NEW ORLEANS – Several of the nation’s top business leaders and entrepreneurs will speak during the 9th annual New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) presented by IBERIABANK, Sunday, March 19 through Friday, March 24. Produced by The Idea Village in partnership with Solomon Group, NOEW will feature keynote speakers presenting on topics ranging from networking, consumer insights, serial entrepreneurship, the influence of Black Millennials, to compassionate capitalism and more.
“We’re fortunate to provide such a high-quality lineup of business leaders for our attendees this year,” said Victoria Adams Phipps, NOEW’s executive producer. “NOEW guests will walk away from this year’s festival with actionable ideas and tactics to improve their own businesses, community organizations, and careers—or to formulate the seed for a new startup.”
All of NOEW’s events, including the keynote speakers, are free and open to the public to attend. This year’s event will take place at a new campus anchored by the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in the Warehouse District in downtown New Orleans.
Highlighting the variety of offerings found on the calendar, the NOEW 2017 theme is “where culture and innovation connect.” In addition to keynote addresses, NOEW features 125+ dynamic interactive sessions, Q&A sessions with industry experts, industry-specific summits, social networking events, and more. The festival also provides many pitch opportunities for local startups through competitions organized by local community partners.
“Like open source software, we pride ourselves on NOEW being a community-driven, collaborative event,” said Emily Madero, acting CEO of The Idea Village. “More than half of this year’s events are spearheaded by community partners and businesses. NOEW is truly a business festival built for the community by the community.”
NOEW 2017 Headline Speakers Include:
• Lisa Atia – Creative Brand Strategist at Blavity
Keynote: Blavity & the Influence of Black Millennials (March 23, 2:30 p.m.)
• Lisa Chow – Gimlet Media and Host of “StartUp” Podcast
A Listening Session and Conversation with “StartUp” Co-host, Lisa Chow (March 23, 1:00 p.m.)
• Jim Coulter – Founding Partner at TPG
Coulter IDEApitch (March 24, 3:00 p.m.)
• Suzanne DiBianca – EVP of Corporate Relations and Chief Philanthropy Officer at Salesforce
Keynote: Spreading Compassionate Capitalism (March 20, 4:30 p.m.)
• Andy Goldberg – Chief Creative Officer at GE
Keynote: Passion and Purpose: Finding the Core of Your Brand’s Story (March 23, 4:00 p.m.)
• Brett Goldstein – Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Ekistic Ventures
Keynote: A Career Arc from the Private Sector to Government and Back Again (March 20, 9:00 a.m.)
• Kelly Hoey – Investor and Author of “Build Your Dream Network”
Keynote: Your Modern Roadmap to Networking in a Hyper Connected World (March 21, 11:00 a.m.)
• Adrien Lanusse – VP of Global Consumer Insights at Netflix
Keynote: Utilizing Consumer Insights for Innovation (March 22, 4:00 p.m.)
• Patrick Lee – Co-Founder of Hobo Labs; Co-Founder of Rotten Tomatoes
Keynote: The Secret Sauce of a Serial Entrepreneur (March 23, 11:00 a.m.)
• Leslie Miley – Executive in Residence at Venture for America and former Director of Engineering at Slack
Keynote: Diversity and Inclusion in the Startup Community (March 21, 4:00 p.m.)
• Manny Ruiz – CEO at Hispanicize Media Group
Keynote: Embracing Your Inner Pigeon (March 22, 11:00 a.m.)
• Bevy Smith – Host and Founder, Dinner with Bevy
Urban League of Louisiana’s 2017 Women-in-Business Challenge (March 20, 2:00 p.m.)
NOEW culminates with The Big Idea, the world’s largest crowd-driven pitch extravaganza, engaging more than 3,000 people to provide capital to 10 of New Orleans’ most promising new startups. The Big Idea will take place on Friday, March 24, from 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the CAC.
Through a partnership with New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Idea Village is featuring local music across the festival this year. In addition to the numerous musical acts being featured throughout the week, beloved New Orleans trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and his jazz combo The Barbecue Swingers will close out The Big Idea, performing at the end of the competition outside at the CAC. Guests must attend The Big Idea to access the free concert.
Register for The Big Idea and purchase voting chips here
While access to NOEW is free, attendees must register and are encouraged to do so in advance here
