The College of New Jersey

• Type: Public liberal arts college
• Location: Ewing, New Jersey
• Enrollment: ~7,500 students
• School: School of Business
• Mayo BPC Contact: Stephanie Horner (horners@tcnj.edu)

TCNJ has meaningful but focused entrepreneurship infrastructure centered on the School of Business. The flagship Mayo Business Plan Competition has awarded $30K/$20K/$10K prizes in 2025 and 2026 with live finals at Mayo Concert Hall and documented winners (Nari, Juniper). The Center for Innovation and Ethics provides ecosystem depth through speaker series and research on ethical innovation. The on-campus NJSBDC office offers small business counseling and training. In 2025, TCNJ launched New Jersey's first Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) for high school students in partnership with the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce. The university has a formal invention disclosure process for research commercialization, and a student Entrepreneurship Club has been documented historically.

TCNJ qualifies as a Tier 2 entrepreneurship campus. It is primarily a competition + small business support + innovation education campus rather than a heavy startup venture engine. It lacks a dedicated incubator, accelerator, venture fund, or equity-bearing startup studio.

• tcnj-mayo-business-plan-competition — Mayo Business Plan Competition (flagship, $30K top prize)
• tcnj-center-innovation-ethics — Center for Innovation and Ethics

Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) at TCNJ

New Jersey's first YEA! program, hosted at TCNJ in partnership with Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce. 30-week program for ~30 high school students from Mercer County. Students develop ideas, do market research, write business plans, and pitch investors. Tuition $995 with scholarships available. Announced June 2025.

NJSBDC at TCNJ

New Jersey Small Business Development Center office on campus offering training and counseling to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Confirmed operational in May 2026. Contact: info@sbdcnj.com, tcnj@njsbdc.org, (609) 789-8364.

Entrepreneurship Club

Student club connecting students and fostering startup activity. Most recent documented activity from 2020. Current status unclear.

Technology Transfer / Commercialization

TCNJ has a formal invention disclosure process through the Office of Grants and Sponsored Research. Faculty can submit invention disclosures for patenting and commercialization. Contact: grants@tcnj.edu.

• — Consolidated research report
• — Mayo BPC official site
• — Center for Innovation and Ethics

• Entrepreneurship Club current activity (2023-2026)
• Whether YEA! is recurring annually at TCNJ
• Whether CIE has venture mentoring beyond talks
• Any TCNJ-affiliated startups with external venture funding
• Dedicated tech transfer staffing beyond grants office
• Alumni founder support formalization