Building at 1 Washington Park Newark NJ

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Newark Venture Partners is an investment fund that will raise money and provide sophisticated services to help build innovative high-tech companies located at 1 Washington Park, headquarters of Audible and home to Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick.

Photography: 
Fred Stucker

If key decision-makers in New Jersey and Newark, as well as at Rutgers University–Newark, have their way, Newark could soon become a seedbed for high- technology companies, which would help accelerate the renaissance that is taking place in the city. The vision fueled the collective excitement of U.S. senator Cory Booker, Newark mayor Ras Baraka, and former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean who attended a July event to meet Audible Inc. founder and CEO Donald Katz, Prudential Financial vice chair Mark Grier, and other leaders to announce the formation of Newark Venture Partners (NVP).

NVP is an investment fund that will raise money and provide sophisticated services to help build innovative high-tech companies that will work together in a 25,000-square-foot accelerator workspace, replete with top-speed Wi-Fi and ultra-high-bandwidth internet access. The accelerator, which is offering rent-free access to the facility, will be located at 1 Washington Park, headquarters of Audible and home to Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick (RBS). 

Audible, an early success in audiobook commerce, has been based in Newark since 2007; the company’s executives and advanced technologists will play a big part in mentoring the startups. RBS faculty and graduate students will provide support for the companies, working alongside Audible employees.

The first fund of its kind in the New York area, NVP is part of a national “social impact investing” trend, which is informed by a “double bottom line”: the company will regularly publish metrics on the fund’s contribution to social and economic improvement such as job growth, taxable revenue growth, increased residential in-migration, and the growth of retail amenities on Newark’s streets.

“Audible moved to Newark to help accelerate the comeback of a great American city,” says Katz, also the founder of NVP. “As the fastest-growing private employer in Newark, we [Audible] have added hundreds of employees who are thriving in a city at a historic tipping point.”