Idea Village Reveals Expanded Lineup for New Orleans Entrepreneur Week

Idea Village CEO Tim Williamson on stage at Big Idea, a signature NOEW event, in 2013.

Idea Village CEO Tim Williamson on stage at Big Idea, a signature NOEW event, in 2013.

Today, The Idea Village held a press conference to reveal the expanded lineup for New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW).

Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Idea Village CEO Tim Williamson and many more were in attendance, announcing the ever-expanding lineup and partnerships for the “Jazz Fest of entrepreneurship.”

The 6th annual event will take place March 22 – 28, 2014 in downtown New Orleans.

NOEW is the culmination of the Entrepreneur Season and through 45 free seminars, workshops, keynotes and social events, The Idea Village expects to engage 5,000 of the nation’s most innovative business leaders, financiers, entrepreneurs and students.

“Entrepreneurship is now becoming part of what we do as a city,” said Williamson. “This year, we focused on scaling locally by creating useful programming for local entrepreneurs, engaging partners to encourage entrepreneurship in new industries, and providing an opportunity for the larger community to become part of the entrepreneurial movement.”

As a hub of entrepreneurship in New Orleans, The Idea Village is a nationally recognized entrepreneurial ecosystem, promoting local startups and innovators and generating over $100 million in annual revenue. The organization has also created over 2,000 jobs throughout the region.

“The 2014 New Orleans Entrepreneur Week is a dynamic opportunity to bring fresh, innovative ideas from around the world to our doorstep,” said Mayor Landrieu. “The growing pro-entrepreneur climate in New Orleans is critical to our recovery and our priority of creating local jobs and opportunities for residents.”

75 local startups will be showcased throughout 16 capital competitions during NOEW. The newly released lineup of participants is below:

  • Coulter IDEApitch (for venture capital) – Dinner Lab, mSchool and Zlien
  • Power Pitch (for angel capital) – AMPT, SNAP Real Estate Photography, MobileQubes, Maritant, Education Everytime and Your Nutrition Delivered
  • The Big Idea (for seed capital) – 4D Supplements, Athletic Performance Testing (APT), Bats on Tees, BitBike, Cajun Fire Brewing Company, Culture Connect, FundDat, Health Plant, iSEEChange, Joe Horn’s Bayou 87 Sauce, KREWE du optic, Locally Preserved, MakerState, Threadix and Where Y’Art
  • Water Challenge (for seed capital) – EcoUrban, iSEEChange, ORA Estuaries and Riverview Construction
  • Women in Business Challenge (for seed capital) – Diva Dawg, LLC, I Spa a Deal, LLC, Ma Momma’s House of Cornbread, Chicken & Waffles, LLC and ZukaBaby

The Idea Village also announced the launch of NOEW.org, dedicated to the showcase event, which is now live.