The 2017 Silicon Bayou 100: Group 3

The 2017 Silicon Bayou 100 is the annual list of the 100 most influential and active people in tech and entrepreneurship in Louisiana over the last year. The list is compiled by the community through an anonymous nomination process.

Over the next two weeks we will be sharing the bios of each of the 100 in alphabetical order. View the full Silicon Bayou 100 here and meet group 3 below:

Chris Meaux

Chris is the founder and CEO of Waitr, the fast-growing food delivery app service. He has expanded its presence in Lafayette, moving from a local business incubator to an 8,600-square-foot office. The app launched in 2015 in Lake Charles, and the company now operates in more than 20 markets across the southern United States and California. On LinkedIn.

Chris Olsen

Chris is a partner at IDEA KRAFT, a branding agency based in both New Orleans and New York. In addition to his full time gig, he also runs a creative meetup and hosted the first annual NOLA ReKraft in 2017, an event where we give free rebrands to local non-profits.

Chris Reade

After founding Carrollton Technology Partners back in 1995 in New York City, Chris moved the company to New Orleans in 2000 and has been president for the last 14 years. In January 2014, he became president of LookFar, a software development studio that partners with both startups and established businesses to help them prioritize their goals and build custom software. On LinkedIn.

Chris Schultz

Chris co-founded and is CEO Launch Pad, and also founded Voodoo Ventures, Flatstack, and TribeCon. Although he moved to San Francisco in 2015, Chris still has deep roots in the New Orleans entrepreneurial scene. He was instrumental in working to bring Collision Conference to the city in 2016 for a three year deal.  On LinkedIn. On Twitter.

Cian Robinson

Cian is the Executive Director of the Lafayette General Foundation. He is responsible for the strategy, growth, development and operational functions of the organization, which has invited $1.75 million in Louisiana healthcare startups through its Healthcare Innovation Fund (HIF). He serves on the Board of Innov8 Acadiana and has been an annual panelist/speaker at the New Orleans Bio Innovation Center. On LinkedIn.

Cleveland Spears

Cleveland is the President and CEO of New Orleans-based communications for The Spears Group. He works with organizations big and small to help clients connect to their audiences. Notable clients include Entergy, the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, and Ochsner. On LinkedIn.

Cory Fabre

In addition to his role as VP of Engineering at TurboSquid, Cory is involved in the New Orleans tech community through his work with local tech meetup GNO Code. He is also the co-founder of GameJobHunter, a 10-year-old platform for listing of all open video game jobs in the game industry. On LinkedIn.

Courtney Williams

Courtney moved his edtech company Torsh to New Orleans in 2015 and went on to compete in the Coulter IDEApitch at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week in 2016, making a splash in the local entrepreneurial community. The startup is an educational software company that provides a video observation platform used for teacher development. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Crystal McDonald

Crystal’s company Acrew (formerly GoToInterview.com) received $100,000 from Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest pitch competition in 2015, which allowed her to make significant changes to the platform and launch the rebrand. She recently added a head of sales person and CTO to her team and has been able to secure contracts with national brands. On LinkedIn.

David Ray Smith

David is the Executive Director of Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program, a division of BRF (formerly Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana). The program nurtures and educates entrepreneurs while introducing them to qualified investors to increase their chances of success. The EAP portfolio currently has a few dozen companies across industries such as medical, security, and entertainment. On LinkedIn.