Comments on: It’s time for a mentorship-based seed fund in Louisiana

By: An Open Letter to David Cohen of TechStars | The Adventures of Chris Schultz

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:12:34 +0000

[...] have been passionate about the need for a mentorship-based seed fund in New Orleans for the last two years, and I fully believe that [...]

By: Capital Access for Startups in New Orleans | The Adventures of Chris Schultz

Tue, 11 May 2010 18:55:54 +0000

[...] to share the coming capital options for startups in NOLA. My feeling for a while has been that the seed capital gap and lack of VC in general in Louisiana has been one of the biggest challenges facing startups. [...]

By: Fast Company Test 2 | The Adventures of Chris Schultz

Fast Company Test 2 | The Adventures of Chris Schultz — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:13:49 +0000

[...] One of the things I mentioned in the interview is a challenge around the lack of startup capital in New Orleans, this is something we’re working on too [...]

By: Fast Company: Why You Should Start a Company in New Orleans | The Adventures of Chris Schultz

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:24:56 +0000

[...] One of the things I mentioned in the interview is a challenge around the lack of startup capital in New Orleans, this is something we’re working on too [...]

By: Taylor Davidson

Taylor Davidson — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:34:55 +0000

Completely agreed. Putting Launchpad in place was a great first step and will help create deal flow. Tell me how I can help.

By: Opinion: It’s time for a mentorship-based seed fund in Louisiana â€” the Baton Rougean

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:07:33 +0000

[...] You can read the full article here → ← Type A Influenza Affecting LSU Athletes Email this to a friend?Subscribe to the comments for this post?Tweet This!Share this on FacebookPost this to MySpaceDigg this!Share this on del.icio.usStumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUponAdd this to Google BookmarksShare this on TechnoratiShare this on Reddit [...]

By: David Crais

David Crais — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:31:25 +0000

Chris,
I would take a look at the Georgia Tech Venture Fellows program. Combined with their Angel Network, it is one of the best mentored incubation programs in the country. It is one the Benchmark programs we studied for the Regional Innovation Strategies Project that I’m on with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce and the LSU System. It also functions as both a “entrepreneurs in residence” program and also a talent pool for startups. Many of the mentors move into active management of the portfolio companies once they get funding or begin to scale up for growth.
Take a look, I can also fill you in on the program we’re working on in Baton Rouge once it’s made public in the next few weeks.
But again, your article is on point.
This is not a poor state, nor do we lack investment capital, it’s just that the capital in the state is only directed at traditional investments: oil, gas, hospitality, food, etc.
Perhaps, the first mentorship needed is to mentor the investment community and management networks in what it means to invest in new ideas and disruptive innovation outside of traditional energy and industry.

By: Scott T.

Scott T. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:33:19 +0000

Chris,

Great points. It seems like a relatively small investment upfront to fund a mentorship-based seed fund could have huge returns down the road. Here’s an interesting essay by Paul Graham of Y-Combinator, where he discusses the feasibility of “buying” a Silicon Valley in another city: http://www.paulgraham.com/maybe.html .

The takeaway from the essay seems to be that–if anything–buying the next Silicon Valley is at least worth a try, given the relatively small investment required and the potential benefits that could come out of it. I also think that New Orleans would be a perfect place to try it for reasons that we all already know.

By: Chris Schultz

Chris Schultz — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:26:13 +0000

Check out @benjaminreece’s video response to this post over here: http://www.twitvid.com/003EE

By: Rick Crozier

Rick Crozier — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:58:01 +0000

If the Federal Gov’t can offer $100,000 to raise a home then we should be able to raise funds to add jobs and infrastructure to the bubbling tech sector that you are so passionate about. Gulf Coast bank has made some large bets on this city and i think we would love to be a part of the ecosystem. Chris call me so we can get some of the money guys in the city with the idea guys.