New Orleans design company Realized Designs Projects has been selected as one of 35 finalists from thousands of applicants in The Brassys, Square’s first ever awards program that is designed to recognize entrepreneurs who turned a business idea into a livelihood.
Founders Anna Finch and Brien Teasley are a husband and wife duo offering turnkey solutions to clients looking to bring new products to market. They moved their business to New Orleans at the beginning of the year.
Realized Designs Projects is the only design company to be selected. “We gave up everything, moved from Los Angeles to New Orleans, with a crazy idea of combining our respective powers to create a company that served a gap in the market that we could see customers needed and wanted.”
During the application process, the Realized Designs team had to submit their story describing their company and what they’ve done to show their perseverance, vision and drive. The company was then judged on a number of factors such as mission, innovation and originality, community involvement, and customer love.
A panel of judges will pick five national winners, each of whom will receive a $10,000 cash prize, a one-day mentorship session with the judging panel at the Seller Summit hosted at Square headquarters in San Francisco and National media coverage. Judges include: Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code; Roi Choi, a Korean American chef who gained prominence by being a driving force behind the Food Truck Movement; Todd Carmichael, CEO and Co Founder of La Columbe Coffee Roasters; and David Viniar, Former CFO of Goldman Sachs and Square Board Member of Directors.