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NJBIZ recently caught up TechUnited:NJ President and CEO Aaron Price – no easy feat because the Propelify Innovation Festival organizer seemingly has been everywhere recently.

The discussion started with a post-mortem on this most recent Propelify – the eighth annual iteration, held in October in Hoboken once again – which was all about artificial intelligence. “We were thrilled. We had thousands of attendees,” Price told NJBIZ. “There was a huge amount of interest in AI – our stage being programmed just around AI was a very effective way to educate people on the possibilities there, inspire entrepreneurs, and share what large corporations are up to and interested in getting involved with, so that New Jersey and this community can be ahead of the curve on some of these advancements. So, we were really thrilled.”

Price said AI is inescapable right now – stressing that industries and the world, writ large, inevitably will see disruption from AI. “For us, it made so much sense. Propelify is about being a place that propels ideas into action,” Price explained. “And AI is an idea being rapidly propelled into action. So, we wanted to make sure we were a thought leader in this space.”

Calling the power of AI very real – Price believes it dramatically increases our ability to be more effective, smarter and make better choices as human beings. “And like with many advancements in technology, there is an unfortunate downside. And there will be bad actors,” said Price. “People are being thoughtful upfront about ways to manage the risks and to make sure that the technology is used for, generally what people would call good versus evil. So, I think it’s great that governments are being thoughtful about how AI plays a role — both in government and for the economy in a particular region.”

As the conversation spun back to the Propelify event itself, Price said the plan is for the event to continue over the long haul. “We are leaning into areas where we think we can be, like with AI, ahead of the curve on topics and make sure we are bringing out people who are not just regionally, but thought leaders from around the world,” said Price. “While there’s certainly a concentration of both attendees and speakers from the New York/New Jersey area, we have people flying from literally around the world – 43 states, 15 countries. Our goal is to be best-in-breed. Propelify is produced by TechUnited:New Jersey – and our goal is to be a destination for entrepreneurs because of the best-in-class offerings. And Propelify is a visible representation of that. Our goal is to be a place where people can learn about and meet entrepreneurs and innovators who are doing things that are really changing the world.”

Shortly after Propelify, Price joined Gov. Phil Murphy on the Choose New Jersey-backed economic mission to East Asia. He participated in all three legs of the trip, which included stops in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

“It was a great trip. I was very impressed with the mission of the trip, overall, and the rigor that was taken to make sure we hit as many potential economic development stops as we could possibly squeeze in,” said Price, who noted that he did join the governor on his morning runs. “What stood out to me is how technology and innovation is really a universal language. And communities are looking to build businesses — make a positive impact around the world.”

He said that this was the first time TechUnited had participated in an economic development trip. “It was extremely worthwhile. Both to be working closer with the delegates on the trip because it is rare that all of us are in the same room for so long, as well as to having a unified, really strong message to the various countries that we visited. It was a fantastic experience.”

After returning from that trip – all still in the month of October – TechUnited announced the official launch of BetterFutureLabs, a startup studio that will act as a co-founder to start new companies here in the Garden State.

Price said the reason for launching this venture was simple: New Jersey does not have enough startups. “We lose founders to other markets. So, BetterFutureLabs is about taking the incredible assets that we have in New Jersey – in particular, our corporate connectivity and corporate concentration, relationships with colleges and universities,” Price explained. “Working with those partners to identify areas of friction – where is there opportunity? BetterFutureLabs will build those businesses. We act as the co-founder. We bring in an external entrepreneur co-founder. We have our own internal head of technology. We have the legal, accounting, variety of back-office services. We put $300,000 to $400,000 into each one of these companies – with the goal of getting very rapid feedback from our Product Advisory Board, those who might be potential customers and partners.”

By going through that type of process, Price said that they can make mistakes and determine whether it actually has product-market fit and then get it to a significant A round – so the company has longevity. He said the effort is aligned with building a better future, which is the mission of TechUnited.

“We believe we can take out some of the risk that happens in the early-stage process,” Price said. “Infuse runway in the form of capital and talent – our own talent around the table – and have more businesses start here. And the response has been really incredible.”

He cited Verizon as being a great partner on this initiative and noted that Jason Glickman, a lifelong entrepreneur and early-stage investor, is a co-founder and will serve as managing director of BetterFutureLabs. Price said they are building an impressive board of entrepreneurs who will serve as co-founders, bringing on more corporate partners, and putting together an investor board.

“We have quick access to the right people to make sure that we are building this company in the right direction,” said Price. “Having been an entrepreneur who’s spun his wheels on companies that did not really have product-market fit or could not find capital or could not get the meeting – we can dramatically accelerate those things, add some capital, and add the technical components. It is a really compelling value proposition to the innovation community in New Jersey. And we are seeing the entrepreneurial community respond with tremendous enthusiasm about how they can get involved.”

The effort is starting with the future of work category – looking at a variety of applications of how software potentially plays a role in the evolving space.

“I am extremely excited about the future of BetterFutureLabs,” Price continued. “We continue to welcome new corporate partners, continue to fundraise for it. The community has been extremely receptive and excited about something new that is very much in line with what New Jersey needs.”

As for the broader innovation economy and startup scene in New Jersey, which has been a major area of focus for the Murphy administration, Price believes there is an opportunity to welcome and support earlier-stage companies. He pointed to legislation TechUnited is supporting to dramatically increase the Angel Tax Credit to make the state more attractive for early-stage investment and noted the launch and first deployment of the Innovation Evergreen Fund – praising the governor, his team (especially Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Growth Eric Brophy) as well as Sen. Andrew Zwicker, D-16th District, and Assemblyman Chris Tully, D-38th District, for their efforts in advocating for these issues.

“I would say that we are moving in the right direction,” said Price. “The governor has been a great cheerleader for the startup and innovation community.”

When asked whether the efforts, initiatives, and programs underway here were being noticed by the startup and innovation community – Price said the word is getting around.

“We are getting more interest than we used to. And I think if we can turn some of these policy ideas into actual bills and law – we can make some major moves,” Price explained. “But we are definitely being paid attention to in a way that we weren’t when I first started out in the startup community 12 years ago with the New Jersey Tech Meetup. We are taken much more seriously now.”

As the calendar flips to 2024, Price discussed some of his areas of focus and other goals.

“A refresh of the Propelify Innovation Festival. We are thinking about a new offering and membership to be able to welcome the earliest entrepreneurs and those who may not be able to afford a traditional membership – and how can we have more benefactors to make sure that we are capturing every entrepreneur and innovator in the state,” said Price. “We are expanding our mentorship program for Black and women business owners. We are expecting to launch two to four companies out of BetterFutureLabs. And I think you will see a shakeup in our programming – of our events schedule, in general – just to lean in on specific audiences where we see some opportunity and room for growth.”

Price concluded by saying his biggest fear is becoming stale.

“We spend a lot of time thinking about – how do we make sure we are ahead of the curve and not doing the same things we have been doing for many years?” he said. “I think you will see that that spirit continues very much in 2024.”