Carving a tech-focused path through NOEW 2017
New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, presented by IBERIABANK, kicks off its 9th year on March 19th.
Although the location will be new (Hello, Contemporary Arts Center and Ogden Museum of Southern Art), the focus will still be on what’s made the event such a hit in the past – cultural thought leaders, creative entrepreneurs, and innovators from varied backgrounds.
While registering is both easy and free, we know that plotting your track for a such a huge festival can be challenging. That’s why we’re highlighting what’s in store for the tech crowd at NOEW 2017. We went through the schedule and curated a track with all the events, booths, and speakers who got an A+ in C++.
Sunday, March 19th
OPENING PARTY
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM @ The NOEW Backyard
New Orleans knows a good party, and NOEW’s kickoff event is no exception. There will be drinks, food, and live music from NOLA’s own Hot 8 Brass Band. Come check out the new campus and connect with other festival attendees. RSVP now!
Monday, March 20th
KEYNOTE: Brett Goldstein: A Career Arc From the Private Sector to Government and Back Again, Ekistic Ventures
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM @ Cox Business Stage
From his role as an early employee on the OpenTable team to a transition to the Chicago Police Department, Brett understands what it takes to make impactful career pivots, and he wants to share his know-how.
Brett Goldstein is a self-taught coder, and is also the Co-founder & Managing Partner of Ekistic Ventures, a group of urban problem-solvers who invest in disruptive companies that bring new solutions to critical urban problems. Read about Brett’s talk here.
SHOWCASE: Decode: High School Students Present Mobile App Solutions to Issues Around Access to Employment
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM @ AOS Stage
Operation Spark is hosting “Decode,” a weekend-long hackathon bringing together students and professional software developers to expose New Orleans youth to project management, coding, and design thinking. The goal of the weekend is to create a space for students to problem-solve issues relevant to their communities and experience the power of social coding.
Throughout the weekend, teams of students will work with developers to create a mobile app that helps solve an issue related to employment or obtaining job training skills and experience. Come watch as they present their projects to a panel of judges. Learn more.
NETWORKING: PitchLocal Happy Hour, brought to you by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM @ The CAC Warehouse
Grab a drink as the day’s pitch winners are announced. Enjoy a free specialty cocktail and the chance to network with a room full of people who are doing big things. Learn more.
Please Note: While they are open to the public, all happy hour events are strictly for participants ages 21+.
Tuesday, March 21st
INTERACTIVE: The Future of Medicine
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM @ The Library at The Ogden
For those interested in the healthcare field, this is one event you don’t want to miss. Join the New Orleans BioInnovation Center for a discussion on medical innovation trends and next-generation health solutions being developed right here in our region. See the full panel of speakers and topics.
INTERACTIVE: Investing in Our Youth: Homegrown, Diverse Leadership for New Orleans Tech
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM @ The Boardroom
New Orleans’ tech scene is rapidly growing, and entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly supported in the Crescent City. In this interactive session, you’ll learn how you can invest in and support New Orleans youth to become leaders in tech.
Flor Serna, Founder and Executive Director of Electric Girls, will explain why New Orleans can and should invest in homegrown diversity and leadership for its future, and will lead hands-on activities developed by tech-focused startups for New Orleans youth to get a taste of what it’s like. Get more info.
INTERACTIVE: Social Media Influencers: A Guide to Digital Word-of-Mouth Marketing
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM @ AOS Stage
In the ever-changing world of marketing, generating positive word-of-mouth buzz for your business remains one of the best ways for it to grow. Jeff Januszek, Founder of Jeff Januszek Social Media and Co-founder of The 504 Influencer Agency, will teach you how to find the influencers than will help create a buzz for your business and get them to actually do it. Learn more.
