In honor of the return of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (in person!) a few months ago, I went searching for an interesting entrepreneur for our March cover story and Doug Walner quickly caught my attention.
First, there’s the fact that he runs two very different companies in very different industries — tech and food and beverage. Second, one of those companies is a very familiar name: NOLA Brewing. But then, upon talking with him about his tech startup Align, the common thread in his work became clear: Doug Walner is a problem solver. It doesn’t matter what the problem is, or in what industry, his passion is to find the answer — often with tech, another passion of his.
Align is all about setting goals and managing the progress toward them, something I thought would be particularly relevant right now, not just because we’re still toward the beginning of the year — when so many of us set new goals — but because in the past two years so many people have been looking harder at their goals, both personally and professionally. Who would have thought the word “pivot” would ever rival “moist” in popularity, but here we are.
Of course, meeting any goal requires conquering challenges. On that note, for our second big feature this month, I was able to chat with local construction and development professionals charged with bringing some of last year’s biggest commercial projects to fruition. Each of these projects have been celebrated for their achievements, but rarely do we ever look at the road that was taken to that success, the giant potholes that threatened it, and the skillful maneuvering that had to occur to keep things on track.
Back to New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, we’re honored to have Jon Atkinson, CEO of The Idea Village, back in the magazine — this time as our Guest Perspective. I was amazed to learn that just last year, seven companies connected to The Idea Village were acquired for more than $2 billion. What do we need to build on those kinds of results going forward? Atkinson breaks it down.
Finally, as we at Biz New Orleans continue to work toward our unwavering goal of bringing you all the latest from our diverse business community, I invite you, as always, to keep us in the loop with what you’re doing so we can share the good news. And please let us know if there’s anyone you’d like to hear about, or hear from, who may be able to help you on the road to achieving your goals. Just send us a note at editor@bizneworleans.com.
All the best and thanks for reading.
Kimberley Singletary
Managing Editor
Kimberley@BizNewOrleans.com
