Editor’s note: Emy Foster is the child of former Gambit Publisher Jeanne Exnicios.
Emy Foster and Charlie Kehlenbach knew they wanted to be entrepreneurs. They just weren’t sure what sort of business they wanted to start.
While for previous generations “small business owner” probably ranked well below professional athlete, doctor, computer wiz or astronaut on the list of dream jobs for kids, Foster says it’s an increasingly common goal for younger members of Gen Z and Alpha.
Whereas in the past the process of opening a business seemed like a monumental task, “I think it’s social media desensitizing people to it,” Foster says. Between influencers making their lives a literal business to people promoting their fledgling ventures, social media “really puts it into your brain that you can do anything, start your own business.”
So Foster and Kehlenbach decided last June to participate in the Tulane Innovation Institute’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy, a 30-week program that helps young people develop potential businesses, from the initial dream through their pitch to investors.
The two 17-year-old Ben Franklin High School students quickly settled on an idea: their shared love of golf. “It was an honestly ‘ah-ha!’ moment … we just kind of fell in love with the idea,” Foster says.
At the end of the program, Foster and Kehlenbach pitched their idea — a mobile golf simulator business for parties and other events — to a panel of judges. Not only did they win the $1,500 first place prize, but they also caught the eye of an executive from i.invest, a local organization that helps provide seed money to start ups, who also agreed to help fund their idea.
Less than a year later, the two successfully launched ParTee, the mobile golf simulation venture, and have started booking clients.
Over the last several years, the Tulane Innovation Institute’s academy has helped a host of young people not only develop ideas for businesses, but crucially they’ve helped them secure investments to make them a reality.
The academy has helped launch “bakers to mobile golf simulators, and it’s really exciting to watch the confidence of our young entrepreneurs,” says Sharon Goldsmith, Executive Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs at the institute.
And it’s not just young people who can find help securing funding. Goldsmith argues that New Orleans is in something of a renaissance moment when it comes to small business start-up and development. In addition to the Institute, there are several other programs and organizations in the city, many of them free, which can help budding business owners get off the ground.
“New Orleans and Louisiana as a state are doubling down on innovation and entrepreneurship … we have more venture capital and early-stage investment funds in town than ever before,” Goldsmith says.
ParTee founders Charlie Kehlenbach and Emy Foster at an event.
Photo provided by Tulane Internal Medicine Residency
There are a ton of steps between having an idea and turning it into a business.
The rise of AI tools is making things like writing a business plan, creating a website and preparing a pitch deck easier, helping remove some of the hurdles to starting a small business. But finding investors — and convincing them to give you money — very much remains a human experience, and one a lot of people can’t crack.
Banks are an option, but they can be risk-averse to the point many first time entrepreneurs can’t get past an initial meeting.
You can try and crowdsource funding from friends and family. But most of us don’t have social circles swimming in money, especially these days. Plus, mixing money and family is never a great idea.
But that doesn’t mean finding funding isn’t possible. In fact, there’s an increasing number of opportunities to get financing locally — if you know where to look.
Goldsmith and others say one of the best ways to find funding is to simply get out there and start meeting other entrepreneurs. “Being an entrepreneur can be lonely,” she says.
Participating in pitch contests and other programs can be nerve-racking, particularly if you don’t already have financial backing. “The scariest moment was that pitch. It was make or break because without that money we wouldn’t have had enough money … building a golf simulator is expensive,” Foster says.
But Foster argues the competitions are worth it, even if you don’t end up taking home a prize. Like with ParTee, you may end up catching the eye of an investor in the audience. And at a bare minimum they help novices learn not only how to build a business but the language of business, which can be inscrutable for outsiders.
A recent StartupNola entrepreneur meetup
Photo provided by Tulane Innovation Institute
“At the beginning of each class they’d go over vocab terms … we’d write it down on a sheet and the lesson would go from that … they eased us into it,” Foster explains. Having that language skill may not seem important, but it can help show you’re serious about what you’re doing.
