Startups Receive Investment of $220,000, Newark-Based Work Space & Access to Corporate Partners, Audible, Panasonic, Prudential and more

Newark, NJ (September 24, 2018) – Newark Venture Partners (NVP), a leading East Coast early-stage venture fund, today announced the start of its Fall 2018 NVP Labs program.   The newest cohort of 8 startups is made up of companies hailing from the northeast, as well as North Carolina, Florida and California, and represent the industries of HRTech, Voice, Consumerization of Healthcare, HealthTech, Robotics and FinTech.

“Moving to Newark is one of the best decisions Audible has made, and I’m excited for NVP’s fall class companies to discover how energizing it is to be here,” said Don Katz, Audible founder and CEO, and the founder of NVP. “These startups will have access to the incredible domain expertise of Audible employees and our amazing corporate partners, which will help them get to the next level and, in turn, catalyze Newark’s historic comeback by generating jobs and taxable revenue.”

“The competition to be selected for this cohort was fierce – and we are confident that this group of startups are game changers.  The momentum at NVP is palpable and we are excited to help these companies put down roots and grow here in Newark,” said Tom Wisniewski, Managing Partner at Newark Venture Partners.

The selected companies were chosen from a pool of over 1,800 companies, more than 3 times the number of applicants for past cohorts.  Notably, this cohort includes 6 female founders or co-founders, 4 of which are also the company’s CEO.

Selected companies are:

• Ejenta: Founded by Rachna Dhamija and Maarten Sierhuis in San Francisco, CA.

The future of healthcare is care at home, an $18B market opportunity for remote health monitoring. Ejenta gathers data from wearable and IoT devices and from electronic medical records to create AI-driven analytics that help health providers to detect and predict which patients need care, resulting in reduced readmissions and increased patient satisfaction. Ejenta’s technology is exclusively licensed from NASA where the founder developed AI to monitor astronauts in space.

• Exempt Me Now: Founded by Sevetri Wilson New Orleans, LA.

The number of nonprofits being created in the U.S. each year has more than quadrupled over the last decade.  ExemptMeNow seeks to be the glue that brings together a fragmented market by drastically reducing the hassle it takes to become tax-exempt, and connecting the dots between grantees and grantors to drive impact.  ExemptMeNow does this by providing a SaaS solution that simplifies the creation, maintenance and compliance processes for startup and existing non-profit organizations. It also has an Enterprise software that targets customers that deploy capital (think cities, private foundations and corporations) overseeing compliance, providing technical assistance on-demand, and driving data and information exchange.

• Floss Bar: Founded by Eva Sadej in New York, New York.

With a window into the consumerization of healthcare and a door to tap for top-notch dental hygienists in the ever growing gig economy, Floss Bar might just be the future of dentistry. As the first preventive brand for oral health care, they offer high quality, routine dental care at thoughtful prices and a location of your choosing. With a model flexible enough to work with clients of any size, they provide dental services on site for employees, members, and tenants. For anything non-routine, they have a referral network of dental offices vetted and compliant with the company’s ethical standards. Floss Bar turns dental care into a key workplace wellness initiative that everyone can appreciate.

• RankMiner: Founded by Preston Faykus in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Voice analytics is growing at a CAGR of 28.82%, expected to be $3.69B by 2023. However, a missing element for companies is to automatically predict agent and customer behavior. RankMiner does exactly this by analyzing 383 signals to extract the emotions and behaviors expressed in phone conversations that lead to business outcomes. RankMiner is currently applying their patented technology to the call center industry.  RankMiner’s national and international clients have realized business improvements of up to 200% using the RankMiner solution.

• StackSource: Founded by Tim Milazzo and Nathan Wall in New York City.

The $3 trillion commercial loan market is currently run by brokers who are more motivated by commission than by transparency. StackSource’s digital marketplace provides a superior solution: immediate lender matching, data system integration for instant diligence, and a platform to manage the underwriting process end-to-end. StackSource has underwritten hundreds of millions in commercial lending as of today with 200+ lenders actively involved on the platform.

• Talentegy:  Founded by Shawna Berthold, Dwaine Maltais and Stephanie Ralston in Dover, Delaware

Over 50% of candidates will sever a business relationship with a company due to a poor candidate experience and over half will abandon an application process because of a technical issue. That poor candidate experience has bottom line business impacts and can cost companies millions of dollars each year in lost revenue or brand loyalty. Talentegy solves this problem by applying AI enhanced talent analytics and engagement technology that continuously monitors the candidate journey to provide data-driven insights for improvements. Current clients include RWJBarnabas Health,  Service Master, Charter and G4S. Prior to Talentegy, the founding team worked together and had multiple successful exits in the HR technology space.

