Dear Friends: ‘Tis the Season!
…the Entrepreneur Season, that is. The Idea Village entrepreneurs have been hard at work since the official Season Kickoff in October, working with The Idea Village network on critical growth strategies to scale their ventures. These entrepreneurs are preparing for the culmination of the 2012 Entrepreneur Season, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week: March 10-16, 2012. Mark your calendars.
What if New Orleans supported high impact entrepreneurs? See what happens.
QUICK PITCH:
Good news from the New Orleans entrepreneur ecosystem.
- Federated Sample just secured $2.8 million in venture capital funding. See the article.
- VoteIt received $800,000 in seed funding from local investors. Read the TechCrunch article.
- LiaMollysecured $28,874 from 204 supporters via Kickstarter.
- VoiceHIT, has partnered with Isabel Healthcare to integrate their respective systems and create a more complete healthcare management system. Read the Press Release.
- Kickboard by Drop the Chalk, The Occasional Wife and Designer Social were featured in a Forbes article spotlighting the New Orleans entrepreneurial boom.
- Whetstone won the first Idea Village “Speed to Seed” event hosted by The Gambit. Thank you to our partners for participating.
- Turbosquid has joined The Receivables Exchange and Kickboard by Drop the Chalk in the New Orleans Exchange Center, another growing entrepreneurial hub joining the IP Building, Entrepreneurs Row, Icehouse, and theNew Orleans BioInnovation Center.
- Nanofex founder, David Culpepper, and Idea Village CEO, Tim Williamson, featured on WWNO.
- Designer Social just opened a new storefront at 4858 Magazine Street.
- The Occasional Wife recently partnered with Langenstein’s making them the only grocery delivery business in the city.
- NolaCajun was highlighted on nola.com as a business that showcases New Orleans staples online.
- Launchpad is getting ready to launch the 2nd Ignition Class. Applications open December 15, 2011.
- AMPS just launched a beta project of the aquaponic system in the new Rouses in downtown New Orleans.
- ISeatz is hiring and expanding. View the job listings.
- NOLA Brewing Company just launched new canning line and is already expanding.
- NOLACouture recently was asked to supply designer ties for the Sugar Bowl. How about national championship ties for LSU?
- The Receivables Exchange won the 2011 Best in Biz Bronze Award for Small and Medium Business Product of the Year.
- Rare Cuts recently launched new website and debuted on Gilt Taste.
- Cordina signs national distribution deal with Walgreens. MarGOritas anyone?
- M. Francis Gallery celebrated its 2nd year anniversary last week. The exhibit featured new work by owner/artist Myesha Francis as well as the unveiling of work by the gallery’s newest member Ellene Whiley. M. Francis Gallery first opened its doors at the Entergy Innovation Center, a project of Idea Village, in the upper 9th ward.
- New Geography ranks New Orleans eighth in the nation for high tech job growth.
- Forbes ranks New Orleans #1 Brain Magnet.
- Inc Magazine calls New Orleans the Coolest Startup City in America.
If you are a local entrepreneur with exciting updates, email megan@ideavillage.org.
GET A FRONT ROW SEAT FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR SEASON
For a $500 contribution to The Idea Village, you get a front row seat to 5 VIP events throughout The Idea Village 2012 Entrepreneur Season starting in January 2012 and culminating with New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, March 10-16, 2012. All of these events include a national network of investors, entrepreneurs, CEOs and executives. To purchase a VIP Season Pass online: http://ideavillage.org/support. For more information please email megan@ideavillage.org.
Updates from The Idea Village:
CALLING ALL ANGELS
The Idea Village will be offering a limited number of one-on-one sessions to brief interested angel investors on The Idea Village portfolio of entrepreneurs and alumni. Meetings will be held by Tim Williamson, co-founder and CEO of The Idea Village, and entrepreneurs-in-residence, Doug Walner and Kevin Wilkins. For more information please contact Victoria@ideavillage.org.
IDEAS FOR STARTUPS
IDEAinstitute, The Idea Village’s education series in partnership with the Downtown Development District, began in October with speaker series conducted by well-known business thought leaders focusing on topics critical to startups. Most recently Dr. Ralph Maurer of the New Orleans Startup Fund, hosted a session called Market Sizing and Opportunity Assessment. Upcoming is Brent McCrossen, founder of AudioSocket, discussing Entrepreneurial Selling. All sessions are free and open to anyone who registers with The Idea Village. Sign up here.
NOLA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
The NOLA Bound project launched recently with the goal of identifying 25 passionate individuals to receive an all-expense paid VIP experience to document and share their unfiltered impressions of New Orleans as an entrepreneurial epicenter.
NOLA Bound is collaboration between The Idea Village, Downtown Development District of New Orleans and GNO inc. Applications are live now through December 16, 2011. Follow us on Twitter; Like us on Facebook and visit the website.
Remember to trust your crazy ideas,
The Idea Village team