New Orleans Startup Fund

The New Orleans Startup Fund is a nonprofit venture fund focused on business creation and innovation in the 10-parish Greater New Orleans region. The Fund exists to accelerate the growth of early-stage, pre-revenue companies looking for proof-of-concept capital. The Startup Fund’s mission is to create jobs and economic prosperity for the 10-parish Greater New Orleans region by providing seed capital and business assistance to early-stage firms that demonstrate significant growth potential Prerequisites: ▪ Southeast Louisiana based business and entrepreneurs ▪ Looking to raise $250,000 and $1,000,000 of growth capital ▪ Open to equity or debt investment vehicles Ideal Candidates: ▪ Have completed their research and prototype phases ▪ Have initial revenues and initial customer validation however small ▪ Have a long term, sustainable competitive advantage through Intellectual Property or similar assets ▪ Have some skin in the game in the form of friends/family/founder investment Willing to Consider Pre-Money Companies If: ▪ Proven management team in the field you are developing ▪ Commercialization of NSF or other grant programs where IP is filed ▪ You have an order or customer that you are trying to fill You Are Too Early If: ▪ You have an idea for a new product and you are looking to build a prototype ▪ You have an idea for a new website but nothing built yet ▪ You need money for research into a new field You Are Not a Good Fit If: ▪ Your deal is over $2,000,000 in fund raising ▪ You are looking to move a company to New Orleans. We don’t have funds available to relocate firms. ▪ You are a retail location, restaurant, manufacturer’s rep, distributor. You must have something new, or something proprietary.