• Team Mobot: Founded by Eden Full Goh in New York City.

As a former Product Manager in the data, medical and energy software industries, founder Eden Full Goh became tired of flawed automation approaches to QA (quality assurance), which often rely on slower, costly, manual testing. To address this $10B industry, Team Mobot deploys teams of robots powered by computer vision to test software across different devices, use cases and integrations. As a solution for the enterprise, Team Mobot aims to cut QA costs in half and deliver test results on demand.

• Upsider: Founded by Josh McBride and Xuan Smith in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ.

Talent acquisition professionals spend over 60% of their time on ineffective job boards and manual search tools, trying to identify relevant candidates to engage for their open roles.  Upsider allows recruiters to leverage AI technology to identify a comprehensive set of candidates which align with their business and role requirements, resulting in a more strategic understanding of the best possible talent for the job. Upsider also offers a set of communication tools to engage candidates. Current clients have found that talent pipelines are filled 5x faster, and they are able to execute a more predictable, data-driven recruiting strategy.

NVP Labs invests an initial $120,000, with an additional $100,000 at the close of the program, and potential investment from NVP’s direct investment arm of up to $1 million in subsequent funding rounds. Companies also get space within NVP’s coworking offices housed in the same building as Audible and Rutgers Business School, as well as guidance from a robust mentorship and growth team.  The fund’s corporate partners, Audible (an Amazon Company), Dun & Bradstreet, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Panasonic, Prudential Financial, RWJBarnabas, TD Bank through the TD Charitable Foundation, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority also regularly interact with NVP Labs companies, providing market-based insight, technology assistance, and high level networking opportunities.

“Each of the selected startups address an industry pain point that our corporate partners have either identified or confirmed in their own unique markets.  With that market validation as a starting point NVP is then able to help our founders execute on their sales and marketing strategy to quickly get to scale,” said Dan Borok, Managing Partner at Newark Venture Partners.

“NVP serves as a fantastic catalyst for the growth of Newark as an innovation hub and enables our employees to engage with a premier venture capital firm. They provide us with direct access to a world-class talent pool and allow us to leverage their growing portfolio of enterprise-ready solutions to drive our business goals.” said Dele Oladapo, Chief Technology Architect and Innovation Officer, Prudential Financial.

The program aims to guide the companies to achieve in-depth strategic plans and scalable marketing and sales operations.  The NVP mission is to help innovative entrepreneurs build distinctive technology companies while catalyzing development of the technology ecosystem in the City of Newark. This is the fifth time NVP has run the accelerator program since its inception in 2014.

“An investment from NVP Labs includes high powered connections, expert support and a community of growth-minded mentors,” said Allison Williams, Director of NVP Labs.  “This cohort of founders is not only prepared to take these resources and run with them but also poised to be market leaders in the B2B space.”

Newark Venture Partners was founded by Don Katz, Audible founder and CEO, to grow Newark as a hub for east coast technology and recast the city as a pioneering innovation zone and ultra-bandwidth tech center. With billions of dollars earmarked for construction projects, affordable housing, new retail development, and 21st century work spaces, Newark’s community of entrepreneurs and young talent is growing, as they look to reach New York City’s resources without its legendary cost of living and doing business.

Interviews available by request: Jennifer@Newark.vc

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About Newark Venture Partners

Newark Venture Partners is a leading early stage venture capital firm with a Limited Partner base that includes top corporate investors Audible (an Amazon Company), Dun & Bradstreet, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Panasonic, Prudential Financial, RWJBarnabas, TD Bank, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.  We help innovative entrepreneurs build distinctive business focused technology companies while catalyzing development of the ecosystem in the City of Newark. Newark Venture Partners includes a direct investment arm, investing up to $1 million in Seed and Series A companies, and our bridge-to-seed accelerator arm, NVP Labs, which invests in up to 10 companies twice a year. For more information visit Newark.VC

By: Allison Williams, Director of NVP Labs

From the 7th floor of One Washington Park, it’s clear that the City of Newark is bubbling with potential. Whether you are looking out at the Newark Broad Street train station, just a 18-minute train ride from New York City, or inside one of the Newark Venture Partners’ (NVP) conference rooms adorned with hammocks, ping-pong and foosball tables, and even a Budha Booth – the energy percolating inside this building is palpable.

If you don’t believe it, talk with Emeka Oguh.  Emeka is a Newark native, having grown up on Sanford Ave in the Vailsburg section of Newark.  Today, after graduating from Rutgers and earning an MBA from Harvard Business School, he is the Founder and CEO of PeopleJoy, a tech startup selected for funding through the NVP Lab Program.  Did you know that a monthly contribution – as low as $50 – from an employer can reduce student loan payments by 1-3 years and help save the employee thousands of dollars in interest?  PeopleJoy is making it possible for businesses across industry sectors to support their employees in this way through a simple plug-and-play platform – and it all began here in Newark.

