NEW ORLEANS — On Thursday, March 15, Loyola University New Orleans and The Idea Village hosted the IDEAcorps Consulting Competition at the co-working space, The Shop at the Contemporary Arts Center, during New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, presented by JP Morgan.
The 72-hour challenge was an intensive MBA student experience, during which teams of students helped founders of regional startups advance their companies during March 15-18.
Six MBA teams from Auburn University, Loyola, Mississippi State University, Tulane University, Xavier University (Cincinnati), and University of Alabama participated in the challenge. Each team worked with a founding entrepreneur to identify a problem his or her company was facing, validate a solution, and create a plan the entrepreneur could implement immediately.
Tulane University was declared the winning team on March 19, based on how much they had “moved the needle” for their company, Vizzit. Vizzit, which is currently part of the IDEAx accelerator cohort at The Idea Village, is an experience-based app that combines the power of storytelling and location-based marketing in an easy-to-use platform.
“The Tulane MBA team deserved to win and I'm thrilled they did, but it was their contribution to moving Vizzit forward that impressed me,” said entrepreneur and Founder of Vizzit, Arthur Bart-Williams. “They showed skill, passion, and adaptability, which are critical for working in startup environments.” He commented in a press release, “Moving to New Orleans from the San Francisco Bay Area was a huge leap of faith, but every week I get validation that I'm making the right choice.”
Founded in 2006 by The Idea Village, IDEAcorps has engaged more than 500 MBAs from across the country to work one-on-one with New Orleans entrepreneurs. Past teams have hailed from business schools at Stanford University, Harvard, Dartmouth College, Northwestern University, and Cornell University.
“This program has been one of the first steps for many local entrepreneurs and participants in the entrepreneurial ecosystem both here and in other markets,” added Founding Director of Loyola’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Jon Atkinson. “IDEAcorps is truly a ‘front door’ to entrepreneurship for some of our region's most talented MBAs and has started the seeds of an entrepreneurial movement in New Orleans.”
Aside from Vizzit, five other startups participated in IDEAcorps, including:
3D Media—Utilizing a proprietary process 3D Media rebuilds industrial facilities in VR, then codes components within that virtual facility to operate and respond as they would in real life.
Acrew—Acrew provides employee screening software solutions through one-way video interviews that save recruiters time and money.
Brass City Shrubs & Soda—Makers of Huhu's Ginger Brew, Brass City will offer seasonal shrubs and sodas, and strive to strengthen New Orleans' reputation as a premier food and beverage city in the US.
CampusKnot—Campusknot is a modern tool for educators that helps increase engagement in classrooms. It brings together features like live polling, attendance tracking, course groups, integrated planners, gradebooks and much more to create a better experience for educators and students alike.
On Scene Services—On Scene Services provides rapid-response coverage of minor traffic accidents.
