The Idea Village Announces Portfolio Of Entrepreneurs To Participate In Inaugural Entrepreneur Challenge
The Idea Village
For Immediate Release
(New Orleans) October 27nd, 2009 - Today, The Idea Village is pleased to announce the class of entrepreneurs that will participate in its inaugural Entrepreneur Challenge, an intensive 6-month program designed to provide critical business resources to early-stage, high-impact entrepreneurial ventures and drive economic growth in New Orleans.
Based on its experience that high-growth entrepreneurs foster meaningful economic and social change in New Orleans, The Idea Village launched The Entrepreneur Challenge to provide essential services that will help local entrepreneurs succeed. Of 184 applicants, The Idea Village identified a portfolio of 23 companies poised to grow in 2010.
In addition to the new portfolio, alumni of The Idea Village program will participate in the challenge, to share the lessons that they have gained in the start-up phase with their new peers.
The inaugural class of The Idea Village Entrepreneur Challenge includes Bayou Brew, Big Easy Blends, Body Evolution, Drop the Chalk, Faux de Lis, iworktickets, The Music Shed, Nica Naturals, NOLA Couture, NuMe Health, Organic Farms and Local Foods, Repax, REpurposingNOLA.com, Schedulist, Tutti Dynamics and Tru Colors Apparel.
Participating alumni include: Don Kelly Productions, Feelgoodz, Neighborhood Investment Strategies, playNOLA, Spark Insite(s), Sustainable Environmental Enterprises and The Building Block.
The selected entrepreneurs engaged in a highly competitive process and the companies encompass The Idea Village’s criteria, including a viable plan to generate sustainable revenue streams, innovative solutions fueling long-term and sustained economic growth and the ability to act as role models to encourage others to innovate and take risks. To arrive at the portfolio of applicants, The Idea Village conducted 141 personal meetings with local entrepreneurs.
The annual Idea Village Entrepreneur Challenge program will offer the entrepreneurs access to a diverse resource pool of business experts, professional service providers, MBA students, investors and corporate volunteers who will provide resources and strategy to accelerate business growth. The program culminates in the New Orleans Entrepreneur Week from March 20-27, during which the nation’s most entrepreneurial minds will congregate in New Orleans to celebrate, support and promote entrepreneurship.
Tim Williamson, Co-founder and CEO of The Idea Village, said of the Entrepreneur Challenge portfolio, “We are part of a movement in New Orleans where entrepreneurs are using New Orleans as a laboratory to test new concepts and ideas. This group of companies demonstrates that they are committed to growing their businesses here by leveraging the unique opportunities that the city offers.”
Of the strategy behind the Entrepreneur Challenge, Williamson said: “The Idea Village is essentially employing a ‘popcorn’ approach to economic development – bring entrepreneurs together and turn up the heat, then watch them pop.”
To learn more about The Idea Village Entrepreneur Challenge 2010, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week and the portfolio of participating entrepreneurs, please visit www.ideavillage.org.
About The Idea Village
In 2000, The Idea Village was formed by a group of New Orleans citizens who returned home energized by experiences in thriving communities across the United States. The founders determined that the key to creating positive economic and social change in New Orleans was to create a vibrant entrepreneurial community. The Idea Village formalized in 2002 as an independent 501(c) (3) non-profit organization with a mission to identify, support and retain entrepreneurial talent in New Orleans by providing business resources to high-impact ventures.
The Idea Village team supports high impact entrepreneurial talent by identifying growth challenges, setting goals, providing business strategy, marketing support and financial direction. To date, The Idea Village has supported over 255 local entrepreneurial ventures, representing 946 jobs and over $69 million in revenue. Students, professionals and collaborative partners have contributed over 40,000 hours towards business consulting and resource development and allocated over $1.2 million in grants directly to businesses.
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