Audible's New Business Attraction Program Fuels Newark's Innovation Economy

Audible today announced the launch of a new series of business attraction efforts designed to help innovative companies join Audible in Newark. Companies with founders of color or female founders are particularly encouraged to apply and can access relocation assistance, capital for new leases, and stipends for employees to live and shop locally – an extension of Audible’s successful Live Local Program. Live Local offers a $500 per month after-tax rent subsidy for employees who choose to live in Newark. Audible moved to Newark in 2007 and has spearheaded an array of unique programs, including the launch of Newark Venture Partners in 2015, the establishment of the Global Center for Urban Innovation in 2020 and impact initiatives like NWK Delivers, which have generated close to $1 billion in economic output.

Audible’s business attraction efforts target startups with at least 10 employees, at the seed or Series A stage, and which are looking to expand or relocate to Newark. The program aims to leverage Newark’s unmatched data infrastructure, boost local spending to preserve and create jobs, address high retail and commercial vacancy rates, and accelerate the growth of the city’s innovation ecosystem. The business attraction efforts will also facilitate leasing opportunities at buildings in Newark’s Harriet Tubman Square, such as 33 Washington Street, 550 Broad Street, 494 Broad Street, 540 Broad Street and 536 Broad Street. Six companies in the tech innovation, hospitality, and entertainment sectors have already joined the program and will be expanding or arriving in Newark. Four new tech startups have leased office space in 550 Broad Street, while Newark Culture Club is opening at 12 Halsey Street, and Harlem’s BLVD Bistro will open a second location in the mixed-use space at 33 Washington Street – all located in Newark’s newly created burgeoning arts and innovation district adjacent to Harriet Tubman Square and home to Audible’s headquarters.

“Audible has worked to catalyze the city’s revitalization, from our decades-long work with Newark high school interns, to the Covid response program Newark Working Kitchens which has delivered more than 1.5 million meals and helped to support more than 37 Newark restaurants,” said Aisha Glover, Vice President of Urban Innovation for Audible’s Global Center for Urban Innovation. “We’re proud to be creating economic opportunities for the growing innovation sector, local businesses, workers, and residents to thrive. Our startup attraction efforts are leading the way in this resurgence by thoughtfully and equitably growing the tech and innovation ecosystem, empowering diverse founders and supporting the local economy.”

“This innovative pilot program is another scalable model that can be adopted by other companies seeking to make an impact in the cities they call home,” said Audible Founder Don Katz. “It is gratifying that since moving our US headquarters to Newark and the launch of many efforts to impact and accelerate positive change, that so many Audible employees are drawn to work at Audible because of our People Principles, which includes our stated commitment to the people and city of Newark.”

ABF Creative, Gymble, co:census and Fitnescity are among the first four businesses to receive startup attraction packages from Audible. Each will lease office space in 550 Broad Street and join Newark’s burgeoning tech scene, which has been blossoming over the last decade to include Aerofarms, 1Huddle, MindRight Health and other innovative companies.

ABF Creative is a multicultural kids and family podcast network and production company, founded by Newark native Anthony Frasier, that joins Audible in the audio and podcast industry. ABF Creative leverages its unique production framework to deliver award-winning IP that builds emotional and cultural connections through loveable characters and compelling narrative storytelling.

“As a Newark Native, I am thrilled to open the doors to this new space, which provides ABF Creative with the resources necessary to enhance our production capabilities, delivering world-class audio content to families globally and positioning ourselves for continued success in the ever-evolving podcast industry,” said ABF Creative CEO, Anthony Frasier.

Gymble (pronounced gym-bull) is a fitness app, founded by three athletes from Charlotte, NC, that connects communities to facility rentals, personal training and fitness experiences. The all-in-one platform helps fitness facilities and entrepreneurs market to their customers and manage their bookings more effectively.

“As an early-stage startup, moving to Newark has drastically increased Gymble’s brand visibility, allowing us to form partnerships with local businesses and corporate entities,” said Gymble CEO, Devon Oakley. “The move also allows Gymble direct access to early-stage VC investment opportunities and gives Gymble the resources it needs to thrive. Moving forward, Gymble will continue to partner with local sports and fitness businesses to cultivate a healthy lifestyle around its emerging technologies - with the goal of inspiring communities to be the best version of themselves through sports and fitness.”

co:census is a collaborative, cloud-based workspace for urban planning and design teams to learn, plan, create, analyze, and work together as they conduct research projects and community engagement. The company’s enterprise solution is used by Ford Mobility, MIG, and Habitat for Humanity’s teams to plan community engagement, create projects to collect feedback and analyze text and voice data with their patent-pending AI.

“As a social enterprise and a late-stage seed company, we are preparing for our growth, including increasing our company benefits and operations while enhancing our mission to challenge the status quo of design,” said co:census founder, Tiasia O’Brien. “Our partnership with Audible will provide office space within Newark’s growing innovation corridor, positioning us to be a competitive employer in the Northeast.”

