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The basics:

• 1435 Capital manages $2.5B in assets with growth-stage focus
• Launches $25M Garden State Innovation Fund for New Jersey startups
• Fund targets seed, Series A companies across industries
• Goal: Keep talent, boost investment & grow NJ’s innovation economy

A New Jersey venture capital firm is continuing its remarkable growth – and launching a new fund to catalyze startup investment here in the state.

1435 Capital boasts more than $2.5 billion in assets under management. It features a wide range of notable investments and holdings in its portfolio, as well as a focus on growth-stage investments.

Ben Jen, a serial entrepreneur and respected investor, founded the firm in 2020 and serves as managing partner. The latest 2025 Innovate100 list featured Jen, which celebrates state leaders for their contributions to the innovation economy.

NJBIZ recently visited the 1435 Capital headquarters in Skillman for a discussion about the firm, the Garden State Innovation Fund, the state’s innovation ecosystem and more.

All aboard

“What was the genesis of 1435 coming together and launching here in New Jersey?” NJBIZ asked.

“I mostly spun out 1435 because I was doing a lot of investing and then a lot of people ended up wanting to co-invest with me,” Jen told NJBIZ of his portfolio, Ben Jen Holdings. “I’ve been investing effectively full-time since 2016 – so almost 10 years at this point. And I’ve had a lot of people just want to follow on and participate.

“Before, they were following and participating through special purpose vehicles [SPVs] set up under my personal holdings. Then, I realized I should probably segregate the two. So, about five years back – during the pandemic – I split the two up. I’m still investing in my personal side, but at the same time, 1435 is all LP [limited partner] dollars. So, it’s all external capital.”

“And the name is an interesting tidbit – it deals with railroad tracks. Can you explain that part of it?” NJBIZ asked.

“Our first two offices were actually in Carnegie Center – so right next to Princeton Junction. Given our proximity and given that I’m a train enthusiast – 1435, it’s the standard width of a railroad track in millimeters. A standard gauge railroad track is 1,435 millimeters,” he explained. “If you look at the Northeast Corridor, how much commerce and how many dollars of transactions move around between New York and D.C., or even Boston.

“I thought it’s kind of fitting – given positionally, we’re along the Northeast Corridor in a very strategic part of the country.”

Getting together

He spoke about relocating to this Skillman site. Having once housed Johnson & Johnson offices and research space, the space is now being positioned as the Montgomery Innovation Hub.

“It’s being rebranded as an innovation hub – and they’re trying to bring in more startups,” Jen explained. “They’re trying to do more events.”

In July, 1435 helped organized an NJx Venture Summit at the property.

NJx is a community-driven innovation and entrepreneurship initiative focused on growing the state’s startup ecosystem and connecting the different key stakeholders and founders. The event drew a big turnout – reflecting the energy and demand in this space.

“We were expecting maybe 20-25 companies. We ended up having about 34 companies show up,” Jen noted.

He also highlighted that officials from the state, county and local levels came out, as well as from Princeton University, Rutgers and more. “About half of them were biotech-related. And then the other half were just everything else the state has to offer. But there were a lot of companies, a lot of people presenting. Concurrently, we had panels going.”

Adding an ICON

Lawrence Krampf delivered the keynote speech at that NJx Venture Summit (video available below).

The leading New Jersey businessman and entrepreneur’s decorated career includes founding and serving as CEO of Princeton Communications Group. He currently serves as CEO of V & L Ventures, a business acquisition, marketing and solutions advisory company; as well as president, chief growth officer and partner for mTap, a business engagement platform. Krampf serves as advisory board member for GoMo Health, on the business advisory board for BMI OrganBank, and on the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce board. Earlier this year, Krampf received distinction as a 2025 NJBIZ Icon honoree.

1435 brought him on to serve as a strategic advisor for its recently launched Garden State Innovation Fund.

