How to Get Started with Your Startup

A guide for NJIT students who want to launch a business, specially curated with resources available to students in our entrepreneurial community.

1. Brainstorm Business Ideas

The first step in starting a business is brainstorming and evaluating potential business ideas. Begin with solving a problem, rather than creating a product. Think about who you are solving the problem for?

2. Check out the Competition

It is not bad if there is competition out there, it is actually a good thing. Evaluating the competition helps in strategizing how to position your startup effectively against established competitors.

3. Formulate your Value Proposition

Creating a compelling value proposition is a critical step and by communicating it early on, it will help you to obtain feedback. This step involves being intentional about who your customer is and defining the unique benefits to fulfill their needs (be sure to focus on benefits rather than features).

4. Talk to Potential Customers

The #1 reason that startups fail is that they build something that nobody wants. At this idea stage, take the time to speak with potential customers and shape your idea into something that your target market wants.

5. Get Help from Our Campus Community

NJIT is the #2 Public University in the country and has many resources and entrepreneurial students who you can connect with. Join the Entrepreneurs Society and also our LinkedIn group. We hold weekly Open Entrepreneurial Office Hours in the Van Houten library (Wednesdays 3 - 5 pm), open to all NJIT students.

6. Take an Entrepreneurship Course or Degree Program

Spanning our undergraduate and graduate programs, we offer nearly 50 entrepreneurship courses. As one example, Introduction to Entrepreneurship (ENTR 210) course is open to all NJIT undergraduates and fits into all degrees by fulfilling a Gen Ed requirement (awesome!). The course takes you from concept to business plan to practicing your pitch. Checkout NJIT’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs and Courses.

7. Develop a Business Plan

Draft an outline of your business plan. If you took a course, you may have already completed this step. Developing a business plan involves drafting several stages of planning including marketing strategy, pro forma financial statements, and a detailed production plan.

8. Leverage the NJIT MakerSpace to Create a Prototype of Your Product

The NJIT Makerspace is an impressive facility of 21,000 square feet with state-of-the-art equipment ranging from industrial to small prototyping machines. They offer training to students who want to learn how to use the equipment and build skills for the innovation, invention, and product realization processes.

9. Launch Your Digital Presence: Website and Social Media

Creating and launching a website is a useful tool to test customer desirability of your startup product in the early stages.

10. Explore Student Startup Funding

There are several sources of funding that a student entrepreneur should consider in the early stages of their startup.

→ Pitch competitions serve as a great source for non-diluted funding. NJIT hosts the New Business Model Competition every Fall and there are many more (see our events page).

→ NJIT is part of the Northeast Hub for a federal program called i-Corps. The i-Corps Propelus program is open to students who want to transform an innovative idea into a successful startup. The program provides stipends of up to $1,500 and training to support customer discovery and technology investigation.

→ NJIT students can take a course that guides them through grant funding, such as SBIR and STTR grants, known as America’s seed funds.

→ NJIT offers Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellowships that include seed money for startups, applications open in the Spring semester.

→ NJIT is a mentor university for an amazing program in our state: the New Jersey Innovation Fellows. Eligible teams receive $200,000 as a base award with potential bonuses for Opportunity Zones, such as Newark, and an education bonus of $150,000 for those who attended a public university.

→ Checkout outside crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and, for social entrepreneurship, KIVA and Indiegogo.

→ Venturewell accelerates student startups and has programs like the E-Team Program.

11. Choose Your Business Name and Register Your Business

Naming a business is fun but be sure to think about how the name will fit within the mind of your customer (appealing and memorable), do your homework and make sure that the name is available both officially with the state treasury and digitally (Is the website URL available? Is the social media handle available?), and has staying power (popular terms may fade away). Registering your business, including setting up an LLC, can take less than 15 minutes.

12. Learn Alongside a More Experienced Entrepreneur

Consider working as a student intern at a startup to apply your skills and experience in the startup world firsthand. We have open NJIT internships listed here.