Welcome

The Sustainable Business Incubator is now the Sustainable Business Accelerator: incorporated under a separate nonprofit in April 2010, and reincorporated as a standalone NJ nonprofit in July 2011, the incubator recently changed its name to avoid possible confusion with the effort initiated at FDU’s Institute of Sustainable Enterprise in 2007. While legally independent, the Accelerator maintains both a current and a historical link to the work of ISE, and gratefully acknowledges the support, guidance, and commitment of the Institute to fostering individual leadership and collaborative effort in achieving a more sustainable economy and a more sustainable world.

Special “Meet & Greet” event in Hackensack June 30, 6:30 p.m.

Nonbinding Letter of Intent signed with Stevens Institute (see Stevens Institute of Technology page for details). 2010-2011 Internship Program now available. And download our new Mission Statement.

Welcome to the new Sustainable Business Incubator: a Green Startup Factory

The Sustainable Business Incubator and its affiliated Sustainable Resource Network are projects of the Center for Leadership in Sustainability and the Institute for Sustainable Enterprise at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Our latest news:

More information on our reorganization and re-launch is posted here and here. Note that some of the information on this site is subject to change.

Past Milestones and Events

July-August 2010: The Center for Leadership in Sustainability is assuming organizational responsibility for the Incubator, and planning a re-launch this fall.

See Reorganizing the Incubator for more information.

March-June 2010: The Sustainable Business Incubator worked with Woodbridge Township to launch the Greenable Woodbridge “Museum of the Future,” a unique storefront location open to the public at the Woodbridge Center Mall.

See GreenableWoodbridgeMuseum.org for more information.

January 2010: Fairleigh Dickinson University and Citi Foundation Partner with Woodbridge Township to Develop Green Technology Park & Incubator

The Green Technology Park & Business Incubator, located on 107 acres in Woodbridge Township, is designed to promote the start-up and production of clean energy technologies, sustainable energy sources, green research and development, and environmental manufacturing and construction. We are currently actively looking for companies interested in locating at the Green Technology Incubator and Park.

– Read more…

2009 Green Ventures Conference Site Archived

While it’s still lacking a few details, the 2009 Green Ventures Conference, Jumpstarting the New Green Economy,  has its own web site at GreenVenturesConference.org. The conference, held May 19-21 at the Madison campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University, was aimed at providing a forum and a dialog about translating the idea of a sustainable economy into a reality on the ground.

For a report on the recent Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference in Washington, D.C. in February, check out this blog entry.

Incubator Grant Approved

The NJ Commission on Science and Technology has awarded a $25,000 grant to the Incubator to complete its planning and development study. Once approved, it is anticipated that the SBI will be added to the “approved” incubator network, along with NJ’s other 13 NJCST-supported incubators, all of whom are also members of NJBIN. More details at Incubator News.

Spring Green Ventures Conference Announced

Please save May 20, 21 and 22, 2009 for our next green ventures conference, Jumpstarting the New Green Economy.

Our goal with the conference this year is to use it to power a movement to launch dozens of new companies to grow a different sort of economy – an economy that genuinely is socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. Our present economy has proven that it is none of these.

Here are some ways we plan to bring this about:

The conference will include a much larger Green Expo and a Green Jobs Fair, a separate Green Invention 2 Venture Workshop, and a Best Green Practices Awards Luncheon, as well as a number of conference tracks dealing with various aspects of the new green economy, from local food to local currencies, from green venture investing to reinventing capitalism. We hope to bring together over 400 people, including state and federal policymakers, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, leading thinkers, and community activists to “think together” about what’s needed and how to achieve it.

Leading up to the conference in May will be a number of meetings and events co-sponsored with other individuals and organizations, including special ISE Breakfasts, roundtable discussions, and more.

We also have the opportunity to publish a book on the topic – dealing with the very practical issues involved in making the transition from traditional businesses and careers to more sustainable ones, and with the more challenging ones of reinventing the economic system so as to include both environmental externalities and social needs.

