“There is a growing remote working class,” said Tim Williamson, co-founder of The Nieux and The Idea Village, the city’s first business accelerator. “There may be more people but they’re less visible.”
Roots in IP
Startups in New Orleans once had a place that everyone knew was the place. Around 2010, the IP Building on Magazine Street was home to The Idea Village, the Launch Pad co-working space, and startups like Lucid, which went on to become the city’s first “unicorn,” selling for more than $1 billion. Capdeville restaurant and bar, under the same roof, was a gathering place for all.
“When I was working out of the IP Building, there were maybe 15 startups in there,” said Reade, whose company Carrollton was located in the converted law office at that time. “Now I can think of at least five co-working spaces in different parts of town that each have dozens.”