“Look at this room. Look at the energy in here. If you ever needed proof that something special is happening in New Jersey, this is it,” said Krampf during that keynote speech. “We have founders who are building the future in their garages and labs. We have investors who are ready to write the checks that turn dreams into reality.

“And we have leaders from places like Montgomery Township and the NJEDA who are rolling up their sleeves to pave the road for them.”

Krampf was also on-hand for the NJBIZ visit.

“We had way more people than we expected. Last year, when we did this in September, we were expecting under 100 people. We had about 125 people show up last year,” said Jen, noting that projections for the July event were around 125 people.

There ended up being more than 220 attendees.

Harder than Harvard

Jen spoke a bit more about the firm, including the company’s culture and ethos.

“We’re a very small organization – headcount wise, we don’t have that many people,” said Jen of 1435. “Ethos – we’re distinctly different in the sense that we offer the only internship programs to high school students that are interested in learning more about venture capital.

“So, we’re the only firm that takes summer interns, specifically, four high school kids. There’s four slots – this year, we had about 415 kids apply for the four spots. It’s highly competitive. It’s harder to get into here than Harvard. And for 10 weeks, the interns learn – we expose them to what we do on a day-to-day basis.

“They’re in it.”

He added, “They’re speaking directly with the founders. They’re asking questions. They’re getting their hands dirty by doing due diligence on the startups and companies, writing research reports. So, they really get into the weeds of it.”

Focal points

“Your firm is industry-agnostic – do I have that correct? Are there particular areas where you’re focusing – that you’ve seen more activity in than others?” NJBIZ asked.

“Broadly, the hottest thing out there is AI — anything artificial intelligence-related,” said Jen. “There’s obviously going to be a lot of companies that try to position themselves as an AI startup, when they’re just throwing in the buzzword to try to capitalize.

“We’re definitely seeing companies that are truly doing something special and unique. But I think it’s important to look beyond that as well – and say, alright, there are other ventures and companies that are still innovating that aren’t leveraging or utilizing AI.”

Explaining how he looks at potential AI investments, Jen says that he believes there will be a lot more niche-use cases toward workplace automation.

“Maybe not eliminating, but maybe helping a paralegal do their legal work. Maybe it’s helping a data analyst with collecting and parsing data,” he explained. “So, I think there’s going to be a lot more specific use cases – and a lot of those startups are still figuring it out and just getting started.”

As for other areas where there are opportunities or buzz?

“Biotech is always going to be huge in New Jersey,” said Jen. He noted that 1435 Venture Partner Junaid Mian oversees biotech and life sciences investments at the firm.

Jen and 1435 Capital have made a number of notable investments into a slew of startups and companies.

The firm invests in growth stage companies from seed through Series C, as well as private late-stage Pre-IPO secondaries. It stresses they are tech generalists and industry agnostic, as noted before, with a focus on companies with some revenue, strong teams, a clear path to revenue and proprietary technology.

“Within 1435, do any particular investments stand out … since you launched?” NJBIZ asked.

“Without getting into specifics, Circle was probably one of the bigger ones in terms of multiples on exit,” Jen explained. “They did really well – and they’re still doing really well. I would say, for the most part, we’re still holding on to a lot of names. We’re expecting more IPOs, either later this year or early next. So, hopefully that trend continues.”

New Jersey notes

“We have two focuses,” Jen continued. “One side is later-stage company focus. We focus a lot on pre-IPO companies, as well. I would say that’s where the bulk of the capital is. But in terms of the other side of things – like the Garden State Innovation Fund, where we’re targeting investments, predominantly seed and series a startups – in this case, it’s New Jersey focused.

“So, Jersey-based startups. But in terms of wins, I think obviously from a multiple perspective, or a success perspective, you have to get in early to kind of be able to ride on their coats and help them succeed. And give them the resources necessary to help them grow.”

1435 recently launched the $25 million Garden State Innovation Fund to capitalize on emerging and underfunded innovation in New Jersey.