If you would like to become a sponsor, have a table at the event, or assist us in other ways, and use it to build or expand your own network of green contacts, please let us know. We have already set up a functioning conference planning web site, which we will be updating as things develop, and will make publicly available to those who wish to be involved in the planning process. Please send us your thoughts, interests, and ideas for the event.

Incubator Update

(From our annual report:)

In the past year the incubator has seen a lot of positive development. After its creation at last July’s constructive incubator conference, we have been working hard to establish an incubator that nurtures the development of businesses that affect the triple bottom line. Our greatest success was the official launch of the incubator on January 30th when we received substantial media publicity resulting in numerous newspaper articles and applications from over a dozen candidate companies.

Our first client, HydroCoil Power Inc., signed with us at that January launching ceremony. News of their innovative small hydro turbine has created a strong interest from strategic partners, venture capitalists and possible clients. We have also been working with the NJ Assembly to change the classification of “small hydro”.

Even from within FDU we have seen innovative candidates. Sai Sankar, a graduate student in Engineering under Professor Anthony Adrignolo, has developed The EXPEV1 Electric Vehicle Retrofit / Conversion System. The Incubator is helping Sankar create a business plan, meet with investors, and obtain increased university support.

We are looking to go beyond the traditional role of solely being an incubator service. We also want to connect entrepreneurs with established businesses and teach them the skills necessary to create sustainable businesses. This philosophy led us to the hosting of the highly successful Sustainable Entrepreneurship Symposium and Expo “Growing the Next Generation of Green Ventures” on May 2nd which drew over 200 registrants, sponsors, exhibitors and facilitators. We received positive feedback that was beyond our greatest expectations with attendees telling us long after the event about the great connections forged at the Expo. While it was challenging to arrange, the attention and feedback we received made the Green Ventures Expo a meaningful and rewarding experience. We hope to make it an ISE tradition by hosting another within the year as it benefits so many in our local business community and promotes the sustainable cause.

The fall of 08 brings new challenges as a slow market means decreased investment capital for innovative ideas. As a result, we must try to ensure investment capital for our clients by expanding our connections to venture capitalists. We also want to expand the extent of our knowledge services and quality by tapping into the wide variety of expertise held by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s 943 faculty members. We plan to do this by increased departmental corporation by directly approaching all faculty and staff. In our outreach program, we plan to continue the success of our Green Ventures Symposium by holding several smaller workshops that provide knowledge on specific areas of sustainable business. (See Figures 13-19, pages 36-42)

SBI EVENTS:

• July 18, 2007 – Discussion and planning session for the new Sustainable Business Incubator. Invited guests included representatives of venture firms, other New Jersey incubators, NJEDA, NJTC, and other organizations, as well as several experienced entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and business school faculty members. (43 persons attended) (See Figure 14, page 37)

• August 24, 2007 – Networking event – “New Opportunities in Green Business” geared toward the members of the Somerset Hills Business Network and the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce (See Figure 15, page 38)

• January 30, 2008 – Launch of Sustainable Business Incubator; one client signed up and several in pipeline. Event was written up in Newark Star-Ledger, the Daily Record, NJ Entrepreneur, and NJ BIZ. (See Figures 17-19 on pages 40-42)

• May 2, 2008 – “Growing the Next Generation of Green Ventures”, a Sustainable Entrepreneurship Symposium and Expo and an NCIIA Invention to Venture Workshop (64 sponsors and co-sponsors, 23 exhibitors, 215 attendees) (See figure 16, page 39)

Sustainable Venture Workshop at FDU on Friday, May 2:

“Growing the Next Generation of Green Ventures”

Green Tree Logo

Sustainable Entrepreneurship Symposium and Expo

An NCIIA Invention to Venture Workshop
for faculty, students, and the business community

Friday, May 2, 2008, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Followed by a networking reception 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
and Green Enterprise Showcase

Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Silberman College of Business
College at Florham, 285 Madison Avenue, Madison, NJ

ISE Logo NJIT Logo Rothman Institute LogoNCIIA Logo

In association with the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies, and the Institute for Sustainable Enterprise and Our Other Sponsors and Institutions

For the latest information on the program, and to register, please visit

http://invention2venture.org/greenventures08/

If you are interested in participating as a sponsor, speaker/facilitator, or exhibitor please contact Jonathan Cloud at 908-306-9075 or contact us through this site.

