Many of you reading this probably have vivid memories of watching CNN or the Weather Channel on August 29, 2005. You saw water rushing through a broken levee and up to the rooftops of homes.
I saw the neighborhood I grew up in and places I used to ride my bike as a child being destroyed. While the damage was widespread and devastating things were set in motion that day that forever changed the city I call home.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the largest natural disasters in American history. I also think it was one of the best things to ever happen to New Orleans.
Now before I get hate mail let me clarify one thing, I wish it never happened, but since it has New Orleans has become a very different place and I think for the better.
Kids from colleges like Harvard, Yale, Brown, and MIT came here on their semester breaks to build homes for people they didn’t know. They could have been on a beach in Florida or Cancun trying to get on an episode of Girls Gone Wild but they were ripping out wet sheetrock and shoveling mud out of homes.
A few months or years later when they graduated a strange thing started to happen, they moved here…
NOLA Y.U.R.P.
They formed a loose organization and called themselves the New Orleans Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals (NOLAYURP). They had a few meetings, a Ning site, and an intense desire to effect change in New Orleans. They were young, well educated, and optimistic about the future here. When many of them couldn’t find jobs they started companies.
Here is a partial list of the startups in New Orleans that have begun since Hurricane Katrina.
- Trumpet – marketing firm
- Receivables Exchange – accounts receivables trading
- Wilson-Register Property Management – real estate
- Zymeaux – SMS marketing
- Launchpad NOLA – coworking space
- KODA – a new to think about HR
- WorkNola – online job board
- PolicyPitch.com – crowd-powered platform that allows ordinary citizens to pitch new policy ideas
- Cool Hand Nuke – job board for nuclear industry professionals
- Deltree – Webby award winning video production company
- Dirty Coast – think New Orleans version of Threadless
The geeks unite
In Silicon Valley there is event called Tech Tuesday’s. Every Tuesday people in the tech community get together at a different bar and network. Really its hanging out with your friends and having a few drinks but you can call it networking if you want to. About nine or ten months ago a group of 30-40 people in the New Orleans tech industry got together at a bar in downtown New Orleans to create our version of this event.
We are different in that we only meet once a month and at the same place but we are a force to be reckoned with. Let me give you an example.
One of our members, Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures, was asked to speak on a panel at SXSW. Another member, Andrew Larimer, thought it would be fun to take a road trip and go to SXSW to support Chris. This enterprising group thought that we could turn this trip into a tool to recruit and attract business to the area. They got a Greyhound bus, put a wrap around it, got sponsorship from the the Downtown Development District, The City of New Orleans, New Orleans Rum, and a few others and were off to Austin, TX. They had a booth at SXSW and used it persuade conference goers that they should consider moving their business to New Orleans.
They had representatives from the city and the business community that went along with them on the trip. They promoted our very low cost of living, access to over 1,000 restaurants (not including national chains), some of the best food in the world, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, an occasional Superbowl, a NBA team, NFL football team, a minor league baseball team, and excellent nightlife. Educational opportunities abound here, we have two law schools, two medical schools, six universities, one small catholic college, and two community colleges.
Oh, and I forgot to mention they planned, funded, and executed this with less than two months of planning. This little group of 30-40 has grown to almost 200 in less than a year and I consider myself lucky to be a part of it.
Going forward
I’m confident that this group of young idealistic entrepreneurs will forever change New Orleans. They saw Hurricane Katrina as a tabula rasa rather than a terrible disaster. They look at the city’s problems as opportunities and look toward a better future and leave the past where it belongs, in the past.
While I have talked a lot about the young in this post I think that entrepreneurs of any age should consider New Orleans when thinking of place to start your next business. You have a unique opportunity to help rebuild an American city and have a direct impact on the future of that city. There a very few times in history when people have been given an opportunity like that. Don’t let this one pass you by. Come on down to New Orleans, we’re open for business.
Christopher Johnston is 37-year old husband, father, christian, iPhone owner, and new Mac user. A recovering former financial advisor, passionate about the new green economy and how it will help my hometown, New Orleans, recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chrisjohnston
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yeah, i remember when all of that went down regarding new Orleans. I think what we need to understand is that New Orleans is STILL not rebuilt or back to the shape it once was in. I know that right now is the best time to start a buiness, but the future looks promising
Awesome post, Chris! Thanks for helping spread the word about all the awesome tech- and startup- related energy that’s making things happen in New Orleans.
For the record, I would like to point out that Net2NO has grown to almost 300 members within our first year. We’re at 283 as of today. w00t!
This is a great post.
Truly successful entrepreneurs can always find a way to get things done while helping the people around them. Too many people forget that.
As someone with a pretty extensive background in urban planning, economic development and communications for start-ups, let me put it into my perspective.
Nola has a rare combination of factors and is attracting a pool of talent that other cities clamor for, but can’t seem to nurture and keep; creative and innovative, educated, highly energetic entrepreneurs that have a strong commitment to civic engagement and positive social change.
Couple this with low costs, a collaborative and supportive community of like minded entrepreneurs, excellent geographic location for doing both national and international business, strong ties to foundations, angels and other funders, good incentives and lower costs make this a terrific business friendly formula.
Thank you so much for the input. We are actively trying to get that message out and we appreciate it when others notice.