Fitnescity is a consumer health startup that gives consumers easy access to wellness tests, along with personal analytics, while allowing local clinics to reach more consumers. Designed to make health and wellness testing convenient and accessible, Fitnescity partners with local clinics, labs and leading healthcare providers across the country to provide wellness tests. It also enables consumers to track their wellness goals and outcomes over time with a user-friendly personal analytics platform that can not only make test results easier to understand, but also, in the long term, develop predictive models to inform wellness decisions.

“It’s an exciting time for us at Fitnescity as we work on our goal of building the largest platform of wellness tests and when Audible approached us with the opportunity to build in Newark, we loved the idea,” stated Laila Zemrani, co-founder and CEO of Fitnescity. “Audible’s support will help us accelerate our growth with state-of-the-art offices in a city with a fast-growing tech sector, talent from world-class universities, and easy access to major hubs and airports.”

Newark is home to a strong technology sector led by Audible, and which includes HAX Capital, Panasonic, and WebMD. As one of America’s smart cities, Newark is home to 26 miles of underground municipal dark fiber that delivers 10-gigabits-per-second speeds at prices far below those of other cities.

Companies locating themselves in Newark can plug into the city’s entrepreneurial community catalyzed by Newark Venture Partners (NVP), an early-stage venture capital fund and accelerator founded by Audible founder Don Katz. Created in 2015, NVP is the most active investor in New Jersey, having invested over $55 million into more than 100 companies, nearly 60% of which are founded by women or founders of color. NVP is helping Newark’s innovation economy grow at a rate on par or above other emerging tech industry hubs including Jersey City, Brooklyn and Washington, D.C.

550 Broad Street will also be home to Melba’s 550, a second location of the revered comfort food destination Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem. Fidelco, a Newark-based developer and property owner, has led the cutting-edge renovation. Overlooking Newark’s newly renamed Harriet Tubman Square, the neighborhood is within walking distance to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, robust public transit with access to Manhattan in under 20 minutes, and area restaurants including Swahili Village and Marcus B&P.

“Fidelco and Audible’s collaboration gives startups and aspiring entrepreneurs access to world-class amenities while they start and expand their businesses in Newark at the historic 550 Broad,” said Marc E. Berson, Chairman of Fidelco Realty Group. “We are proud to collaborate with Audible in this important effort.”

Audible’s efforts to attract new businesses and tenants to downtown Newark include collaborating with community stakeholders to transform iconic spaces, like 33 Washington Street, into hubs for local businesses. Small businesses and retailers at 33 Washington will sublease from Audible and be eligible for its new business support offerings, such as stipends for rent and mentorship. Nina Cooke John, the architect and artist behind the new Harriet Tubman monument in Tubman Square, will also lead the building’s redesign into a mixed-use space that is engaging for anyone who lives, works or studies in the Tubman Square neighborhood.

Among the tenants calling the ground floor of 33 Washington home will be BLVD Bistro, the second location from Chef Carlos Swepson and co-owner Markisha Swepson, whose first location in Harlem was featured in the New York Times in its first year. Serving up American soul food with a fully scratch kitchen, BLVD was named best soul food in the country by Food Network.

“We are excited to bring the BLVD Bistro experience to Newark, just steps away from Harriet Tubman Square,” said co-owners Markisha Swepson and Chef Carlos Swepson. “We are proud to stand on the shoulders of culinary giants like John’s Southern Eatery and Don Pepe, who created places for the community to gather and enjoy great food.”

Audible’s new program is not only attracting companies in innovation and hospitality, but entertainment as well. Newark Culture Club will establish a 2,500 square feet cocktail bar and live entertainment venue, owned by an investment group of majority Newark residents and minorities, led by comedian Justin Williams, host of Fraudsters podcast. It will feature a rotating menu of craft cocktails, beers and wines from local and Black-owned businesses, and established shows such as the Brick City Comedy Revue, all at affordable ticket prices.

"We're excited to be part of the amazing momentum around Tubman Square, and to become a hub for downtown Newark's vibrant arts, culture, and entertainment scene," said Williams. "Audible has been a wonderful ally in giving businesses like ours the opportunity to be part of the next generation of content creators, right here at home.”

This is the latest of Audible’s ongoing community and economic investments in the cities it calls home. Audible launched its Global Center for Urban Innovation in 2020, to spearhead efforts to advance racial justice, equity and economic empowerment. The Center’s initiatives include Newark Working Kitchens, which supports local restaurants by paying for and distributing over 1.5 million meals to residents in need, and the Newark Artist Collaboration, which employs local artists to create large-scale public art throughout downtown, to encourage investment in the city’s creative economy. Audible’s investments, including its immersive audio experience at Newark’s new Harriet Tubman monument, help attract foot traffic, sustain businesses, create jobs, and result in greater employee spend, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity to date.