Here are the latest program flyers and sponsorship opportunities sheets:

May 2 Flyer (v4 – PDF)

May 2 Event Sponsorship Opportunities (PDF)

LATEST NEWS: The Incubator is hosting a venture conference, workshop, and expo for the next generation of sustainable technologies and businesses at FDU’s College at Florham on Friday, May 2, 2008. For full event details, click here.
January 30, 2008: The Incubator officially launches, with a press event featuring its first client, HydroCoil Power, Inc. For details, click here.

The Incubator, sponsored by the Institute for Sustainable Enterprise at Fairleigh Dickinson University, in partnership with a number of other organizations, provides assistance to startups with sustainable technologies and business models designed to address the climate and environmental crises we face in the world today.

The development of the Incubator is also seen as a case study for the collaborative, action-learning approach of the Institute. Portions of this site are intended to serve as a record of the Incubator’s evolution, and document our recognition of “best practices” in prior incubator development.

The eventual online home of the Incubator is intended to include a portal to a three-dimensional virtual work environment, with all of the services of a classical incubator except the physical office space component, along with a specific focus on supporting our client companies in maximizing the triple bottom line of people, profits, and planet.

Incubator Logo
We invite you to participate in this effort in a variety of ways, as described on the “Contact Us” page. If you are interested in using the Incubator’s services, please contact Jonathan Cloud at 908-306-9075 or jcloud@SustainableBusinessIncubator.com.Also check out the Latest News and our Incubator News, as well as our listing of upcoming events of interest, and let us know if there’s something you’d like to see included in these pages.Status Report on the Incubator (7/29/07)

The Incubator’s July 18 “stakeholder meeting” was a resounding success, with a wide spectrum of individuals from business, government, and academia coming together to offer ideas, suggestions, and support to the Incubator project. More details on this will follow, but the steering committee plans to move forward with a full feasibility study, with strategic partnerships with other incubators and nonprofits, and has reached an agreement to sign up its first full client, HydroCoil Power.

The next steps will include posting a full report on the July 18 session, and creating an online repository for the SBI’s “Resource Network” that will be available to clients and partners of the ISE. If you’d like to be part of this, please email us at jcloud@fdu.edu.

Status Report on the Incubator (7/4/07)

The ISE is sponsoring a planning session for the Incubator on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. We are inviting a spectrum of potential stakeholders, from business, government, and academia to help move us forward in this effort.

The meeting will be held in the Orangerie at the FDU Library on the FDU Madison Campus, and we will provide complimentary breakfast and lunch with a variety of information and discussion sessions to present our ideas and get feedback, suggestions, and indications of interest from key contacts and resources. Invited guests include representatives of venture firms, other New Jersey incubators, NJEDA, NJTC, and other organizations, as well as several experienced entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and business school faculty members.

For more information, please contact Jonathan Cloud at 908-306-9075 or jcloud@SustainableBusinessIncubator.com.

Status Report on the Incubator (5/4/07)

The Sustainable Business Incubator is an initiative of ISE, in partnership with the Center for Business Excellence, the National Association of Women Business Owners – North Central Jersey chapter, and other organizations. It is designed to provide assistance to startup companies involved in sustainable technologies and business ventures, and to commercialize sustainable aspects of ISE’s and FDU’s intellectual capital.
As presently conceived, the Incubator will operate in a virtual mode, offering most of the services provided by traditional business incubators other than lab or office space. Service offerings may include:

