Business Summit 2024 | Middlesex County NJ

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Thank you for joining the Middlesex County’s Premier Business and Networking Event!

Thank you for joining us for one of New Jersey’s most prestigious gatherings of future-forward business leaders, entrepreneurs, advisors, and government officials! Our vibrant community convened on Thursday, October 10, 2024, at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center for an inspiring event focused on innovation and collaboration.

The theme, “Innovate to Elevate: Shaping Tomorrow's Business Landscape,” showcased the extraordinary work being done to create products, services, and jobs that transform our lives and enrich our communities. Attendees learned firsthand from an influential lineup of presenters who are blazing trails in their respective fields. Participants had the opportunity to network with peers, learn from industry leaders, discuss best practices, and evaluate emerging market trends, all contributing to a dynamic and engaging atmosphere.

Thank you for being a part of this remarkable event!

Key Event Takeaways and Highlights

Fireside chat with Tim Sullivan

New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) CEO Tim Sullivan discussed the agency's unique approach to facilitating innovation and new company growth in New Jersey. The agency starts by allocating resources to funding new startups and emphasizing that it is cheaper for the agency to facilitate new company growth than to attract large companies to move to the state.

“Investing in the innovation economy, small businesses, and our communities; have been the major tentpoles of this administration. That’s how you get durable job creation in any good, thriving economy: when young companies grow and scale and go from two people hanging out in a garage, or somebody playing with a microscope, to the next Microsoft or Johnson & Johnson” — Tim Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority

Key Takeaways

New Jersey’s unique approach to the innovation economy: It is always cheaper for taxpayers to have a new startup born in New Jersey than to attract one to the State with tax credits. Through programs like the Innovation Evergreen Fund, which helps larger businesses support new startups, and the Innovation Fellows Program, which aims to give disadvantaged groups access to capital to explore their entrepreneurial goals, New Jersey is leading the way in creating an innovation economy.
Economic Security is Key to Economic Growth: Food insecurity, food deserts, and lack of childcare can hamper communities’ ability to grow the economy. The NJEDA developed a program during the pandemic where instead of providing restaurants with capital to stay open, they bought food from them to give to the growing number of people facing food insecurity. Programs like these can be used to incentivize people to invest in taking care of each other.

Panelist

Tim Sullivan

Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority

Fireside chat with Thierry E. Klein

Nokia Bell Labs Research CEO Thierry Klein discussed moving Nokia’s Headquarters to New Brunswick, the important factors that led to that decision, and the benefits the move will provide to the region and its employees. He also examined the company’s approach to innovation and how collaboration with companies of all sizes is crucial to its success. Klein emphasized the history of innovation in Middlesex County and teased some cool upcoming projects they’re working on, like establishing cellular networks in space!

“When we were thinking about moving we were thinking about moving, we were thinking we needed to upgrade the facility to have state-of-the-art offices and labs, but we also looked at what else is important to the next 5-10 years and beyond. We want to be part of an ecosystem of other big businesses, startups, and universities. When we came to New Brunswick to look at the HELIX, we knew on the spot that this was it.” — Thierry E. Klein, President of Nokia Bell Labs Solutions Research

Key Takeaways

Nokia Sees New Brunswick as Ideal Location for R&D: Nokia is moving its R&D Headquarters to New Brunswick for several key reasons:

Access: Being close to major train stations and thoroughfares gives New Brunswick an ideal location for attracting talent, and collaborating with other businesses.
State-of-the-Art Facilities: By moving to a new building, Nokia can imagine its new facility and contribute ideas to its construction that fit the companies needs. For example, making their facility vibration-resistant to their labs can work undisturbed.
Regional Culture and Social Life: Easy access to shops and restaurants that permeate the city and neighboring towns provide an ideal lifestyle for their staff.

Big Businesses Benefit from Collaboration: Nokia works with various businesses of any size to confirm their results are replicable, their technology works outside of their own lab, and to understand the breadth of the implications of their technology.
Cautious Optimism on AI: Artificial intelligence can greatly benefit businesses, but healthy caution is useful to avoid ethical complications. Moreover, AI has so far proven not to be successful in any creative tasks, but the technology is ever-evolving.

Panelist

Thierry E. Klein

President of Nokia Bell Labs Solutions Research

Fireside chat with Anjalee Khemlani

Anjalee Khemlani discussed the current dynamics in the healthcare industry, emphasizing the ongoing tension between healthcare providers and policymakers as the government seeks to make care more affordable. She highlighted that while AI has been integrated into areas like medical imaging, the industry still relies on human input, especially in clinical trials and disease diagnosis.

“We’re at the most interesting time in the industry. One of my favorite parts of covering the industry is watching the tug-of-war between the healthcare industry and policymakers. You have the government trying to convince the industry to reign in prices and make the economics make sense to individuals, families, and business owners, at a time when they are seeing other parts of the economy struggle.” — Anjalee Khemlani, Award-winning health-care journalist and Senior Reporter, Yahoo Finance

Key Takeaways

AI in Healthcare is at a Crossroads: The Healthcare industry has been dealing with AI since before the pandemic, using it to scan medical imaging, for example. However, more recently they have been grappling with its use as healthcare will always require a human touch. Clinical trials, and disease diagnosis, for example, always need a human touch, whether it be a doctor's confirmation, or human subjects in a trial, the technology currently doesn’t offer enough certainty.
Healthcare Industry is Rethinking its Model: Vertical integration, and offering consumers everything they need all at once, is no longer the most profitable business model, and some companies are shedding products and services to keep up. Some hospitals are building new wings and expansions for emergencies, research, and procedures, while on the other hand encouraging at-home care in lieu of longer hospital stays.

