REPLETE WITH QUALITY HIGHER EDUCATION institutions, lower labor costs, a lower overall cost of living and many untapped business opportunities, South Jersey is fertile ground for entrepreneurs focused on agriculture, tourism, healthcare and manufacturing, as well as those dedicated to microbusinesses or interested in an up-and-coming life sciences scene.

Technology is also key. “Robotics, automation, and doing things more efficiently for less money go hand-in-hand with manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare,” explains Christina M. Renna, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey. “That’s where you’re going to see entrepreneurship thrive.” 

She adds, “Of course, on a smaller scale, when you look at our boardwalks, beaches and the hospitality industry, they are obviously a critical component of our [entrepreneurial] environment as well. Someone who is idealistic and wants to open their own small business has ample opportunities to do so [ranging], from the Jersey Shore to the City of Camden, to a boardwalk, or a Main Street.” 

The NJ Biomedical Strategic Innovation Center Entrepreneurialism can also focus on the life sciences. Startups interested in pharmaceutical drug development, oncology, cell therapies and treatments for rare diseases in the coming years will find a home at the planned NJ Biomedical Strategic Innovation Center, in Camden, a collaboration between the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and the Coriell Institute for Medical Research. It is one of 12 designated Strategic Innovation Centers (SICs) in the state. 

With a scheduled October groundbreaking, the 45,000-square-foot SIC at the Lewis M. Coriell Medical Research Center will aim to draw companies from Philadelphia’s burgeoning biotechnology sphere, according to Jean-Pierre Issa, M.D., professor, president and CEO of the Coriell Institute for Medical Research. 

“The [life sciences] growth in Philadelphia over the past 10 years, driven in part by innovations at [The University of Pennsylvania] and other universities is [so great] that there's not enough space in Philadelphia to meet the demand of companies that are being formed,” he explains. “We are hoping that some of these companies being formed around Philadelphia or coming into the region will look at New Jersey as a very business friendly environment with potentially some advantages in terms of the cost of doing business, the cost of living, transportation, and so on.” 

Issa additionally notes how the NJEDA can promote New Jersey’s business infrastructure and lure companies to New Jersey via financial incentives. He adds that some Pennsylvania-based life sciences companies are already considering incubator space in the Trenton area, but they have reportedly expressed a desire to have even greater proximity to Philadelphia; Camden is approximately five miles from Philadelphia. 

Issa adds, “There’s also the large pharma industry in New Jersey that occasionally contributes to the formation of new, smaller companies, or encourages or invests in them. So, there is an intrinsic source of entrepreneurs to start companies and locate them in South Jersey.

Medtech Strategic Innovation Center (SIC) An additional SIC is on the horizon. The NJEDA recently announced it will partner with Rowan University to create a new multi-location SIC in Camden and at Rowan University’s West Campus in Mullica Hill. Operated by venture capital firm Plug and Play, the SIC “will support the research, development, and commercialization of novel medical technologies and devices, serving as an accelerator for South Jersey’s burgeoning medtech ecosystem,” according to the NJEDA. 

Cooper University Health Care is slated to serve as the anchor commercial affiliate and Garden State Venture Partners (GSVP) will invest in select participating accelerator companies. The NJEDA adds, “The SIC will support early-stage ideas emerging from southern New Jersey labs and pull companies from across the region into the state, helping to provide specialized lab space to meet the needs of companies that might otherwise be forced to seek expansion outside New Jersey."

Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE) Overall, numerous entities are facilitating all forms of entrepreneurialism in South Jersey, and if there’s an epicenter for this encouragement, it by all accounts appears to be the Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE) in Glassboro. Existing within Rowan University’s School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which is, in turn, housed within Rowan University’s College of Business, RCIE is a cross-campus resource for students, faculty and staff; it also aids both people and companies in the broader community. 

RCIE Programs In addition to annually holding 150 complimentary events for Rowan’s community that include everything from one-on-one mentorships sessions to workshops on financial literacy, customer discovery, and, say, talking to investors, “[RCIE] also has a variety of competitions throughout the year that range from back-of-the-napkin thoughts and ideas to more well thought out idea-stage startups and venture startups … think: Shark Tank-style pitch competitions,” explains Jessica Vattima, director of RCIE, and an adjunct faculty member in the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Rowan University. 

There were approximately 1,500 interactions via the competitions last academic year against the backdrop of a separate accelerator program that operates every summer and awards up to $20,000 in nonequity seed funding to students.  

Accelerate South Jersey Rowan University has more: It’s Accelerate South Jersey aims to help individuals – primarily in Camden and Glouster counties who have experienced hardships – get their companies started or re-started via micro grants (up to $3,000) paired with individualized mentorship. 

Startup Opportunity Fund A separate Startup Opportunity Fund provides micro grants and mentorship to underrepresented Rowan University students including, for example, first generation students, as well as military and veteran students. “It’s all personalized,” Vattima says. “For example, if we have a startup [that] has a really great idea, but they’re kind of lacking in the design and marketing area, we can pull together a customized design package where we create a logo and business cards and tablecloth. They are [then] able to go out and do expos or attend conferences. It’s setting them up for success in that way.” 

Think Like an Entrepreneur Summer Academy High school students are also part of the action. RCIE’s Think Like an Entrepreneur Summer Academy (TLAE) immerses approximately 90 high schoolers over four days on “how to think like an entrepreneur” by exposing them to the sustainable development goals from the United Nations, and how to identify a [business] problem and develop a solution – and then how to go through the process of coming up with a business plan,” according to Vattima. “We then have a pitch competition at the end.” TLAE receives a grant through the TD Charitable Foundation, and students who complete the program get three complimentary college credits that they can use at Rowan University or transfer somewhere else.

RCIE’s Vattima sees a broader landscape: “[RCIE’s] overall mission is just to expose what the idea of entrepreneurship is. For us, that might not necessarily mean teaching people how to start a business. It’s more about saying, ‘Here’s a toolkit of how you can embrace an entrepreneurial mindset, and this is how you can utilize it in any industry that you plan to go into, whether that’s going to work at a firm in finance, or perhaps taking over a family business one day … or going into tech, or starting your own business in some way.” 

Additional Educational Opportunities Marlene Z. Asselta, president of the Southern New Jersey Development Council (SNJDC), sees even more education-related opportunities in the state’s lower eight counties. “When [we] talk about education, obviously you think of Rowan University, Stockton [University] and Rutgers [University], but community colleges have done some neat stuff. There are opportunities for startup businesses to look at the programs and training at these facilities. [This] includes universities and community colleges as well as what we used to call vocational schools, but are now called technical schools.” 

Conclusion Asselta concludes, “[Entrepreneurialism] is growing and will continue to grow [in South Jersey]. For folks who are in a traditional job, and all of a sudden that job disappears because of … federal government [workforce reductions], they’re now saying to themselves, ‘Can I take my skills and become my own entity and be my own boss?’ They turn to entrepreneurship, and that’s a good thing.”