With over 3,000 of the nation’s most innovative corporations, business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and MBAs engaged during 150 events at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, it’s hard to say which event had the biggest impact on the city. Perhaps it was Mayor Landrieu’s opening speech during the Ecosystem Summit, or maybe the strategic consulting provided by teams of MBA students to local startups. But what about the three-man panel discussion on the relationship between Israeli and New Orleans entrepreneurial ecosystems?
The Idea Village, Jones Walker and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans partnered to host a panel discussion during Entrepreneur Week last month called Nurturing the Evolving Partnership Between Israeli and New Orleans Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. It focused on the growing relationship between ecosystems and those who are on the forefront of the progress.
Three speakers attended the panel discussion including: Alan Weinkrantz, president of strategic technology public relations and social media advisory firm Alan Weinkrantz and Company (and a video contributor to SBN during NOEW); Eyal Lifschitz, the General Partner and Co-founder of Peregrine Ventures, Israel’s leading venture capital fund for early stage investments; and Richard Montgomery, the managing director at Enhanced Capital Partners, Inc., a local yet diversified asset management firm.
Asher Friend, partner at Jones Walker, shared information with a Texas woman who was fairly unfamiliar with the ecosystems until recently. She said it’s a, “fascinating example of cities with similar entrepreneurial ecosystems, who have both endured cultural threats and hardships, nurturing each other’s interests in becoming flourishing technology hubs.”
“As I understand it,” she continued, “prior to founding Peregrine Ventures, Mr. Lifschitz co-founded numerous medical technology companies. After the panel discussion, Asher was able to make an introduction for Mr. Lifschitz to the New Orleans BioInnovation Center… This initial meeting may be leading to investments in New Orleans from venture capitalists in Israel.”
Peregrine Ventures currently has 25 companies in its portfolio, mostly life sciences and software companies. Is a New Orleans startup next? Introductions such as Mr. Lifschitz’s to the BioInnovation Center and events such as Entrepreneur Week are exactly what can bring money into the entrepreneurial ecosystem in New Orleans.
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