Another successful New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) is in the books. The celebration of entrepreneurship and innovation in the city culminated on Friday with IDEApitch, the premier showcase for emerging, high-growth startups in the New Orleans area.
Three finalists poised for major growth were selected to pitch from the regional startup ecosystem including Jamm Around, Cluey Consumer, and Iconic Moments. Each startup was given seven minutes to pitch followed by a 10 minute Q&A session with the panel of judges.
The pitch competition historically has offered a $50,000 investment prize from The Idea Village to the winning pitch. This year’s stakes quickly increased with support from local investors and entrepreneurs wanting to pay it forward. The total investment prize up for grabs increased to $750,000, with $400,000 awarded to the winning pitch and $175,000 to each runner up.
“This culminating event of NOEW is an opportunity for our region’s next three break-out companies to announce themselves on a national stage by pitching to an esteemed panel of local and national investors,” revealed The Idea Village, producers of NOEW.
Following three impressive live pitches, the judges conferred and announced Jamm Around as the 2022 IDEApitch winner. The startup has created a network management platform for music creators who need a new way to connect with other artists from around the world.
Co-founder and CEO Brent Craig pitched the business they managed to launch all within one year and no outside funding. Craig said they expect to onboard over 30,000 users this year and be profitable in the next two years.
Jamm Around beat out its competition and walked away with the $400,000 investment prize. For more information about NOEW and its events, visit noew.org.