The all-star events, accommodations and tools to help us spread the news about New Orleans Entrepreneur Week were made possible by a dynamic group of professionals in the New Orleans community. A warm thank you from The Idea Village for believing in us and making all of those pieces come to life!
504ward is the home-base for the young talent in New Orleans to meet, learn, explore connect and grow. Like many others in this city, 504ward is inspired by the influx of talented and motivated young professionals, and they are working to retain these powerful assets by providing access to jobs, leadership, social connectivity, and opportunities of all shapes and colors.
Acme Oyster House is a true New Orleans original. Acme has made a name for itself in a city famous for its incredible culinary traditions. The fact that locals and tourists line up to satisfy their cravings for Acme's New Orleans style seafood says a lot about the quality of food they've been serving since 1910. They serve all of the New Orleans classics including oysters, red beans and rice, seafood gumbo, jambalaya and more, all seasoned to perfection and served with a smile.
American Airlines, a founding member of oneworld®, is one of the largest airlines in the world. With its affiliates American Eagle and AmericanConnection, it serves some 250 destinations - including more than 150 in the USA. Internationally, it flies to almost 40 countries. Based at Dallas/Fort Worth, it also operates major hubs at Chicago O'Hare, Miami, San Juan and, since its acquisition of TWA in 2001, St Louis. American also has significant operations at Boston, New York JFK, LaGuardia and Los Angeles. It is the leading carrier between North and South America.
ARB Meetings and Events is a full service meeting and event planning company that is dedicated to exceeding its client's expectations with an uncompromising attention to detail. Built on a foundation where service, loyalty, and experience are paramount, ARB Meetings and Events creates an environment for each of its client that enables them to achieve professional growth and success while providing superior service.
Bayou Brew Wellness Tea is an innovative new beverage company focused on bringing all natural, unique and delicious blends of Southern-style, ready-to-drink tea to the US market.
Bond PR and Brand Strategy is an award-winning, forward-thinking firm that excels in public relations, brand strategy and marketing. They help their clients achieve their objectives - both tactical and strategic. It is a firm that differentiates itself from others by having a deep understanding of the industries in which their clients work, and by their ability to help them nimbly respond to ever-changing market dynamics.
The Calliope Consulting Group members reflect the young, energized, creative trend that is becoming the hallmark of post-Katrina New Orleans. Founded in 2009 by Josh Friedmann, this young group has experience with new (as well as old) marketing and promotion trends.
The latest project of Lifestyle Revolution Group, LRG, Capdeville is, simply put, is just a really well done bar serving really well done comfort foods. Stylistically, if you had to put it into words, it can be best described as relevant Americana, with homage to American whiskey, New Orleans Mayor Capdeville (after whom the space is named), and albums in an antiquated jukebox that every American man should have listened to as a boy or should be listening to now.
Carrollton Tech is a technology development company focused on building solutions that will increase their clients' efficiency and profitability. They strive to understand a client's business first so that they can apply our understanding of technology in the most appropriate way possible.
The Contemporary Arts Center is a multi-disciplinary arts center, financially stable and professionally managed, that is dedicated to the presentation, production and promotion of the art of our time. It demonstrates proactive local and regional leadership by educating children and adults; cultivating and growing audiences; and initiating and encouraging collaboration among diverse artists, institutions, communities and supporters.
Big Easy Blends was founded by three entrepreneurs from New Orleans, Louisiana. The business was formed with the idea to bring great tasting beverages beyond the glass wall by considering the importance to reduce ecological problems found in many beverages sold today. Big Easy Blends is the manufacturer of an all-natural beverage in a stand-up flexible pouch marketed under the name Cordina.
Cosmo Public Relations Inc. was founded in San Francisco but has since moved to New Orleans. Clients include eBay Inc., E-LOAN, Resurgence Software, Ponderosa Stomp, the New Orleans French Market and others.
The Entergy Innovation Center (EIC) is a business incubator supporting entrepreneurship in the Upper 9th Ward. The EIC offers business counseling, affordable retail and office space, community meeting spaces, connections to professional service providers and technology access to connect entrepreneurs with necessary resources and promote self-sustaining economic development in the area.
The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) - for entrepreneurs only - is a dynamic, global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life.
Event Rental's home base is in New Orleans, a city that regularly plays host to national and international events, from the Sugar Bowl and the NBA All Star Game to Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. For events of any size, Event Rental can cover all the bases, from choosing the perfect venue to choosing the perfect napkin. They can also help you design your event with a 3D CAD floor plan that will allow you to walk through your event before they even deliver it.
