[StBernard] Local Community Leaders and GNO, Inc. Launch New Orleans Startup Fund

[Westley Annis]

Local Community Leaders and GNO, Inc. Launch New Orleans Startup Fund 

Nonprofit Fund to Benefit Burgeoning Local Entrepreneurial Community 

 

 

NEW ORLEANS -- Today, local community and business leaders joined together
to launch the New Orleans Startup Fund, a nonprofit venture capital fund
designed to accelerate local early-stage companies that demonstrate
high-growth potential. By providing seed capital and business assistance to
local startups, The Startup Fund seeks to create more jobs and economic
prosperity for the Greater New Orleans region. 

"In the past few years, New Orleans has seen a surge of talent and energy,"
said Leslie Jacobs, Executive Vice President of Strategic Comp and Founder
and Secretary of the Startup Fund. "Now more than ever, these entrepreneurs
have the opportunity to strengthen and diversify our economy with new ideas
and companies. But to do so, they will need early-stage capital --and this
is exactly what the Startup Fund will provide." 

In recent years, New Orleans has harnessed the power of its competitive
advantages to develop a strong entrepreneurial community and establish the
region as a hub of innovation and creativity. However, a lack of access to
early-stage funding and a relatively undersized venture capital market have
prevented the local startup community from maximizing its full potential.
The Startup Fund will correct this deficiency by providing
"proof-of-concept" funding - the first rung of the "capital ladder" - to not
only help start and grow companies, but also build the local capital
infrastructure in the process. 

"When we founded TurboSquid in 2000, there were few companies like ours, and
we were incredibly lucky to get seed funding," said Matt Wisdom, CEO of
digital marketplace TurboSquid and Chairman of the Startup Fund. "We've been
fortunate to have so many companies starting up in New Orleans in recent
years, but we need to take the luck out of the process. The Startup Fund
will provide the seed capital needed to help new organizations transform our
economy." 

In order to qualify for funding, the startups must be headquartered within
the 10-parish Greater New Orleans region and must demonstrate a clear vision
to grow their business to $20 to $50 million in revenue within five to seven
years. The Startup Fund will seek to provide $25,000 to $250,000 to startups
that can meet these requirements. In addition, startups will receive
technical assistance - including Financial Modeling, Marketing Strategy,
Operation Planning, Management, and Follow-on Capital Raising. With a
current fund size at $3.9 million, consisting of private, state, and federal
monies approved and in process, the target size of the fund is $7 million. 

"Greater New Orleans is at an economic inflection point," said Michael
Hecht, President and CEO of GNO, Inc. and CEO of the New Orleans Startup
Fund. "Our rates of entrepreneurship, talent attraction, and business
development are all rapidly increasing - and the early-stage capital of the
Startup Fund will be the key to transforming these ideas and energy into
jobs and wealth." 

GNO, Inc. is incubating the Startup Fund, which is a separate 501(c)(3)
organization. 

The Startup Fund is modeled after successful venture development programs
across the country and has developed a partnership with Cleveland's
JumpStart program, considered the best in the country, ensuring that local
startups and the New Orleans economy benefit from their experience and
insights. Unlike other venture development programs, the Startup Fund does
not measure success by return on investment (ROI), but by the creation of a
strong portfolio of companies able to attract outside financing and the
development of a local capital ecosystem. In fact, the fund is "evergreen"
and will reinvest all profits back into the program. 

"By investing $2 million of hurricane recovery funds through the Office of
Community Development in the Startup Fund, we are supporting local
innovators and harnessing their creativity to create jobs in the region,"
said Paul Rainwater, Louisiana Commissioner of Administration. "This
public-private partnership will help Louisiana businesses access the capital
they need to continue to grow." 

With a Board of Directors led by experienced local businesspeople and
philanthropists, the Startup Fund Investment Committee will be led by John
Elstrott, Chairman of the Board of Whole Foods and internationally
recognized leader in investing and entrepreneurship. His associate, Ralph
Maurer, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Tulane University,
will be Executive Director of the Startup Fund. 

"The New Orleans Startup Fund is the catalyst needed to ensure that more
entrepreneurial ventures in the Greater New Orleans region break through to
create jobs and wealth," said Elstrott. 

Applications for funding will be taken, beginning immediately, through the
Startup Fund's online application form, available at
http://account.neworleansstartupfund.org/index.php/applications. 

###

About Greater New Orleans, Inc.

The GNO, Inc. Mission is to serve as the catalyst for wealth creation in the
Greater New Orleans region. GNO, Inc. will accomplish this by pursuing an
aggressive agenda of business development - marketing the region - and
product development - improving regional business conditions through policy,
workforce and research initiatives. 

The GNO, Inc. Vision is for the Greater New Orleans region to fulfill its
potential as one of the best places in the country to grow a company, and
raise a family. The ultimate indication of success for GNO, Inc. will be the
presence of a robust and growing middle class in southeastern Louisiana. 

More information can be found at www.gnoinc.org.

 

 

 

 

365 Canal Street, Suite 2300, New Orleans, LA 70130 Phone: 504.527.6900 Fax:
504.527.6970 www.gnoinc.org
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