area where there was very little culture of entrepreneurship. We were in Asbury Park when it just started to make its comeback and now since that revitalization has arrived, you’re really starting to see this culture start to transcend our space and community – that’s something we’re extremely humbled by and proud of. 

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs starting out in New Jersey?
Don’t wait – start building today! Far too often people come to us with ideas, yet there seems to be a fear of the unknown that holds them back from starting. If you don’t know how to code, hire a developer or, better yet, learn to code – there are plenty of affordable online tools or classes to get started. If you don’t have money, start with something small, try and build a customer base, and take it from there; even the tallest skyscrapers are started by digging a hole. I feel that tech and entrepreneurship have gone from the fringe to the forefront – it’s hip and prestigious to run a startup. Just make sure that you’re an entrepreneur and not a “wantrepreneur” and remember that the first step to making the leap is to just build something and ship it.
 

Crystal Pharmatech Vice President of Business Development Robert Wenslow points

TRENTON (August 4, 2016) – In addition to the dozens of New Jersey entrepreneurs who have used the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (EDA) Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT) over the last decade and a half as a springboard to grow their companies, several international companies have found the life sciences incubator an ideal location to establish their United States presence.

Of the nearly two-dozen current CCIT tenants, four, including China-based Crystal Pharmatech, are US entities of larger international companies. The additional international companies include FLUIDDA from Belgium, Shionogi from Japan, and Aucta Pharmaceuticals from China.

“The types of resources that make New Jersey and CCIT perfect for the State’s emerging biotechnology companies are the same assets that attract international companies to the Garden State and our life sciences incubator,” EDA Chief Executive Officer Melissa Orsen said.

CCIT offers tenant companies affordable lab and office space, assistance with identifying funding sources, including state incentives, help making matches to private sector support, and access to small business development resources and administrative support. CCIT entrepreneurs also have access to educational and support programs such as a Lunch and Learn series, during which local entrepreneurs speak about best practices in their areas of expertise.

Crystal Pharmatech, a contract research organization (CRO) that aims to help clients reduce research and development costs and deliver medicine to treat unmet needs, opened its doors at CCIT in March 2014. Crystal Pharmatech is one of four current CCIT tenants that are US entities of larger international companies. The CRO, which currently has seven employees at CCIT, has benefited immensely from establishing itself in New Jersey, and specifically at CCIT.

“Over the last two and a half years, we have grown tremendously thanks, in large part, to the resources provided by CCIT,” Crystal Pharmatech Vice President of Business Development Robert Wenslow said. “From the walk-in ready lab space to the excellent and accessible staff, CCIT has met all of our needs as we’ve grown.”

Wenslow also noted that the state’s proximity to pharmaceutical giants played a factor in the company’s decision to locate in New Jersey. Fourteen of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies have locations in the Garden State. 

During its time at CCIT, Crystal Pharmatech has grown its client base to include more than 150 global pharmaceutical companies. The company partners with these clients to ensure comprehensive solutions for their needs in solid-state research, crystallization process development and pre-formulation studies. It also guides them through the optimal solid phase for drug development, using all aspects of pre-formulation studies, including regulatory support and intellectual property protection.

Wenslow is familiar with New Jersey’s biopharmaceutical community, having worked at Merck in Rahway prior to joining Crystal Pharmatech. Several other individuals on the CRO’s executive team have strong ties to New Jersey and its pharmaceutical ecosystem; its co-founders CEO Alex Chen and Chief Scientific Officer Yanfeng Zhang received their education at Rutgers and Princeton Universities respectively and worked at Merck in Rahway prior to starting Crystal Pharmatech. Ann Newman, the company’s vice president of scientific development, worked for Bristol-Myers Squibb in Princeton before arriving at Crystal Pharmatech.

@NJEDATech spoke with Wenslow about Crystal Pharmatech’s experience at CCIT and its plans for the future:

Why did you choose to grow your company in New Jersey?
We found New Jersey to be a central hub for both our clients and New Jersey’s talented employee-pool. Locating in an area so densely populated with pharmaceutical companies has been beneficial to our company.

What do you consider Crystal Pharmatech’s biggest success to date?
We would consider our New Jersey expansion efforts our biggest success to date!  We started out being a “China lab” company.  We had doubts that our competitive advantage would lead to a successful lab in the US.  But in our business, it’s all about the science. Hire good people, perform good science, and the business will come!

What’s on the horizon for Crystal Pharmatech?
We are looking to expand lab space and capabilities. We are realizing that focused early formulation development research is lacking in the CRO world. We’re going to try and fill that gap.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs just starting out?
Know your client base well and your competition better. Find your competitive advantage and focus like a laser beam.
 

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority's next public Board Meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 10 a.m. at the EDA offices at 36 West State Street, Trenton. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found prior to the meeting at www.njeda.gov/Board. Following the Board Meeting, minutes and the full agenda will also be available at www.njeda.gov/Board.