Faux de Lis painting takes the stress out of doing work on your home. They provide estimates timely and offer great prices when compared to other reputable, licensed and insured painters. Their painters are experienced, professional, and helpful. Faux de Lis does a thorough and clean job at a good price and leave their customers happy.
True to its namesake, The Foundry is in the business of molding a product that will last a lifetime. At The Foundry and Bella Luna Catering they view every event they are a part of as an opportunity to create an experience that will be remembered for a lifetime. Whether it's a wedding reception or a business meeting The Foundry works diligently to take your ideas and expectations combined with our experience and resources and mold them into an unforgettable occasion for you and your guests.
Uniquely positioned as an online marketing consultancy, FSC Interactive is led by a team of marketing professionals who have emerged as leaders in online strategy with backgrounds in traditional media, public relations and advertising. This combination of traditional experience with innovative online knowledge creates value for clients who are seeking to most effectively integrate their total marketing program with online outreach.
Glazer's is recognized as one of the most successful sales and marketing organizations in their industry. Due to this success, they've become one of the country's largest distributors of beverage alcohol. Glazer's Family of Companies is firmly established with 40 offices in 11 states, and they're still family-owned and operated. Their commitment to building brands, their strategic focus on marketing and the company's passion for outstanding service drive their high performance, results-producing culture.
Grand Isle Restaurant will take you back to the days when cold beer, 10 cent oysters and air conditioning were advertised on the windows. Spiced and boiled, fried, sautéed or grilled, the seafood comes from the waters off of Grand Isle Louisiana to your table without touching the freezer. From a vast selection of great wines to specialty cocktails from the mahogany bar, Grand Isle Restaurant is a classic New Orleans Restaurant where you will find the locals.
Visiting the Hilton New Orleans Hotel Riverside will not only bring back fond memories, but can open up new areas to explore in New Orleans. Enjoy the 90,000 sq. ft. Health Club by Hilton featuring tennis, racquetball, full weight training circuit, the Precor Cardio Theater and more. Stimulate your palate within Drago's Seafood Restaurant, a New Orleans dining institution. Upgrade your accommodations to our exclusive Executive Level. Try your hand at Harrah's Casino or take in a round of golf at TPC Louisiana. New Orleans is still one of the world's most unique destinations and is at your doorstep when staying at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana.
With a nearly 300-strong membership of Human Resources professionals, HRMA is just coming off its most active and honored year in its 45 years of existence. HRMA is on track to once again be honored as a "Superior Merit" chapter by SHRM, with 12th continuous year of earning this designation. HRMA was also named "Louisiana Chapter of the Year" for 2008.
IBERIABANK is the 122-year-old subsidiary of IBERIABANK Corporation. With $9.7 billion in assets (as of December 31, 2009), IBERIABANK Corporation is the second largest bank holding company headquartered in Louisiana and employs over 1,850 experienced banking professional and associates. The IBERIABANK philosophy is to exceed client satisfaction by delivering unparalleled customer service at every point of contact. They are committed to offering products and services customized to meet your financial needs.
Two blocks from the French Quarter in the Historic Central Business District in one of the world's most eclectic cities, is a hotel like no other. International House Hotel is about New Orleans today. It's about a tangible contemporary style and an intangible spiritual warmth weaving its way throughout.
The IP stands for Intellectual Property and is an 85,000 square foot building that is the current home for a collection of vibrant, entrepreneurial companies. The building, designed to house innovative organizations and bring them together in a collaborative environment, is already home to some of the region's most forward-thinking businesses including, Carrollton Technology Partners, Couhig Partners, 504ward, iSeatz, The Idea Village, Launch Pad, Turbo Squid, Ebbert & Associates and playNOLA. These companies epitomize the groundswell of entrepreneurship that is taking root in New Orleans.
iStrategyLabs is a digital agency focused on providing clients with interactive strategy, experiential marketing and content creation services. Buzzwords aside, they're focused on one thing - developing great ideas that sell your products and services or advance your cause.
Jack and Jakes is launching the "Makin' Groceries" project, a "beyond organic" Community Supported Agricultural Market group that specializes in local/seasonal items sourced from a network of Louisiana family farms within a 100 mile radius of New Orleans. They are currently in the process of planning the opening of their flagship store.