Panelist

Anjalee Khemlani

Award-winning health-care journalist and Senior Reporter, Yahoo Finance

Panel Discussion

Innovate to Elevate: Shaping Tomorrow’s Business Landscape

In an engaging and multifaceted conversation, this diverse group of panelists discussed the challenges of working in a global environment and the need for change to be consumer driven in order to be successful. They also shared insights on how best to create an atmosphere that fosters innovation and change – one that attracts, retains, inspires, and empowers the next generation of innovators.

“In terms of biotech, without innovation, nothing can be achieved. If we don’t innovate, nothing can survive — we cannot survive. Without innovation, we won’t be able to fulfill our purpose.” — Dr. Ray Chen, President of GenScript Life Science Group, GenScript Biotech

Key Takeaways

Innovation starts at the top. Creating an atmosphere that fosters innovative change begins with leadership that inspires everyone — at every level of the organization — to move with confidence, provides opportunities to create, and models a culture of understanding and acceptance that ideas do not always work out the first time.
Lead by listening. In order to innovate successfully, you have to be able to listen to and understand what the client wants. Listening to consumers is the best way to ensure your business is not only adapting and responding to market demands with speed and agility — but leading the way.
Embrace change in every way — including how you manage. Attracting and retaining a new generation of workers may require new perks (think: remote or hybrid work schedules) and a new way of managing. While younger generations may be impatient to move ahead, they are often purpose-driven and are inspired by the “why” behind what they are doing. Allow them to lean into their strengths but create opportunities for cross-generational collaboration and mentorship as well.

Panelists

Shareef Nahas

Vice President of Global Operations & Chief Scientific Officer of Sampled

Nayan Dalal

Founder and CEO, TLI Home

Tasha Youngblood Brown

Founder and CEO, The Brown Bag Collective

Moderator: Tom Bergeron

Editor, ROI, NJ

Dr. Ray Chen

President of GenScript Life Science Group, GenScript Biotech

Breakout Sessions

Entrepreneurial Success, Navigating in Today’s Environment

Designed to inspire and inform anyone working in the entrepreneurial space, or those who are preparing to embrace the entrepreneurial life, in this session seasoned entrepreneurs and an experienced venture capitalist offered insights into what it takes to get your start-up off the ground, growing it from a great idea into a great business — all while sustaining an entrepreneurial spirit and culture within your organization.

“From an entrepreneurial standpoint, the biggest thing is understanding customers. Technology is important too, but that’s only a piece of the puzzle. To secure funding, you need to have a story or a vision to point back to.” — Alex Davisson, Senior Venture Associate, Plug and Play Tech Center

Key Takeaways

Know your own strengths. As an entrepreneur, the skills that helped your start-up business succeed may not be the same ones needed to successfully run a larger company for the long term. As your organization grows, be prepared to do the hard work of honest self-assessment to ensure you are not taking on more than you (and your skillset) can handle — it may be human resources specifically or management in general — and then hire people who possess the talent, knowledge, and experience to lead in that space.
The freedom to fail. One way to keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive as your company grows is to give your employees the space — and the grace — to fail without (too much) fear. Being an entrepreneur requires courage, but if you punish people who are innovating, some will stop taking risks and others will simply leave. Either way, your business will lose.
Money grows on the “relationship tree.” Every successful start-up requires funding. You may be fortunate enough to have family and friends who are willing to invest in your idea, or you may have to seek outside funding. Either way, the connections you make and the relationships you build are crucial to securing the right funding at the right time.

Panelists

Alex Davisson

Senior Venture Associate, Plug and Play Tech Center

Jeff Kinsberg

COO, Founder, and Visionary, JAKTOOL

Bo Liang

CEO, IView Therapeutics, Inc.

Moderator: Sho Islam

Director Office of Business Engagement, Middlesex County, NJ

Digital Transformation

The Digital Transformation breakout session highlighted the pivotal role of innovative technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), in driving business success. Speakers emphasized the importance of ensuring data quality, or "data cleanliness," as the foundational step for companies integrating AI solutions. The session also highlighted the need to clearly define the business problems AI is intended to solve. While AI experimentation is encouraged, companies must approach it responsibly, ensuring alignment with their core mission and organizational values.

Businesses should hire a diverse workforce to train the model to avoid bias. Businesses should incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout the development of their AI systems.” — Joti Balani, managing director of Fresh River AI

Key Takeaways

Prioritizing Security and Confidentiality. When implementing new technology tools such as AI tools, businesses must prioritize security and confidentiality as foundational elements of their strategy. This includes management of data access and proactive mitigation of security risks during the development phase. As generative AI introduces new challenges, organizations should adopt advanced security frameworks to protect sensitive information and control data exposure.
Ethical AI Integration. Integrating AI into business practices requires a strong commitment to avoiding bias, as upholding ethical standards is essential. Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the organization, as well as throughout the AI integration process, is vital to mitigating bias. AI systems should be developed by diverse teams and designed to reflect the diversity of their intended audience, ensuring fairness and inclusivity in their operation.
Importance of Education and Mentorship. Mentorship is essential in guiding professionals and students on the responsible use of AI tools. As technology evolves, educational institutions must continuously update their curricula to address these advancements. Beyond teaching AI implementation, the focus should be on defining problem statements and asking critical questions about the challenges AI is intended to solve. Strong partnerships between businesses and educational institutions are key to preparing a workforce capable of effective AI integration.

Panelists