WHY THE STARTUP COMMUNITY MATTERS

New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, an annual celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit in New Orleans produced by The Idea Village kicks off 3/22, and we’re incredibly excited to be hosting Brad Feld, Dan Caruso, and Pat Riley on 3/24 as part of the Startup Communities-themed evening.

Over the last 15-20 years, New Orleans has experienced one of the fastest paces of change as it relates to embracing startups, tech, and innovation. The city has grown from a community with a strong risk aversion and very little startup activity 20+ years ago to #1 in the U.S. for Tech Job Growth, with over 16,000 active jobs, leadership in inclusive innovation, a destination for young entrepreneurs, and one of the highest rates of startup activity in the country.

This is great, but we must continue to look out 20 years from today. New Orleans has created one "unicorn," built ground up since 2009, but can we build 5, 10, 15, or 20? What does New Orleans look like with 5 more homegrown startup companies with $1B plus valuations? What if we can marry growth with inclusivity, with founder and team make-ups that are reflective of our 60% Black city? What does this do for a place that people strive to call home if the job is here too?

To unlock this potential, we have to get the startup community 'flywheel' turning. We have to invest in the virtuous cycles, vibrant networks, and relationships the enable the growth of exceptional companies.

As coined by our friend, Pat Riley at GAN, economic development in the 21st century needs to be rethought to a model that is "Additive, Regenerative, and Equitable." This is what building a startup community is. It is a way to create an economy that is more than the sum of its parts.

Join us at NOEW to hear some of the leading minds of the startup community movement and founders who have done this elsewhere as they share lessons that New Orleans can use as we embark on our next 20-year journey to define what New Orleans can look like in the 21st century.