KEYNOTE: Leslie Miley – President West Coast, Venture for America | Director of Engineering, Slack
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM @ Cox Business Stage
Leslie Miley’s incredible career in Silicon Valley has given him a powerful voice on diversity and inclusion in an industry that has lacked both. After a very public exit from Twitter, he landed at Slack and has been leveraging his experience to think about the role of diversity and inclusion while bringing forth groundbreaking thinking. Recently, with Slack’s support, Leslie has transitioned to become the West Coast President of Venture for America, overseeing their brand new Executive in Residence program. Leslie’s talk will explain how being intentional about diversity and inclusion can solve both business and community problems. This discussion is a must-see for any developer, coder, programmer, founder, or anyone inspired by big thinking. Learn more.
Wednesday, March 22nd
INTERACTIVE: Ask Me Anything: Silicon Bayou Edition
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM @ Camp Street Stage
Join the SBN Team as they host professionals, entrepreneurs and other movers and shakers with a focus on connections and conversation. It’ll be a relaxed session where attendees can connect with speakers on a more intimate level than a traditional session. Come with questions, ideas, and plenty of chatter for these notable speakers of interest. Learn more.
SUMMIT: Data Drives Decisions – Best Practices for Mastering Analysis
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM @ The Library at The Ogden
According to a recent Helical IT survey, if a decision is made relying on data rather than simply intuition, the chances of succeeding are 79% higher. These days, like it or not, we’re all in the data business and while the endless numbers can seem overwhelming, prioritizing data collection and analysis will ultimately be what makes or breaks your business.
In this interactive 3-hour summit, they’ll be sharing time-saving tips for increasing productivity and efficiency. They’ll begin with Excel formulas that will change your life, followed by an introduction to Power BI and the power of data visualization. Check it out.
KEYNOTE: Adrien Lanusse, VP, Global Consumer Insights, Netflix: Utilizing Consumer Insights for Innovation
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM @ Cox Business Stage
Join Netflix’s VP of Global Consumer Insights to better understand how brands and companies today are bringing the voice of the consumer to their innovation pipeline. Netflix has disrupted the video entertainment paradigm, becoming a global streaming provider with over 86 million subscribers around the world. The company focuses sharply on the consumer to remain relevant and continuously innovate. Be there.
Thursday, March 23rd
INTERACTIVE: A Field Guide to Working With Software Developers
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM @ The Classroom, brought to you by The Shop
If you’re working with developers, this could be a highly useful talk. Get a field guide of terms, processes, and concepts any adventurous spirit can use to prepare for the experience of building a website, app or any piece of software. After this session, attendees will be prepared for their first meeting with a development team and understand important terms often mentioned in meetings. More details.
INTERACTIVE: Privacy by Design
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM @ LookFar Stage
Companies are collecting more personal information about their customers than ever before and the responsibility to manage and protect that information has also never been greater.
Attend this session to get a better understanding of today’s privacy landscape and learn the foundational principles for how you can begin baking privacy into your company’s DNA and be intentional from day one about protecting your customers’ personal information. Learn more.
INTERACTIVE: The VR Symposium
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM @ LookFar Stage
Immerse yourself in VR technology with live, hands-on simulations. The Tent will be open Monday, March 20 – Thursday, March 23 to explore all-new worlds of possibility with exclusive VR activations for NOEW attendees.
Following an address from Tulane School of Social Work’s Patrick Bordnick on his industry-breaking work using virtual reality to treat addiction, a panel of local experts will discuss the future of VR and how companies can embrace the technology. Attendees will be challenged to imagine uses for VR beyond entertainment and encouraged to discuss ideas. Get the details.
Friday, March 24th
The Big Idea
5:30 PM – 9:00 PM @ The CAC Warehouse
Come check out the world’s largest crowd-driven pitch extravaganza complete with bars, food trucks, and live music from Kermit Ruffins & The Barbeque Swingers. The event will feature 10 of New Orleans’ hottest new startup ventures vying for YOUR vote to propel them into the final round of the competition where $25,000 is on the table. Don’t miss this one.
If you haven’t registered for NOEW 2017 yet, now is your chance.
It’s completely FREE, and you get a bunch of perks like food and drink discounts, access to offers from partners, and more.
About the author: Plus Aziz is a NOEW content partner and a Marketing Strategist and Freelance Writer at Story Block Media.