NEW ORLEANS — Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate the city’s attention, there was some good economic development news from earlier this month that deserves attention.
Gov. John Bel Edwards and Raistone Capital CEO Dave Skirzenski announced the New York-based financial technology firm is expanding to New Orleans with the establishment of an office in the city’s Central Business District. Raistone Capital, a provider of working capital finance, said it will create 50 jobs over the next five years at its 400 Poydras Tower location.
Raistone Capital plans to generate a cumulative payroll of $12 million by 2025 through the new direct jobs. In addition, Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in an additional 44 new indirect jobs, for a total of 94 new jobs in greater New Orleans. Leveraging technology, Raistone Capital forms a financial bridge by providing immediate working capital to help companies grow and scale their businesses.
“Raistone is a dynamic company that embodies the future of our region,” said GNO Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht. “As we continue to diversify the region’s economy, we see a great opportunity in the fintech sector, which leverages our success in tech, and builds on the region’s historical standing in finance. Our shared commitment is to build an economy where everyone has the opportunity to participate, and we are proud that Raistone shares that same objective. We look forward to the growth of Raistone and the fintech sector in greater New Orleans.”
Raistone said that a dynamic New Orleans fintech sector was the reason for launching its new location. Those New Orleans fintech players include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Finance Center at Michoud Assembly Facility; the headquarters of iSeatz, a loyalty tech company that completes over $4 billion in travel and lifestyle bookings annually; the headquarters of Levelset, which facilitates nearly $2 billion in monthly online transactions for construction projects across all 50 states; Tradeshift, a global business-invoicing tech firm born in Denmark, headquartered in San Francisco and now operating in New Orleans; Netchex, the Northshore-based provider of human resources, payroll and benefits services; Gilded, a New Orleans-based online business transaction facilitator; and CivicSource, a New Orleans-based provider of online property auction services.
In New Orleans, Raistone Capital will provide working capital finance through a technology platform that serves a global customer base. Raistone will maintain sales, operations, credit and customer support teams at the 32-story 400 Poydras Tower.
