FROM VISION TO DEPLOYMENT
In 2023, The Idea Village raised and launched the Momentum Fund—a $7 million affiliated venture capital fund backed by 27 investors, including leading Gulf Coast founders, family offices, and Louisiana Economic Development's SSBCI program.
Now fully operational, Momentum Fund is actively deploying capital into the Gulf South's most promising startups, exclusively supporting alumni of The Idea Village's VILLAGEx accelerator.
The fund is designed to offer founder-friendly capital that validates innovation, unlocks additional outside capital, and fuels long-term growth across the region. It goes beyond capital by providing a strategic lever for accelerating the startup economy in Louisiana and beyond.
“The result is a powerful new model — one that pairs deep founder support with catalytic, non-extractive early investment - helping startups raise faster, scale smarter, and grow where they're rooted.”
Jon Atkinson, CEO
THE PORTFOLIO IN MOTION
Since launching, the Momentum Fund has invested in eight companies across a range of industries:
These investments reflect how VILLAGEx prepares high-growth ventures to scale—and how the Momentum Fund helps accelerate that next phase.
“Founders in this region are building extraordinary companies, and they deserve capital that sees their potential early.
The Momentum Fund is here to meet them at a pivotal stage-with trust, urgency, and resources that help them go further, faster. We're proud to be backing the next generation of Gulf South leaders."
Megan Balch
Managing Director, Momentum Fund
PORTFOLIO SPOTLIGHT
Momentum Fund's Most Recent Investment
Just months after completing VILLAGEx 2025, Hello Gravel secured investment from the Momentum Fund, highlighting the accelerator's impact on capital readiness. The company brings a fresh, digital-first model to the bulk aggregate industry, allowing homeowners to order rocks, mulch, and soil online with ease.
Hello Gravel is proof that big, scalable ideas can come from any sector, and that the New Orleans region is full of them.
Momentum Fund's First Investment
A 2023 VILLAGEx alum and IDEApitch winner, Glass Half Full recycles glass into sand to restore vulnerable coastal regions. In 2024, the company opened Louisiana's first-ever glass recycling manufacturing facility in St. Bernard Parish. As they scale across the South, they're creating jobs, earning national media attention, and leading the charge on climate resilience in the Gulf South.
HOW COMPANIES RECEIVE INVESTMENT
To be eligible for investment, companies must be alumni of The Idea Village’s VILLAGEx accelerator and meet the Momentum Fund’s investment criteria. This includes raising at least 4x the fund’s allocation from outside investors and receiving approval from the Momentum Fund’s investment board.
Starting with the 2024 cohort, companies that graduate from VILLAGEx may be eligible for a $100,000 investment at market terms, provided they meet fund requirements within 18 months of graduation and agree to the applicable investment terms.
The Momentum Fund invests at market terms— including valuation and structure — as established by third-party private capital participating in a company’s open round following program completion.
INVESTMENT THESIS
The odds of success for companies that complete a rigorous and selective accelerator program and raise outside capital greatly exceed those that do only one or the other.
Investors tend to see greater returns by investing in a portfolio of well-capitalized early-stage companies and when they maximize pro rata investments in later rounds to “double down” on successful startups.
MOMENTUM FUND CRITERIA
To be eligible for investment from the Momentum Fund, each company must be a graduate of The Idea Village’s VILLAGEx accelerator* AND raise outside equity capital equal to or greater than $400,000.
Complete investment terms are shared with all VILLAGEx companies during or following their time in the cohort. All companies seeking Momentum Fund investment must abide by these terms. Core investment criteria are highlighted in the box to the right.
*VILLAGEx became the official branded name of The Idea Village’s later-stage accelerator in 2019. Alumni of “IDEAx” or its earlier iterations, such as growth-stage accelerator cohorts, may also be eligible.
Email innovation@ideavillage.org for more information.
Most VILLAGEx graduates will have attended all in-person events, hit milestones set with their Entrepreneur-in-Residence, developed a professional deck, attended pitch coaching, presented at Demo Day, and receive an overall positive recommendation from their Advisory Board and mentors.
CORE INVESTMENT CRITERIA
-
All companies will have successfully graduated from The Idea Village’s later-stage accelerator program in the last five years.
-
Each company must raise a minimum of $400,000 from outside investors to trigger eligibility for Momentum Fund investment.
-
For every $4 of outside investment, companies receive $1 of Momentum Fund investment above the minimum investment and up to their allocation cap.
-
Funds allocated to companies that do not raise a qualifying round within 18 months of VILLAGEx graduation or IDEApitch prize winnings will be reallocated.
GOVERNANCE
The Momentum Fund is governed by an independent investment board, composed of three members at any given time who are tasked with overseeing the implementation of the investment thesis and directing decision making for follow-on rounds. The governing board must approve every investment and can reject an investment with unacceptable terms. As a new entity, the Momentum Fund is only open to accredited investors by invitation.
The Momentum Fund is wholly owned by The Idea Village and receives additional operational support by The Idea Village team.
MOMENTUM FUND INVESTMENT BOARD
JON ATKINSON
President and CEO
The Idea Village
RICK SPENCER
Managing Partner
Growth Factory Ventures
PAT RILEY
President
Morrow Global Network
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF THE GULF SOUTH
The Momentum Fund is designed to provide accelerator companies with a source of founder-friendly, patient capital that can help “add a ‘0’” to the types of venture deals being done in Louisiana and across the Gulf South. We believe that great companies can be built here and want to be part of supporting founders in that journey.
While the terms above remain subject to change, we are endeavoring to lay out as many of the expected terms and conditions for investment as possible upfront in an effort to build a road map that companies and founders can follow.
We hope that the prospect of investment from the Momentum Fund will help provide additional validation in the market, making fundraising easier and faster, and help founders think bigger while focusing on building an industry-leading business. We also hope that it will foster a long-term relationship between The Idea Village and alumni for decades to come.
to learn more about momentum fund, contact innovation@ideavillage.org