Yes, Newark has its issues.  Our public education system is in need of investment and upgrades.  We are behind curve on developing transit oriented and affordable/diverse housing. We need to do more to keep and grow job opportunities in growing markets and lift up the community through a stronger commitment to inclusion and equality.  Newark, like most cities, has work to do.

But who better to do that work than entrepreneurs like Emeka who are invested in the City’s future?  Any elected official can talk at length about Newark’s history as a capital of innovation, but a government incentive did not help Thomas Edison to invent the lightbulb, and no tax package could do what Audible has done for Newark since moving its headquarters here 10 years ago.  Audible is now the city’s fastest growing private employer, with deep ties to the local school system, pipelines to internships and employment, and incentives in place encouraging employees to live local, buy local and support the local economy.  Audible is a force driving Newark’s comeback story – not simply by giving (although they do that too) – but by growing, training, hiring and innovating.

As we continue to write Newark’s next chapter, NVP is taking lessons learned at Audible and applying them to tech startups. By focusing on solution-driven, tech startups in the B2B space – all headquartered right here in Newark – we have the ability to revolutionize the city’s entire landscape.  Today, in our Labs program, we are funding companies transforming everything from background checks (Vetty) to small business lending (LendingFront).  We are betting on entrepreneurs like Vlada Lotkina who developed a better way for parents and teachers to collaborate (ClassTag), and Wole Coaxum who is reinventing the way minority communities access mainstream banking services (MoCaFi).  We believe in our companies’ ability to shake up entrenched industries – the way Designity is modernizing the traditional advertising agency model and access to creative talent. We are investing in entrepreneurs who have identified problems and deployed 21st century, tech-based solutions to challenge the status quo. [Learn more about the companies and entrepreneurs participating in our Labs program at our Demo Day presentation on June 27th from 12-4pm at the Prudential Center]

We aren’t alone.  Some of New Jersey’s biggest employers like Panasonic, Prudential, Dun & Bradstreet have partnered with us, providing mentorship and strategic opportunities for the companies we are supporting.   Even the New Jersey State government is starting to catch up, with the Murphy administration offering financial incentives to support entrepreneurship and boost the state’s innovation economy. NVP’s managing Partners Tom Wisniewski and Dan Borok have been advocates for an investment-based approach to revitalizing Newark, growing industry – and the community – from the inside out.  The right investments can offer new ways of doing business, enhanced ways to service customers, and grow a network and ecosystem built on productivity.

NVP Portfolio company Veritonic is another example of how innovation grows in the City of Newark and is nurtured by its neighbors.  Originally part of the second NVP Labs cohort, Veritonic is the audio effectiveness company–the first analytics platform built specifically to quantify the value of sound. Sharing a building and working with Audible, one of the most vanguard audio companies ever, Veritonic has been inspired to create a business that not only solves a problem for the market — the need to bring more data-driven decisions to the use of audio — but helps to transform it. The company is thriving with a team of 12 and plans to hire more following the successful close of a $2.5 million seed round.

Scott Simonelli, Founder and CEO of Veritonic said, “The City of Newark gave Veritonic roots.  It welcomed us in, gave us access to great minds and great mentors, and it became a space where we could grow.  We’re so excited for this city’s future.” Simonelli will participate in panel at this year’s Demo Day hosted at the Prudential Center on June 27th.  Register here to attend.

It’s true that Newark’s current tech ecosystem is still in its infancy, but with a steady diet of strategic investments and support from local stakeholders, it can grow to be our greatest asset.   If you doubt it, we encourage you to visit us on the 7th floor of One Washington Park, and you will see our tech community thriving, expanding, and developing the future.

Of the thousands of companies evaluated, we are proud to be named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Food.

The New York metropolitan area picked up a one-two punch Thursday in the battle among North American cities hoping to become home to Amazon’s second headquarters, when both Newark and New York City landed on the retail giant’s shortlist.

The Seattle-based retailer had set off a frenzy among cities in the United States and Canada when it announced in September that it was looking for a location for its second headquarters, dangling promises of $5 billion in investment and as many as 50,000 jobs.

More than 238 applications poured in to Amazon from cities and regions vying to become its “HQ2.” Amazon has narrowed the list to 20, with most finalists far from the tech-saturated hubs on the West Coast. Along with Newark and New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Denver and Nashville all made the cut.

