Two ventures in opposite corners of Louisiana are touting progress in their efforts to support homegrown entrepreneurs and attract new ones from beyond the state’s borders.
Six-month-old venture capital firm 1834 Ventures, based in New Orleans, recently announced it has raised half of the $20 million it has targeted for a fund designed to boost entrepreneurship and innovation in Louisiana.
Five hours to the north, the Shreveport-based nonprofit Prize Foundation is launching a new support program for energy-related startup companies in Louisiana and elsewhere.
VC fund ahead of schedule
1834 Ventures co-founders Evan Nicoll and Patrick Hernandez said they hit their fundraising goal ahead of schedule because of major investments from two foundations, plus 44 other investors in 14 states.
The fund, whose name is a reference to the year Tulane University was founded, is targeting the school’s students and alumni network to find businesses worthy of investment and individuals and organizations to back them.
It is one of several new venture capital firms that have emerged to support entrepreneurship and innovation in Louisiana, a state that lags behind San Francisco, New York and other big venture capital cities in the amount of cash available to launch new ventures that could grow into successful businesses.
Patrick Hernandez and Evan Nicoll have launched a $20 million venture capital fund to bring more startup activity to Louisiana. They plan to tap into Tulane University’s extensive alumni network to find investors and startups.
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“Hitting this milestone in less than six months tells us the Tulane network cares deeply about investing in this ecosystem, and Tulane founders want to stay here or come back home to build their companies,” Nicoll said in an interview last week. “We want to help them do both.”
Nicoll and Hernandez, both Tulane alums, launched the Louisiana-based firm last August to support startups led by Tulane alumni, faculty, students and members of the extended Tulane community. The co-founders said they want to help keep high-growth companies in Louisiana and attract new ones by tapping into Tulane’s global alumni network.
Nicoll and Hernandez said an “anchor investment” from the Collins C. Diboll Foundation and additional support from the Priddy Family Foundation were key to getting to the $10 million milestone.
Both organizations have a history of supporting Tulane initiatives, including the Priddy foundation’s lead gift to establish the Tulane Innovation Institute in 2022.
The founders said the commitments will allow them to quicken the pace of their investment.
Since launching last year, 1834 Ventures has completed investments in four Tulane-affiliated startups: Orion Longevity, an artificial intelligence-enabled smart mattress cover company; Cabana, a digital mental health platform serving U.S. military veterans; Informuta, a biotechnology company applying machine learning to combat antibiotic resistance; and Beken Bio, a cancer diagnostics startup.
The firm is in the final stages of diligence on several additional opportunities and anticipates announcing its next slate of investments in the coming weeks.
Josh Fleig, chief innovation officer at Louisiana Economic Development, celebrated 1834’s announcement.
“It’s good for a bunch of reasons,” Fleig said. “It adds more money to our market. It changes the culture by getting more people believing this is important. And it raises the bar by upping the competition.”
Shreveport nonprofit launches new program to support energy startups
The Prize Foundation, a Shreveport nonprofit organization that has produced the “Startup Prize” series of programs for the last decade, has launched the national “Startup Prize: Energy” initiative to support emerging energy companies preparing for commercialization.
The organization aims to connect entrepreneurs nationwide with mentors, investors and ecosystem partners through events and competitions in Shreveport.
The initiative combines elements of a conference, a business accelerator and a pitch competition as organizers aim to bring together early-stage energy business founders exploring solutions related to fuels, electricity and energy systems.
The Prize Foundation was founded in 2012 by Gregory Kallenberg. A fourth-generation Shreveport native, Kallenberg was a documentary filmmaker who learned about event production during his time as an Austin-based journalist and adviser to the annual South by Southwest festival.
After returning to his hometown in the early 2000s, he decided to build an organization that supports creative entrepreneurs from the state and attracts others from elsewhere in the hopes they will settle in Louisiana.
The organization, which has a roughly $1.5 million annual budget covered by grants and philanthropy, began by producing “Prize”-branded programming for film, music, food and fashion and moved into business startups during and after the pandemic.
Kallenberg said the health industry-focused program has gained a lot of momentum and so far has resulted in one out-of-state founder moving his headquarters to Louisiana.
The energy-focused program’s backers include Louisiana Economic Development, the state’s economic development agency, which is prioritizing innovation and entrepreneurship.
Kallenberg said despite the word “prize” in his organization’s name, the focus is less on the pitch competition and more on building community and making connections.
“The real prize is meeting investors and mentors in intimate settings,” Kallenberg said. “It’s not about sitting in the audience taking notes 18 rows back from the stage.”