Paul Profeta, publisher of Real Estate NJ and founding donor of the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Profeta Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, addressed students at a graduation ceremony for the center’s first-ever Newark Startup Studio. — All photos by Aaron Houston for Real Estate NJ
I hope you’ll indulge me this morning as I highlight a proud moment for all of us at Real Estate NJ. It came at this week’s Newark Summit, where New Jersey Institute of Technology President Teik Lim addressed the hundreds that were assembled in downtown Newark.
Lim was one of the event’s first speakers, touting not only one of the nation’s top polytechnic research universities, but a list of exciting new ventures at the school including a free entrepreneurial workshop for Newark residents led by real estate investor Paul Profeta and the Profeta Real Estate Technology, Design and Innovation Center.
“These innovative and impactful efforts, as well as many other partnerships with the city … make NJIT part of the fabric of its home city of Newark,” Lim said. “So we recognize that, for NJIT to prosper, Newark and New Jersey must prosper, too.”
Profeta, of course, is our publisher and the one who first made it possible for us to bring you Real Estate NJ. He’s also responsible for the single-largest donation in NJIT’s history and, as proud as we were to hear him recognized on Monday, he was undoubtedly prouder one day later when the workshop, the Newark Startup Studio, graduated its first-ever class of aspiring entrepreneurs.
SLIDESHOW: Celebrating NJIT's Profeta Center Newark Startup Studio
Held at the Profeta Center on the university’s campus, the Dec. 5 event celebrated 45 minority residents who completed the program. The free workshop started right after Labor Day with 60 students and met Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon, providing a blend of academic business education combined with real-world suggestions taught by Profeta and hands-on advice and experience from successful minority entrepreneurs, with a slate of instructors that included Real Estate NJ’s Karen Pisciotta.
More importantly, 14 members of the class either launched or expanded the startup businesses they own. The event also included a speech by Profeta, who celebrated their achievements and expressed his pride for how hard they worked and what they accomplished.
He was most impressed with the accomplishments of the entrepreneurs who either started or expanded their businesses and in so doing have created about 20 new jobs in Newark:
- Adreena Chanoine – Supplements from scratch
- Rey Chavis – Real estate developer
- Dominique Jerman – Book publisher
- AJ Robinson – Published author
- Kenya Harris – Eldercare services
- Kimberly Phelps – Life coach
- Melissa Leuthner – Plant sales
- Libre Jones – Reimagining and reupholstering vintage furniture
- Louise Rountree – Youth programs for success
- Sequoya Carter – Professional dog grooming
- Marilyn Rivers – Life coaching for teachers
- Bendue James – In-home childcare
- Courtney Pugh – Fabric store and studio workspace
- Vincent McDonald – Property management services
The program was such a success that a second cohort will begin immediately after New Year’s, Profeta said. Some of the students from the first class will be teachers in the second class.
“It’s blossoming beyond my wildest imagination,” Profeta said.
NJIT launching real estate, entrepreneurship centers with gift from Profeta, its largest ever