Launch Pad is a work community in downtown New Orleans. Their members are entrepreneurs, freelancers, and people working for out-of-town companies. First and foremost, they are a community. They support and learn from one another, and together they are building their careers and businesses. Launch Pad's mission is to create a work community that supports entrepreneurship, innovation, career growth, and makes New Orleans a better place.
George Leidenheimer came to New Orleans from Deidesheim, Germany, and founded the bakery that bears his name in 1896. The bakery was located on Dryades Street, but in 1904 it moved to the handsome brick building on Simon Bolivar Avenue where Leidenheimer's descendants still operate the family business. Originally Leidenheimer baked the heavy, dense brown breads of his native Germany but it was by producing New Orleans French bread, with its crisp crust, that Leidenheimer found fame. Leidenheimer bread is still unique because over a century later it continues to be made using the same time-honored process. In a city like New Orleans, where eating is almost a religion, producing the perfect French bread is a sacred mission to the employees of Leidenheimer Baking Company.
Cochon showcases the food Donald Link grew up preparing and eating at his grandfather's side. A descendant of Germans of Acadiana, Chef Link brings his love for authentic Cajun cuisine to New Orleans. Chef Link and co-owner Chef Stephen Stryjewski, embracing the old style traditions, receive whole pigs and oversee an in-house Boucherie, creating boudin, andouille, smoked bacon, and head cheese. The menu also features handmade crawfish pies, rabbit & dumplings, and spoon bread with okra & tomatoes.
MyAirportTrip.com is a New Orleans based company that offers a full spectrum of transportation options to airport travelers. They connect passengers with top airport shuttle, limousine, luxury vehicle and taxi companies and provide low flat rate fares.
Renowned historian, author and educator, Dr. Stephen Ambrose founded The National World War II Museum Foundation in New Orleans in 1991. The Museum, which opened on June 6, 2000, is the only museum in the United States that addresses all of the amphibious invasions or "D-Days" of World War II, honoring the more than 16 million Americans who took part in this global conflict.
Located at the foot of the French Quarter, Palace Café serves contemporary Creole cuisine in an upbeat and lively grand café. As bearers of the torch keeping Creole cuisine alive and vital, Dickie Brennan and Palace Café's culinary team are constantly evolving traditional Creole dishes and creating a few new favorites.
Rebirth Financial is a new way to connect small to medium size businesses in Louisiana with the credit they need to survive and grow in this tough economy. Rebirth Financial uses a unique and innovative peer-to-business (P2B) process to connect established Louisiana businesses with lenders. Rebirth Financial provides an internet-based platform utilizing proprietary methods to connect lenders with businesses possessing great ideas, to alternative sources of financing tailored to meet their needs. Rebirth Financial also hopes to foster development and growth of new businesses through our innovative peer-to-entrepreneur (P2E) lending platform. Our P2B and P2E platforms aim to foster a rebirth of both Louisiana and the financial system to bring both into the 21th century.
Founded in 1984 by CEO Moloy Gupta, Soils Southwest, Inc. is a privately-owned soils engineering corporation. They have been providing soils engineering services throughout Southern California, as far north as Ventura County to San Diego County to the south. Also throughout the Los Angeles and Orange counties; and the Inland Empire. Soils Southwest provides the following primary services: Geotechnical Engineering, Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, Construction Inspections and Material Services.
A special thank to the students of the Southern Art Society for helping The Idea Village decorate the Entrepreneur Week campus!
New Orleans is in the midst of transformation. Entrepreneurs from all over are finding opportunities, testing ideas, and taking advantage of a culture of creativity to develop businesses that are as inspiring as they are profitable.
From breakfast to a midnight snack, Sucré is available to satisfy your sweet tooth. Sucré (French for sugared) is an emporium of "artisan" sweets. Unlike a traditional bakery, Sucré serves plated desserts with custom garnishes in addition to boxed treats.
The Tulane Association of Business Alumni (TABA) represents the 15,000+ alumni of the A. B. Freeman School of Business. TABA provides support to the school, its students and alumni through a variety of activities.
Housed in a state-of-the-art complex including the recently built Goldring/Woldenberg Hall II, the Freeman School boasts an outstanding faculty noted for scholarship and teaching excellence in finance, entrepreneurship, strategic management, consumer behavior, international business, and accounting and taxation. Through innovative offerings such as the nationally acclaimed Burkenroad Reports equities research program, the Darwin Fenner Student Managed Fund, the Tulane Business Plan Competition, the IDEAcorp consulting program and the Global MBA, Freeman combines rigorous academic grounding with practical real-world experience.
