NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Book Festival, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week and the 3rd Coast Venture Summit all took place in the city March 9-13 and brought together national authors, startup founders, investors and business leaders for a series of conversations on innovation, entrepreneurship and culture.
In his latest regional update, Greater New Orleans Inc. CEO Michael Hecht highlighted the events as examples of the region’s growing role as a hub for thought leadership and startup activity.
“This week New Orleans hosted a series of world-class events dedicated to ideas, innovation, and thought-leadership,” Hecht said.
New Orleans Book Festival – “Mardi Gras for the Mind!”
Hosted by Tulane University, the New Orleans Book Festival welcomed more than 250 authors, journalists and cultural voices for four days of conversations spanning literature, history, politics and culture. In just five years, the festival has become one of the nation’s most prominent literary gatherings. Hecht described the festival as “Mardi Gras for the Mind.”
New Orleans Book Festival speakers included:
- Filmmaker Ken Burns, historian Annette Gordon-Reed, and writers Walter Isaacson and Clint Smith on America’s 250th birthday, and how the nation’s founding ideals continue to evolve
- Novelist Salman Rushdie on the aftermath of his 2022 attack and his many inspirations for a collection of short stories he wrote after the incident
- Historian and author Jon Meacham on American leadership and the lessons of presidential history
- Author and political leader Stacey Abrams on the craft of fiction as a lens for understanding the human stakes behind algorithms and institutions
- Journalist and author Michael Lewis on how perception, imagination, and attention shape each of our unique lived experiences
New Orleans Entrepreneur Week – 15 Years of Ideas & Action
Produced by the Loyola University New Orleans Center for Entrepreneurship, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) convened founders, investors and business leaders from across the region, with programming that reflected both the diversity and momentum of the local startup ecosystem.
Highlights from NOEW included:
- New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno in conversation with political commentator Tim Miller on the future of entrepreneurship in New Orleans
- Jon McNeill, former president of Tesla and COO of Lyft, on scaling high-growth companies
- Nicola Corzine, CEO of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, and Robert Hines of JPMorgan Chase, on a panel with GNO, Inc. and Idea Village, to discuss how alignment across the ecosystem is driving the city’s startup momentum
- Brett Hurt, founder of Bazaarvoice and data.world, and New Orleans technology entrepreneur Matt Wisdom, on how founders can overcome capital and resource constraints
- Becker Hall, founder of Hogs for the Cause, on building a mission-driven organization that has raised more than $15 million for families battling pediatric brain cancer
3rd Coast Venture Summit
Running alongside NOEW, Idea Village led the 3rd Coast Venture Summit, which convened founders from across the Gulf South and investors from around the country.
Programming for the 3rd Coast Venture Summit included:
- Intralox President Killian Lapeyre on embedding artificial intelligence into industrial operations
- Ochsner Health innovation leader Jason Hill on applying AI within healthcare systems
- NASA technology transfer officer Aaron Head on opportunities in the emerging space economy
- Nasdaq Private Market Executive Diego Valer Fort on liquidity strategies and startup exits
- Venture investors and founders discussing how Gulf South startups are attracting national capital and building companies in industries like energy, logistics and maritime
Workforce and Startup Ecosystem Events
Hecht also highlighted two additional events hosted by GNO, Inc. aimed at strengthening the region’s workforce and startup pipeline.
As part of the week’s programming, the WorkNOLA Talent Den x Work in Tech connected more than 200 job seekers, technologists and employers from across the local tech ecosystem.
- The Startup Noir NOLA Summit brought together founders, investors and ecosystem leaders including:
- Dalton Honoré, founder of Dreamland Koffucha, Arielle Hobdy of Bea’s Bayou and Alana Scott of Kinkz Hair Products on scaling Black-led consumer brands nationally from New Orleans
- Camelback Ventures fellows and New Orleans founders on building strong local entrepreneurial ecosystems and national networks
- Xavier University and regional innovation leaders discussing how HBCUs can serve as engines of Black innovation
- CodeGig CEO Kellen Francis and Nexus Louisiana CEO Tony Zanders on turning pilot programs into long-term corporate contracts
- Venture investors examining where capital is moving next in emerging startup markets like the Gulf South
