TECHOBOKEN: Jet.com and Marc Lore Invest in the Future of Hoboken’s ‘Silicon Square’

Jet.com’s concept is to serve as a membership-based e-commerce site that will earn money from annual membership while seeking out optimum methods to pass along savings to its members. The company will make no money off of the goods it sells but will continuously find ways to save it’s members money through bulk purchasing, finding more local vendors and combining products to save money on shipping.

Creating a Culture

Jet.com’s company mission is to empower people to live “brilliantly.” That’s not just for employees, but also shareholders, customers, merchants, etc. The three values of the company are transparency, trust and fairness. On transparency, Lore wants the company to be open with information so they are connected to the vision of the company. On trust, he doesn’t want to micromanage, preferring to trust people will do the job for which they’ve been hired. He has setup an environment for success and given employees a basic roadmap, without having to follow a lot of rules. Finally, on being fair—everyone makes the same pay at the same level. If you accomplish the goals to make it to the next level, you can get promoted.

Marc has also put in place a group of executives that can motivate the team. If each member hires great “lieutenants,” as he calls them, the company will be scalable. It’s key to get hiring managers and leaders that will get the right people in place to create the company they are looking to build.

They also want those people to mingle with everyone. Among the cooler concepts at Jet.com is that everyone gets their own locker, but does not have their own desk. Each day they take their computer out of the locker and find a new place to sit. This gets the employees mixing with other employees at all different levels. Marc will join in as well and sit next to a new employee each day. It shows he is part of the team and they are all in this together.

Moving to the Mile Square

A start-up with a proven track record, innovative corporate culture and over $200 million in investment could move anywhere. Marc Lore decided to move his to Hoboken.

For Lore, it comes down to dollars and cents. New York City, the worldwide mecca of commerce, is directly across the river. That said, why would pay the kind of rents Manhattan charges, when Jet.com can be a train or boat ride away—saving the company tremendous overhead without sacrificing the cache of the Metro Area?

Lore spells it out better than any commercial real estate broker could, saying, “I don’t know why any start up in New York City wouldn’t want to be in Hoboken—I honestly can’t think of one good reason why it’s better to be in New York City than in Hoboken.”

In Lore’s mind, the talent pool is the same, as it takes someone the same amount of time to commute from downtown to midtown as it does from downtown to Hoboken. Plus you get the added talent pool that actual lives right here in Hoboken, while becoming more attractive to those who reside in other parts of New Jersey. Lore reiterates,

“If you’re going to situate a company in the New York area, I can’t think of a better place than Hoboken.”

Then there’s Hoboken itself. The views of the city from the New Jersey side are amazing. The restaurants and nightlife Hoboken has to offer are also a tremendous plus for attracting new employees. Lore has already started reaching out to local businesses and venues. He claims he’s anxious to get to town and explore a little more as well.

Making Hoboken the East Coast Tech Hub

Lore knows his moving Jet.com to Hoboken is a big feather in Hoboken’s cap. He feels Hoboken is an incredible place for any company to move based on the talent pool, the costs and the overall vibe of the town. He’s ok with the notion that he can help change the culture and business atmosphere in Hoboken by deciding the make Hoboken the new headquarters of Jet. Lore hopes other startups will start to look at Hoboken and understand it’s a real option for their business.

His only mission left is to now come up with the name for Hoboken as a tech hub.

Techoboken anyone?