Entrepreneurs Join us in Growing an Equitable Tech Community in Newark
Laila Zemrani has some advice for fellow entrepreneurs who are launching a startup: go where you can find community. “It’s a lot easier to get things done with a community,” she says.
Zemrani is the co-founder and CEO of Fitnescity, an innovative technology platform that connects consumers with local labs and clinics for testing, and turns the results into personal analytics so they can pursue their health goals. She and her business partner, Çağatay Demiralp, started Fitnescity in New York City in late 2020, when the city was still partly in lockdown for Covid-19. What followed was an opportunity to reassess their location. “Yes, there’s a big tech ecosystem in New York,” but given its size and bustle, “it’s really hard to build a community there.” Zemrani knew she wanted to open an office in New Jersey to be closer to her home and take advantage of the state’s robust healthcare industry. That’s when she learned about Audible’s Business Attraction Program, which offers grants and other incentives for companies to relocate to Newark and become part of the city’s booming innovation ecosystem.
Through the program, Audible provides each company up to $250,000 in non-dilutive grants that may be used for office space-related expenses (rent, construction, fit-out) or relocation assistance, stipends for employees to live and shop locally, networking opportunities, and personalized mentorship from Audible leaders. Founders of color and female founders are particularly encouraged to apply, in keeping with the mission of Audible’s Global Center for Urban Innovation, which is to advance equity in our communities—in this case by increasing access for those who typically face obstacles to the financial support, guidance and networking critical to a startup’s success. Black-founded companies typically receive only 1% of venture funding nationally, and female founders only 1.9%.
I’ve already made so many connections, many of them through Audible. Here, everybody knows everybody, so you get introductions, you get help and you hire much faster.
For Fitnescity, the grant has been helpful in facilitating the company’s move and growth, and Zemrani says that having access to Audible’s expertise and the Newark business community has been invaluable. Since moving here four months ago, “I’ve already made so many connections, many of them through Audible. Here, everybody knows everybody, so you get introductions, you get help and you hire much faster.”
Adding to the sense of connectivity is the fact that Fitnescity’s office is part of Equal Space, an innovative, 50,000-square-foot, multi-floor working space with an emphasis on communal support. Equal Space’s co-founders, longtime best friends Citi Medina and Rafael “Ralphie” Roman, opened this campus, which they’ve dubbed “ES550,” in a newly renovated office building at 550 Broad Street, with help from Audible. Roman emphasizes that Equal Space is distinct from other co-working spaces, where startups and entrepreneurs pay rent but then are left to sink or swim, instead providing a “safe space for Black and Brown and LGBTQIA+ founders,” a place where they are celebrated and affirmed for who they are, as opposed to feeling like they need to “code-switch” in order to achieve success. “Equal Space is what we wish we had when we founded our first company,” adds Medina. “It’s a home for all—not just a business, but an embassy for those who always felt marginalized.”
In addition to Fitnescity, Equal Space’s ES550 location is housing other companies in Audible’s program, and has room for about 40 companies in total. “We’re the best option for startups to land,” Medina explains, because Equal Space can help facilitate several aspects of moving or launching a business. More than half of Equal Space’s team is dedicated to working with members, or “spacers,” to find out what their strengths and challenges are, and what resources they need to realize their vision. “We can even help them find great housing, all the cultural spots, where to eat.”
Zemrani reports that the ES550 space is “beautiful,” with dedicated spaces for each company, skyline views out of the windows, a common area with coffee and snacks, a 300-people space for symposiums, and frequent networking events. “We’re super excited to be in this office,” she says, and Fitnescity has already hired two new employees with help from their new business community.
For Medina, the feeling is mutual. “Laila’s leadership exemplifies what our ES550 campus was built for: fast-growing, unique visions led by diverse founders. Since becoming a part of our community, her company has already taken on more space in our campus. Her trajectory shows us that ES550 is built to empower startups in Newark.”
On May 14, Audible’s CEO Bob Carrigan and our Global Head of Urban Innovation Aisha Glover joined local business leaders, as well as Jorge Santos of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), Newark Councilwoman LaMonica McIver, Deputy Mayor Allison Ladd, and Senator Cory Booker (via video), to cheer on Medina as they cut the ribbon at ES550. In his remarks at the event, Carrigan said, “This company’s mission is one that we at Audible are laser-focused on: bringing more businesses to Newark and providing more opportunity and innovation at a time when we’re seeing critical momentum in the revitalization of this great American city.”
Added Glover, “It is a great honor to support their vision—and ours—to help grow a tech and innovation ecosystem that is diverse, inclusive, that looks like our now and our future.”
Equal Space joins a number of flourishing companies in Newark that are also part of Audible’s program, all of whom continue to be supported by Audible mentorship and connections, financial assistance and more. “Together we’re building a honeycomb of tech innovation,” says Roman.
“Together” is the key, as Zemrani will attest, having found her community at last. “I hope we can inspire others to see that it is not only possible, but great to build a company in Newark.”