“Now, the Garden State Innovation Fund – what prompted the idea to launch that fund?” NJBIZ asked.

“I’ve lived and grew up in New Jersey,” said Jen. He noted the firm has a presence in Boston, too. “But I’ve consistently considered New Jersey to be my primary home. And I think it’s mostly from a recognition that a lot of people go to either New York or Philly or Boston – or anywhere but New Jersey to start a company.

“And New Jersey has had the highest property taxes in the nation. There’s just a lot of taxes. I don’t think people have seen New Jersey as a great place to settle and start a business.”

Offering assistance

But he then pointed to some of the positive trends in this space in the state, such as New Jersey Economic Development Authority programs, strategic innovation centers and general momentum — including turnout for the recent NJx Venture event.

“And I think between all the different tax incentives, all the different grants and programs that the EDA has, and all the innovation centers that are coming up – I think this is a great time to encourage startups and companies to settle and to start their companies in New Jersey.”

Krampf and Jen pointed to such an example, highlighting legislation passed during the budget process that allows for the exclusion of capital gains from the sale of Qualified Small Business Stock. Signed into law by Gov. Murphy, the measure aims to support the innovation/startup economy. The business community applauded the new law for putting New Jersey on a bit more equal footing in terms of competitiveness, joining 45 other states that recognize QSBS.

You have talent here – we want to keep the talent here.
— Lawrence Krampf

Another bill passed during that time that also lauded by business leaders increased tax incentives for angel investors.

“I think this was the perfect time to do it,” said Jen of the Garden State Innovation Fund launch.

“We want Jersey guys getting into this fund,” Krampf told NJBIZ.

“So, in addition to the conditions being right for this fund, and some more positives – tax incentives, things of that nature – this has kind of a personal importance to you?” NJBIZ asked.

“Yes,” said Jen.

“You have talent here – we want to keep the talent here,” said Krampf.

“Exactly,” said Jen.

Navigating resources

“And now with this fund, what do you hope to see in the next year or two – what do you envision?” NJBIZ asked.

“We’re probably going to try to get the first close for the Fund later this year – but we’ve identified a number of startups that we could potentially invest out of the fund,” said Jen. He noted that a lot of them are not aware of the different programs that the state offers yet. “We’re thinking that there’s a lot of different grants and things that they could simultaneously apply for that would help strengthen any investment that we make into them, ultimately.

“Because it will give them additional cash with minimal strings attached, since it’s coming from the state, through the grants in terms of awards. So far, we’ve identified four startups that we can immediately deploy capital into. I think as a function of doing events, as well, [we can] identify more startups that we can potentially invest in.”

“And are there particular areas that you’re looking at for this fund – or same kind of thing, like industry agnostic – and case-by-case?” NJBIZ asked.

“It’s definitely case-by-case … But the main distinction is that geographically, it’s focused on Jersey,” said Jen.

Anything can happen in Jersey

As the conversation closed, Jen spoke about how exciting of a moment it is for the state in the innovation space — and how much potential there is for a major boom here.

“I think there’s a huge one,” said Jen. “We’re kind of like a sleepy startup state – we’re kind of going unnoticed. But definitely more dollars are coming into the state. I think Plug and Play setting up shop with NJ FAST [a strategic innovation center in Hoboken] is a good indicator – given that Plug and Play is a huge accelerator. Their venture side is invested in so many different startups. I think that’s a great sign.”

Krampf and Jen stressed they are looking for partnership and collaboration with the state and other key stakeholders with this fund – all with the goal of keeping businesses and startups here in the great Garden State.

And that was a point that Krampf hammered home during his keynote speech at that July event.

“This is more than just an economic strategy. This is about pride. It’s about identity. It’s about reclaiming our legacy and building a future we can all believe in. We are the original startup state. It’s in our DNA,” said Krampf. “Now let’s connect, let’s commit, and let’s build.

“Let’s ‘Make It Happen in New Jersey!’”