The mission of the GBC shall be to represent the academic, professional, and personal interests of its membership. The GBC shall facilitate interaction and communication between the business graduate student body, the administration, the faculty, and the Tulane community in order to support the improvement of the A. B. Freeman School of Business graduate programs.
Through volunteer-created community projects, the YLC recruits and retains young professionals to New Orleans and has a positive impact on the quality of life in the region. The oldest, independent YPO (young professionals' organization) in the country, the YLC has raised more than $25 million to support community projects in and around the New Orleans area since 1986.
The YLC has more than 1,300 member-volunteers, and is led by a 25-member board of directors and four staff members. Each community initiative is led by one or more volunteer project leaders.
James Carville, Jim Coulter, Bob Brown, General Wesley Clark, Amy Cosper, Dr. Scott Cowen, Mark Cuban, Michael Hecht, Walter Isaacson, Julie Silard Kantor, Robin Keegan, The Honorable Mitch Landrieu, Mary Matalin, Irvin Mayfield, Stephen Perry, Peter Reiling, Hugh Weber & Kurt Weigle
Just recently, Hardy was chosen as one of seven entrepreneurs to partner with an MBA team in New Orleans Entrepreneur Week 2010, when over 150 top MBA students, corporate volunteers, and our nation's most accomplished entrepreneurial talent congregated and collaborated in New Orleans to provide 9,121 hours of direct service to 329 early-stage New Orleans entrepreneurs....
What a year it has been so far! And now we are smack in the middle of festival season: Pinch me, I must be dreaming in the land of dreamy scenes. As good as it has been (Thank you, Saints. Thank you, Mitch. Thank you, Rex, etc.), plenty has been going on in parallel to all the Big Things that should not go unnoticed.
Right after Hurricane Katrina hit, the academic world responded to the disaster. Schools sent students to do relief work, symposiums were planned.... Over spring break, while many of their peers lapped up tropical-flavored drinks, business students from around the country flew to New Orleans, where they were matched with local entrepreneurs as part of Idea Village's Entrepreneur Week.
The first time's a charm. The Johnson School of Management team travelled to New Orleans from Mar. 20 to Mar. 27 to compete for the first time in the Entrepreneur Challenge and won first place - beating out rival business schools Stanford, Northwestern, University of California-Berkeley and University of Chicago.
Big Easy Blends, makers of the portable potable Mar-GO-rita, were chosen winners of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week’s competition among up and coming businesses. One of CityBusiness’ Innovator of the Year honoree in 2009, Big Easy Blends was founded in 2007 by Craig Cordes....
Mixing work with fun is a longtime New Orleans specialty and nobody does it better. Mix they did again this week in the Big Easy for the annual New Orleans Entrepreneur Week where some of the nation’s most creative minds congregated to celebrate, support and promote entrepreneurship and innovation.
A team from the Johnson School, participating in their first IdeaCorps Challenge in New Orleans, took first place among other visiting business-school teams from Kellogg, Booth, Haas and Stanford.
Jack and Jake's Local and Organic Market is a new business that plans to bring locally grown food to customers in underserved neighborhoods within three days of harvest, but to achieve that goal, the company first needs a top-notch distribution system. That’s where a team of MBA students from Tulane, Loyola and UNO comes in.
Hurricane Katrina disrupted the sense of detachment and malaise that can often envelope communities, and in doing so it laid the groundwork for a burgeoning innovative entrepreneurial community in New Orleans, the president and chief executive officer of the Aspen Institute said Monday.
Entrepreneur Week Kicks Off In New Orleans. Entrepreneur Week in New Orleans is a meeting of the minds for upstart businesses and up-and-coming talent. The week is about matching top business talent from across the country with ...
The Idea Village in New Orleans is an excellent model for how a small group of dedicated entrepreneurs have created a remarkable ecosystem. A group of young entrepreneurs in New Orleans went to Atlanta, New York, Boston, and Chicago, did well in start-ups and finance, and then moved back to the city....
Despite their splashy appearance, the three-foot-long, black and yellow flags emblazoned with a light bulb and the phrase "It's On In NOLA" that were sent to businesses around the metro area this month may prove to be an understated way ...
The digital-cable business network Bloomberg Television will present a live New Orleans edition of "On the Road with Betty Liu" on Tuesday (March 23) from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Let's spend a few minutes celebrating a victory and remembering what could have been. First of all, congratulations to The Idea Village for making its 10th year and helping countless New Orleans area entrepreneurs make something of themselves and their good ideas.
