NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Entrepreneur Week will host the IDEApitch competition at 4 p.m. Friday, March 31 at Generations Hall. Three competitors from the Idea Village’s VILLAGEx accelerator program will pitch their companies to a panel of investors and startup founders.
The 12th annual NOEW is happening March 27 through April 1 at various locations citywide.
“IDEApitch is about venture and investment readiness,” said Jon Atkinson, CEO of the Idea Village, the nonprofit accelerator that produces New Orleans Entrepreneur Week and the VILLAGEx program. “The entrepreneurs who participate in IDEApitch have founded and scaled startups that we believe are ready for additional investment.”
The three IDEApitch finalists are Bomb Ass Fro, Glass Half Full and iCAN Technologies.
Bomb Ass Fro is a natural hair care company founded by Sydni Raymond.
“I’m thrilled to have been selected for the 2023 IDEApitch competition,” she said. “The growth of black women-owned businesses is rapid, yet there remains a significant gap between our advancement and access to capital. Community is paramount to Bomb Ass Fro’s mission. I want to be the example that bootstrapping isn’t the only way to success.”
Glass Half Full recycles glass into sand and gravel for coastal restoration, disaster relief, new glass products and more.
“We are thrilled to participate in IDEApitch this year, alongside two incredible companies from the cohort,” said Glass Half Full co-founder Franziska Trautmann. “We have bootstrapped our way to where we are today through grants and GoFundMe crowdfunding, so we are stoked to potentially win an investment into our company that could allow us to scale beyond our wildest dreams.”
iCAN’s mission is to improve the safety, skills and retention of a skilled workforce through a comprehensive, methodical and seamless full cycle approach to training and competency backed and validated through data analytics.
“iCan is honored to be part of the 2023 VILLAGEx cohort and also one of the three companies selected for IDEApitch,” said iCAN Technologies founder David Decuir.
The 2023 IDEApitch judges are:
- Brent Craige, Co-founder and CEO of JammAround
- Sara Deshpande, General Partner at Maven Ventures
- Taylor Griffin, Head of Athlete Relations at Patricof Co
- Nitin Rai, Founder and Managing Partner at Elevate Venture Capital Fund
- Jeffery Silverman, Managing Partner at Laconia
- Robb Vorhoff, Managing Director & Global Head of Healthcare at General Atlantic
- Sevetri Wilson, Founder and CEO at Resilia
Immediately after the IDEApitch winner is announced, the second night of NOEW Fest will feature DJ sets and live music, including performances from Letrainiump, Brass-a-holics, DJ Mel and Pell. IDEApitch attendees must purchase a NOEW Fest Pass ($99) or NOEW VIP Pass ($250) for admission to both IDEApitch and NOEW Fest, scheduled for March 30 through April 1.