  • Access to university/college resources including research collaboration opportunities, student interns, MBA student support teams, etc.
  • Business planning & milestone tracking
  • Product, marketing & manufacturing strategy support
  • Prototyping, software, web development
  • Strategic partnerships, licensing opportunities, and client development
  • Legal advice on governance, IP, licensing, corporate law, deal structuring
  • Finance and accounting support
  • Government agency navigation & grant support
  • Entrepreneurs in Residence
  • Networking opportunities with angel investors, venture capitalists, and other emerging businesses
  • Linking large corporations and Incubator participants around sustainable business practices
  • Sponsorship of competitions for business plans, specifically focused on social, economic, and ecological sustainability
  • Mentoring and learning opportunities from FDU-ISE with access to university/college resources, including collaborative research opportunities, student interns, MBA student support teams, etc.
  • Seed Funds for milestone specific projects

    • Services are provided on a custom-tailored basis to ventures that qualify through (a) embracing the triple bottom line concept, and (b) providing a technology, product, or service that contributes to sustainability in business, government, or the consumer market.

The Incubator derives its revenues from grants, fee-for-service offerings, success fees for financing or customer acquisition, and equity participation. In addition, it offers an opportunity for the University to commercialize its intellectual property where this relates to sustainability. This gives the rest of the University community a stake in the Incubator project, and potentially gives the Incubator an opportunity to foster ventures that will make a difference, leveraging the University’s resources.

The Incubator will be managed by an Executive Committee, a Board of Directors, and an Advisory Board. The administration of the Incubator may be outsourced to the CBE or another organization. The Incubator will establish a service provider network, a sustainable business network, and a resource bank to assist early ventures and offer opportunities for participation by all interested stakeholders. Interested members of the Advisory Board will be amongst the first to be invited to participate. The Incubator will also establish collaborative relationships with other incubators, public agencies, academic institutions, and businesses in north-central New Jersey.

The Incubator has its first potential client, Hydrocoil Power, Inc., a company that has a patented technology for generating electricity from low-head or small-scale hydro. “Low-head” hydro is pretty much anything under 100 feet (conventional hydro uses falls of 200-300 feet), down to as low as six feet in fall height. Dams of this size are all over America – some 78,000 higher than 12 feet having been catalogued by FEMA and if they were all harnessed efficiently they could conceivably generate enough electricity to meet current requirements and allow us to significantly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. The estimated cost of the electricity generated is perhaps a sixth of the cost of wind or photovoltaics. We can assist Hydrocoil with customer acquisition, funding, business planning, and a wide range of government and business contacts.

According to the National Business Incubation Association, start-up companies in incubators have a higher success rate than those developing without the critical business assistance provided by incubators:

  • More than 65 percent of incubator-based early-stage companies are likely to receive third party financing, compared to less than 10 percent of early-stage companies not based in an incubator
  • 87 percent of incubator graduate companies remain in business after three years, compared to just half of non-incubator start-ups
  • And 84 percent of those incubator graduates remain local to their incubator

Both the ISE and the CBE were founded on the basis of a commitment to the triple bottom line – people, profits, planet – that is needed to measure genuine sustainability in a company. Both organizations will work hard to assist start-up ventures to maximize their contributions to each of these measures. The CBE, which is an independent nonprofit, can provide rapid-response management services to realize the potential of the Incubator. The ISE provides the overall philosophy, direction, and sponsorship for the Incubator, and brings the resources and credibility of Fairleigh Dickinson University to the endeavor.

There are several potential benefits to the University that accrue from the Incubator, from simply building a positive relationship with a number of successful start-up ventures, to potential equity participation, licensing arrangements, and improved business-school programs. There is some support in the State for additional business incubators, and there is currently no incubator associated with FDU or operating in the vicinity of the Madison campus. In addition, there are extensive educational, research, and technology-transfer opportunities associated with the Incubator.

In association with the National Association of Women Business Owners – North Central Jersey Chapter (NAWBO-NCJ), and its annual Women of Inspiration event, the Incubator is seeking sponsorships from a number of companies, organizations, and individuals. Several members of NAWBO-NCJ may also utilize the services of the Incubator to develop more sustainable practices and metrics for their industries.

Steering Committee: Gerard Farias, Jonathan Cloud, Matt Polsky, Jeana Wirtenberg, Bill Russell, and Joel Harmon.

For more information, please contact Jonathan at 908-306-9075 or jcloud@SustainableBusinessIncubator.com.

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