Organizers of New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week estimate the event will provide some $900,000 worth of consulting to local businesses. New Orleans already is the fastest-growing city in the U.S. - and a local nonprofit wants its businesses (and hopefully, a reputation for fostering innovation) to keep pace.
A team of Johnson School students has, for the first time, been invited to compete with the best in the Idea Village Entrepreneur Challenge in New Orleans, LA from March 20-28. The challenge, which is part of Entrepreneur Week, charges teams from the nation's leading MBA schools to use their professional skills in short-term, high impact service roles in the revitalization of New Orleans.
Google, Deloitte and Salesforce.com…Jazz Fest of Entrepreneurship…What a week…Attend Friday's Introduction, Cocktail Party and Mingler. Idea Village, a leading organization in Southeast Louisiana is announcing Entrepreneur Week which will be a week-long event involving many New Orleans sites, business and major national industry leaders.
When state economic development officials talk about the kinds of companies they want to attract to Louisiana, they point to TurboSquid.
Nic Perkin and The Receivables Exchange, an online auctionhouse for accounts receivable are trailblazing for a new generation of entrepreneurs by capitalizing on a huge theoretical market. New Orleans is welcoming driven entrepreneurs with open arms, says Tim Williamson, co-founder of The Idea Village. "The biggest ideas are the ones that have skepticism in the beginning."
Sean Callebs reports on how Rock 'n Bowl bounced back after Hurricane Katrina. Rock 'n Bowl discusses with CNN the generous grant he received from The Idea Village which made it possible for them to quickly open their doors to the public news-Katrina.
According to Tim Williamson, President and Co-founder of the Idea Village, New Orleans possesses, among other things, a university system and a creative culture. New Orleans is also a "worldwide brand." "The good news is that the foundation is there," Williamson says.
"If you look at the people that have come since Katrina, there has been this influx of talent who has come to New Orleans, initially to help, but now they are here to stay and live and to grow new companies. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reinvent an American city," Tim Williamson said.
Small-business owners who left are now coming back, driven by a sense of mission to help the struggling city and to take advantage of generous tax breaks. Young professionals have moved to the Big Easy to help with its recovery, enjoy its cultural offerings and start businesses.
"Now you have some people who are here not just for the recovery, but who have drunk the Kool-Aid and want to be part of the long-term economic and social change of New Orleans," Tim Williamson said.
"If you’re a young, bright entrepreneur, New Orleans looks pretty interesting right now," [Idea Village CEO Tim] Williamson says. "There aren’t hundreds of thousands of layoffs; there’s actually a growing, entrepreneurial community. We’ve got our coolness, but there’s also a sense of opportunity here, because we’re going through a transformation."
"Competitive gets you nowhere. It's about being collaborative. And this city is so like that, from the people helping each other rebuild their homes to building businesses," said Seema Sudan, the owner and director of the knitwear company LiaMolly.
Clusters are a validation that entrepreneurs can create economic and social change.
Driven by the mantra "Trust your crazy ideas," The Idea Village is a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the city's for-profit entrepreneurial culture. Through a combination of talent attraction, technical support and connection to financing, the organization has supported more than 255 entrepreneurial ventures representing 946 jobs and more than $69 million in revenue.
Think Tank hosts Tim Williamson, Miji Park, Jo Ann Minor and Amy Cosper, Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, on July 24th to discuss entrepreneurship in New Orleans and the grand opening of The Entergy Innovation Center.
"When The Idea Village was founded in 2000, we were building the framework for vibrant entrepreneurial community. 9 years later, this nascent spirit is alive and growing" says Tim Williamson.
"Clustering entrepreneurs is quite useful," says Tim Williamson, President of The Idea Village, a New Orleans business incubator. "It allows people to interact closely, bump into each other at the water cooler, [and it] forces conversation," he says.
"The hubs operate under edgy names - Entrepreneur's Row, The Icehouse, The IP and the Entergy Innovation Center. The hubs encourage networking and collaboration among innovative companies while seeking to recreate a freewheeling culture reminiscent of Silicon Valley."
"New Orleans is attractive because there are lots of opportunities here and less layoffs than in other places like Boston or San Francisco," Tim Williamson said.
Regional New Orleans ad agency continues to craftily reinvent itself news-Katrina by becoming a startup incubator.
Turbosquid, a New Orleans-based 3-D imaging company becomes a worldwide leader in its industry despite difficult odds.
James Carville pens a tribute to New Orleans’s historic rebirth.
