Ozva AdminNEW JERSEY: Have a great business idea, but are afraid to quit your job or try to launch your business full-time?
For the first time in history, the state of New Jersey will give money to entrepreneurs so they can receive a paycheck for two years while they start a business.
These are grants, not loans. They do not have to be returned to the state.
The program is part of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority program called New Jersey Innovation Fellows (NJIF).
Gov. Phil Murphy, who strongly supports the program, said the idea is for the state to provide “income replacement capital” so that entrepreneurs can devote their full-time attention to building their business.
According to NJEDA executive director Tim Sullivan, starting a start-up is a big risk and often requires entrepreneurs to give up an income or paycheck in the first few years of launching their business.
“This program is designed to give people the financial flexibility and critical support to take calculated business risks and follow their entrepreneurial dreams,” Sullivan said.
The program is currently in development and the state anticipates that applications will open in early 2023. Once the application is active, will be available online.
NJIF will award grants of $200,000 per team. However, teams are eligible for an additional $50,000 prize on top of the $200,000 base if an employer verifies their residency in a designated New Jersey Opportunity Zone. Here is a list of all New Jersey cities that qualify as opportunity zones:
- Asbury City Park
- Atlantic City
- bayonne city
- Belleville Township
- Bergenfield Township
- Bloomfield Township
- brick township
- bridgeton city
- city of burlington
- camden town
- Carteret Township
- Cliffside Park District
- city of clifton
- East Orange City
- elizabeth city
- Garfield City
- Glassboro Township
- city of gloucester
- Gloucester Township
- Hackensack City
- harrison city
- hillside township
- city of hoboken
- Irvington Township
- jersey city
- Keansburg
- city of kearny
- Lakewood Township
- Lindenwold Township
- Lodi Township
- long branch city
- City of Millville
- Monroe Township
- Montclair Township
- Mount Holly Township
- Neptune
- Neptune City Municipality
- Neptune Township
- City of New Brunswick
- city of newark
- Northern Bergen Township
- Nutley Township
- Old Bridge Municipality
- orange city
- passaic city
- paterson city
- Pemberton Township
- Penns Grove Township
- Pennsylvania Township
- city of perth amboy
- Phillipsburg City
- City of Plainfield
- City of Pleasantville
- road city
- Roselle Township
- city of salem
- coastal heights
- Secaucus
- city of trenton
- Union City
- Vineland City
- Weehawken Township
- Western New York City
- Western New York Township
- Willingboro Township
- Winslow Township
- Woodbridge Township
- town of woodbury
In addition, teams can receive an additional $50,000 for each entrepreneurial leader who self-certifies as a minority or female entrepreneur, or has graduated from a New Jersey college or university.
Qualifying teams can even receive additional bonuses of up to $150,000 total for certifying team members. This results in a total of $400,000 that the state will award to young entrepreneurs if they qualify.
Prizes will be awarded over eight quarters to teams that meet and maintain compliance milestones. So, in other words, young people are not going to be given a large lump sum of cash all at once.
To be eligible for the NJIF Program, at least half of the team must be certified as “first-time entrepreneurs” and at least two-thirds of the entrepreneurial team must come directly from the workforce.
All Entrepreneurial Fellows will participate in a mentorship program with the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT in Newark) or Rowan University in South Jersey. That means these entrepreneurs have to take classes in topics like financial management, accounting, and preparing financial statements; development and management of human resources; business model design; marketing and customer development and more.
The mentorship will last for the duration of the two-year NJIF program.
Governor Murphy said it’s important to attract budding entrepreneurs who are young people of color or come from poor communities, regardless of race.
“New Jersey is committed to ensuring that passionate entrepreneurs are equipped with the resources they need to turn their innovative ideas and vision into a viable business,” Murphy said. “By supplementing the income of startup founders, we are helping to remove the barriers that are too often on the path to success. The NJIF Program will be a game changer.”
“We are working to level the playing field for would-be New Jersey entrepreneurs by making sure they have access to capital and mentoring, regardless of their socioeconomic status,” Sullivan said. “Providing grants through the NJIF Program will give more people the financial flexibility to take calculated business risks and follow their entrepreneurial dreams.”
Think you have a great business idea? Apply here when the application process opens in 2023.
Ozva Admin
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