“New York gets two bites of the apple,” said Patrick L. Anderson, of the Anderson Economic Group, which advises cities on economic development and had handicapped the Amazon sweepstakes.

Before Amazon released its list of finalists, some analysts had dismissed the chances of either New York City or Newark. New York City was considered too expensive, and Newark was seen as hampered by its reputation as a hardscrabble urban center.

But Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, one of the city’s most prominent residents, seemed intent Thursday on trying to capitalize on that image by appealing to Amazon’s potential to be a game-changer for the state’s largest city.

“We have sites ready downtown, or on the waterfront. We have universities and fiber,” Mr. Baraka said. “Amazon could have a transformative effect on one of America’s oldest cities. This is an opportunity for Amazon to change the narrative about the company and where it’s headed.”

New York City is already home to a large Amazon distribution center in Staten Island and offices for more than 2,000 finance, sales and marketing workers in Manhattan. New Jersey has three Amazon distribution centers, including one 12 miles from Newark.

If Amazon finds housing and the cost of doing business too high in New York City, it could turn to Newark, which sits atop the fiber optic cable spine running along the Eastern Seaboard and is in the midst of a resurgence. Office and apartment rents are substantially lower and Amazon already has a subsidiary there, Audible.

Either way, Amazon could tap into a tech work force of nearly 300,000 people, far more than Chicago (138,813) or Los Angeles (166,234), two cities that also made Amazon’s shortlist. The impact of 50,000 new jobs would be felt throughout the metro area.

“Newark, New York City and Chicago all have very strong workforces,” Mr. Anderson said. “Newark has the advantage on cost of doing business, which is very important to Amazon.”

Mr. Anderson had put New York at the top of his list when he rated the competition last fall. Nearly three-quarters of his top 20 picks landed on Amazon’s shortlist.

But the eventual winner is by no means a foregone conclusion.

The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area presents a triple threat, with three areas — Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, Md., and the capital itself — making the list. Jeff Bezos, chairman of Amazon, has a home in Washington and owns the local newspaper, The Washington Post.

Still, there are 100,000 more tech workers in the New York region than in Washington and its suburbs.

Amazon’s finalist list hews closely to the criteria it established at the beginning of the contest: a metro area of more than a million residents; ease of transportation; a business-friendly environment; potential to attract and retain technical talent; and a strong university system.

“This is what Amazon said they wanted in a candidate,” Mr. Anderson said. “No incentives, silly sales pitches or talk of how cool their sports teams are.”

But at this stage of the contest, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, the subsidy packages that competing cities offer Amazon may influence the decision.

“Amazon, like most big companies, is dollars-and-cents oriented,” Mr. Zandi said. “Here’s where incentive packages may tip the scales.”

The state of New Jersey, which is backing Newark’s bid, has offered the biggest plum of all: $5 billion in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies. Newark officials have also discussed a supplementary subsidy package that could be worth as much as $2 billion.

“In the last decade, Newark has experienced unparalleled growth, paving the way for many new companies to call our city home. A Newark HQ2 would mean tens of thousands of local jobs, a boost to our regional economy and small businesses, and an opportunity for Amazon to take a tremendous stake in the continued transformation of our great city,” Mr. Booker said.

Critics contend that the Garden State is being overly generous with tax dollars.

“We remain wary of the steep price tag for taxpayers that state and local lawmakers have already put on this project,” said Jon Whiten, vice president of New Jersey Policy Perspective. “It has ensured that the returns will be minimized if Amazon were to ultimately choose the state.”

The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio was less generous, announcing New York City would not offer any special subsidies or incentives for Amazon beyond the city’s existing programs. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo did say that the state would provide a benefit package for Amazon, although he did not disclose any details.

On the same day New York City submitted its bid to Amazon, Mr. de Blasio criticized the company for its destructive impact on local shop owners. But at this point, neither that criticism nor the lack of an enhanced subsidy package has hurt New York’s chances.

“We’re not changing our approach,” said Alicia Glen, New York City’s deputy mayor for economic development. “We offered four very viable options in different neighborhoods. If you want to hire 50,000 incredibly smart people, there’s no better place. And a city that has art, culture, food and urban walkability are a huge priority for this generation of workers.”

The Partnership for New York City, a business group that has strongly supported the city’s bid for Amazon, said New York’s chances are good.

“Amazon is notoriously cheap and our costs our high,” said Kathryn Wylde, the Partnership’s president. “But in every other way, New York is a winner. It has the markets they want to reach, the talent and a strong history as a global retail capital. The question is, ‘Does Bezos sees the value of mixing with the global industries and market leaders that are based in New York?’ ”

www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/nyregion/amazon-headquarters-finalists.html