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Governor Phil Murphy

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Women and Minority Owned Businesses

Golden Seeds

By investing in female entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses, we demonstrate the value of a woman’s presence in business. Beyond that, we show the world the impact women can make when they are autonomous, healthy, and financially independent.

In early 2020, First Lady Tammy Murphy and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority launched the New Jersey chapter of Golden Seeds, a nation-wide angel investor network dedicated to investing in female-led startup companies. The organization has more than 300 members that include accredited investors from a diverse range of locations, sectors, and backgrounds. The New Jersey chapter of the organization joined seven other established Golden Seeds chapters in Arizona, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, New York City, and Silicon Valley.

The data is clear: In the first ten months of 2018, female-founded startups have closed 391 deals worth $2.3 billion, up from $2 billion in 2017. And, when compared with the S&P 500 Index, Fortune 1000 companies led by female CEOs saw returns that were 226 percent higher. Companies that include women in top management positions increase their profit margins and produce more patents than teams with solely male leaders, yet most businesses are still founded and led exclusively by men. This disparity is particularly glaring and problematic in the start-up sector.

Closing the funding gap for female-led startups will help close the gender wage and employment gaps and bring us closer to developing New Jersey’s diverse innovation economy.

This partnership with Golden Seeds will increase the availability of angel capital for female-led businesses and provide mentoring opportunities for female business leaders. This, in turn, will help foster a strong, cohesive angel investing community in New Jersey by bringing members together to identify investment opportunities, conduct due diligence, and support companies in which they choose to invest.

Investors interested in getting more information about the NJ Chapter of Golden Seeds should contact GoldenSeeds@njeda.com.

Learn more about the NJ chapter of Golden Seeds here, including office hours.

Listening Tour

Small businesses are critical to New Jersey’s economy and so is our diversity. Although our state is small, over 861,000 companies operate in New Jersey. Over half of the firms in the state are women and minority-owned, and one-third of all New Jersey business owners are foreign-born.

In 2019, First Lady Tammy Murphy began a listening tour of women and minority-owned businesses throughout New Jersey to learn more about our small business community from the owners themselves and highlight the minority and women entrepreneurs who hold up our economy.

Many of these businesses receive support from New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Small Business Services Team. Learn more about their small business programs

Press Releases

Name Posted
NJEDA - NJEDA, Kean University, and ICIC Host Kickoff Event for First Building for Growth Program Cohort in New Jersey 01/17/2025
NJDOL Awards Nearly $2 Million in Grants to Support Women and Minorities Building Careers in the Construction Trades 01/24/2025
NJEDA-Golden Seeds’ New Jersey Chapter Joins National Chapter in Celebrating its 20th Anniversary; Highlights Success of Supporting Women-Led Companies 10/25/2024
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Announces $2 Million Grant Opportunity to Help Provide Training for Minorities and Women in the Construction Trades 10/25/2024
NJDOL Awards $4.8 Million in Grants to Support Women and Minorities in the Construction Trades 06/27/2024
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Announces $4M Grant to Help Women, Minorities Pursue Construction Trades Careers 02/02/2024
Office of the Governor | Murphy Administration Releases Statewide Disparity Study of Contracting Opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses (MWBE) (nj.gov) 01/23/2024
Women Investing in Women: Golden Seed’s Mission to Create a More Equitable NJ Innovation Economy - NJEDA 03/18/2021
Office of the Governor | ICYMI: Woman-Owned ROAR Receives First Investment Driven by NJ Chapter of Golden Seeds 11/16/2020
Golden Seeds Launches New Jersey Chapter in Partnership with First Lady Tammy Snyder Murphy, NJEDA - NJEDA 02/05/2020
New Jersey Chapter of Women-Focused Investment Group Announces First Information Session and Mentoring Opportunities for Female Entrepreneurs - NJEDA 01/27/2020
Office of the Governor | First Lady Tammy Murphy, NJEDA, and Golden Seeds Host Information Session Highlighting New Resources for Women-Led Businesses 10/02/2019
Office of the Governor | New Jersey to Host Garden State’s First Ever Summit to Connect Minority, Women, Veteran, & LGBTQ Businesses with Billion-Dollar Economic Engine (nj.gov) 07/24/2019
First Lady Tammy Murphy and NJEDA Announce Partnership with Golden Seeds to Increase Funding for Women-Led Startups - NJEDA 07/16/2019