Launch Pad, the first ever coworking space in New Orleans, announced yesterday that it would be closing its Big Easy location.
The workspace originally opened in 2009 inside the IP building in New Orleans and relocated to 400 Poyrdras Street in 2017. The building’s landlord will take over operations of the office space on the ninth floor.
Owner Chris Schultz posted a video montage on social media to make the closure announcement and highlight Launch Pad members over the years.
Schultz and his team have always been focused on enhancing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in New Orleans and, in many ways, Launch Pad was the catalyst for growth in the city, acting as the center of the ecosystem and creating meaningful business connections in the community.
As of this time last year, the company had helped create over 5,000 jobs, raised $160 million in capital and their graduates had leased 600,000 square feet of new office space.
“After Katrina, we set out to rebuild the New Orleans business community not to what it was before, but to what we wanted it to be—a thriving entrepreneurial city with amazing cultural and historic assets that draws talent from across the country,” shared Schultz.
Launch Pad also announced it would be closing its Memphis location, yet has set sights on other markets for new coworking spaces in opportunity zones, including Mesa, Arizona.
The coworking brand is calling their existing and future markets momentum markets. The company plans to provide community members with the space, resources, and eventually, funding, for both their members and the cities where they will be located.