In the New Orleans area, a number of groups host regular meet-ups and happy hours designed to not only bring entrepreneurs together, but also to connect them with investors.
Launched in 2022, StartupNola provides a host of services, including identifying funding sources for entrepreneurs. There’s also now a StartupNorthshore and StartupStBernard.
While the word “startup” these days is mostly associated with the tech industry, the group’s scope is much wider.
For instance, their July meetup featured a “fireside chat” with members of Boot64 investment group and the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission where they discussed the parish’s new $4.2 million food and beverage incubator in the Churchill Technology & Business Park.
New Orleans Entrepreneur Week event at Gallier Hall
Photo by Brett Duke / The Times-Picayune
The organization also holds regular happy hours and other events. On Sept. 22, the organization is hosting a “meet the VCs” event to help connect start-ups with investors.
StartupNoirNola is specifically targeted toward Black entrepreneurs and business owners in the New Orleans area. They also hold regular happy hours and meetups.
Likewise, Idea Village’s IDEAfuel is specifically designed to help provide early funding resources to Black and other minority entrepreneurs in the region. Successful applicants can receive $15,000 in funding and one-on-one mentorship, as well as workshops and other assistance.
“Coming to StartupNola events and meeting other entrepreneurs is really important to building a peer network,” Goldsmith says. She notes that even if you don’t necessarily meet a funder who’s interested in backing you, they may know someone who is.
There are a number of local organizations specifically designed to help get businesses off the ground. GNO, Inc., of course, provides a host of resources. Business and tech incubators like Propeller, the Idea Village and The Beach at UNO are also great resources.
For instance, Idea Village recently announced this year’s Metronome, a 12-week mentorship program for “music and culture technology” startups. According to Idea Village, participants “receive dedicated mentorship from industry experts, specialized workshops, highly curated coaching sessions, access to coworking space for the duration of the cohort, world-class pitch coaching, and ongoing peer connection opportunities.” Applications are due Aug. 26.
Held each March, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week is an annual event put on by Loyola University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development. Local business incubators like the Idea Village and The Beach at UNO, GNO, Inc., Tulane’s Innovation Institute, Xavier University’s Entrepreneurship Institute and other start-up groups help put on the week-long event. In addition to lectures and classes on everything from planning your business to finding investment, NOEW provides a ton of networking opportunities.
New Orleans Entrepreneur Week attendees sit in a lecture hall on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans.
Provided photo by Malcolm Johnson Jr.
One of the marquee events of NOEW is The Loyola Summit, a two-day event at Loyola University that features panel discussions, workshops, networking events and classes. It is also a great way to connect with potential funders.
Tulane University also offers a number of other programs designed to help members of the community in starting up their own businesses.
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy, which is open to high school students in the region, is accepting applications through the end of July for its next session beginning in September. The 30-week program helps high school students come up with business ideas, conduct market research, build a business plan and develop a pitch, culminating in a competition for $4,500 in prizes.
Tulane’s annual Open Season Pitch Competition is open to the entire community and is currently accepting applications for this year’s competition through Aug. 17. All applicants are eligible for mentorships as well as a number of other services through the Innovation Institute, including business model development and how to conduct market research. Ten finalists will present their early-stage pitches Sept. 15. First place winners will take home $3,000.
Tulane also will hold a free Startup Sprint Bootcamp Sept. 25, which is open to the public. The bootcamp covers a number of topics, including legal issues with starting a business, how to develop an idea into a business, finding financing, how to introduce your business into the market and more.
In addition to free one-on-one ad hoc mentorships, the university also offers a free eight-month Startup Team Mentoring program to the public. Participants receive mentoring from three to four Tulane alumni from around the country. By linking local entrepreneurs with mentors outside the region, Goldsmith says the program can help participants expand their network of contacts outside of New Orleans, which in turn can widen their potential market for their product or service. The university also conducts a $50k Demo Day during NOEW for entrepreneurs that have participated in the school’s mentorship programs.