New Jersey Entrepreneur

The New Jersey Center for Innovation Acceleration, a joint initiative of the NJIT School of Management and the NJIT Enterprise Development Center, is offering a series of Business Planning and Financial Modeling courses for entrepreneurs funded by North Jersey Partners.  The Build Your Financial Model and Develop Cash Management Skills program consists of two hands-on and intensive workshops to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs in raising capital.  Funding for these programs has been provided from North Jersey Partners.

 "Financial Modeling Essentials for Raising Capital," a two-day workshop, covers all the key aspects of developing a financial model including profit and loss, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and applying valuation techniques for your business. “Refining Your Financial Model for Venture Capital,” a one-day workshop, strengthens the key elements of your business's financial model and enhances the focal points that venture capitalist evaluate for funding.

The Financial Modeling workshops are presented by The Globecon Group, a leading provider of professional development for corporate and investment banking institutions.  The registration fee is $50 for each workshop. The Financial Modeling course will be offered at various locations in North Jersey during the summer and fall.  For additional details please visit  wwwnorthjerseypartners.org/financialtraining.htm.

The Business Planning program (June 8-11) entitled, Advanced Invention to Venture (AI2V), is an intensive four-day workshop designed for technology-based businesses focusing on licensing or commercializing technology-based products or services. The AI2V program enables participants to more quickly develop a licensing plan or launch a new company by providing instruction, exercises, pitching opportunities and coaching, complete with real-time feedback from coaches and investors.

By the end of this workshop, participants will have a complete commercialization plan and be able to deliver a pitch-ready PowerPoint presentation to investors and/or strategic partners.  Professor Aron Spencer from the NJIT School of Management is the program facilitator.  The registration fee is $250 and scholarships are available.  You can register at www.invention2venture.org/advancedi2v (June 8-11 link).

“These two training programs are a wonderful opportunity for North Jersey-based entrepreneurs," said Judith Sheft, associate vice president technology development at NJIT and North Jersey Partners entrepreneurial strategy lead.  "Access to capital is critical in these very difficult economic times, and it's not as easy as it used to be to get venture/angel backed or traditional bank funding.  By participating in the Financial Modeling program, entrepreneurs will have a more robust financial model that will enable them to more rapidly move through the funding process.  Participants will also receive valuable and objective feedback on their business ideas from a team of very experienced professionals."

To qualify for the programs, you must live, work or operate a business in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union or Warren counties. Class size is limited to 25 participants.  The Business Planning AI2V seminar will be held June 8-11, 2009 at the NJIT EDC business incubator in Newark, 211 Warren Street.  The Financial Modeling course will be offered at various locations in North Jersey during the summer and fall.  For additional details, please visit the North Jersey Partners web site or call Judith Sheft at (973) 596-5825 or email sheft@njit.edu.

North Jersey Partners is an innovative regional partnership of public, private, and government organizations collaborating to deliver programs, training and support to ensure the continuity of a skilled workforce to drive economic growth in North Jersey.   We are funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration's Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant and supported by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.