NOLA Entrepreneurship Council (NEC)

A collaborative civic platform to support a thriving New Orleans startup ecosystem

 

Purpose 

Over the past 25 years, New Orleans has evolved from a grassroots startup movement into an economic strategy rooted in culture, creativity, and resilience. The next 25 years must convert this movement into enduring civic infrastructure—a system that attracts and retains entrepreneurial talent and aligns public, private, and philanthropic resources toward shared outcomes. 

The New Orleans Entrepreneurship Council (NEC) exists to create jobs and wealth through scalable businesses by aligning the city’s innovation, talent, creative culture, policies, and capital systems into a shared, sustainable civic engine. The NEC does not replace existing organizations. It unifies and amplifies them under one strategy for economic transformation, with the goal of attracting, retaining, and growing entrepreneurial talent through the conditions it creates and sustains. 

Mission

  • Steward ecosystem-wide strategy  that creates the conditions for entrepreneurship to thrive. 
  • Align collective priorities  across institutions, industries, and communities. 
  • Cultivate trust, creativity, and belonging  as the cultural foundation of entrepreneurship. 
  • Foster resilience and shared stewardship, recognizing that no one person or organization “owns” the ecosystem, but all share responsibility for its success.

Focus Areas

The NEC convenes regularly to learn national ecosystem-building best practices to develop and inform strategies for the region. Additionally, members and other ecosystem partners are working offline to tackle key issues facing the regional ecosystem via five working groups:

  • State and Local Policy Strategy
  • Talent Pipeline Strategy
  • Company & Talent Retention Strategy
  • Industry Partnership Strategy
  • Entrepreneurship for All Strategy

Role

NEC serves as the central coordinating body for New Orleans’ regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, supporting collective ownership, shared priorities, and long-term resilience. The Council will steward ecosystem-wide strategy, alignment, and policy work while guiding and informing the ecosystem programming, events, marketing, and communications that StartupNOLA executes.

Got an idea? The NEC welcomes proposed solutions to address ecosystem challenges. Click the button further below to share your constructive feedback directly with the Council.
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Inaugural Executive Committee

As stakeholders in the future of New Orleans, Tulane Innovation Institute, Nieux Society, GNO, Inc., The Idea Village, and other ecosystem founders and leaders came together to create a new ecosystem-focused council with a deliberate purpose and mission to create the ideal conditions in which entrepreneurs and their startups can thrive.

Members of the council represent key ecosystem stakeholders such as: startup support organizations, accelerators, higher education institutions, investors, corporations, city  government, economic development organizations, and startup founders.

  • Kimberly Gramm (Chair) – Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, Tulane Innovation Institute
  • Kwam Aidoo (Vice Chair) – Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Corridor VC
  • Aimee Quirk – SVP & Chief Corporate Development Officer and CEO, Ochsner Ventures
  • Bobby Savoie – Dean of Business School, Loyola University of New Orleans
  • Chris Reade – CEO, Carrollton Enterprise Services; Louisiana Technology Industry Association
  • Gay Le Breton – Managing Director, Chaffe & Associates
  • Jeff Schwartz – Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, City of New Orleans
  • Jenny Mains, MD – Special Advisor to the Mayor for International Partnerships and Strategic Economic Development
  • Joe McMenemon – Co-Founder, ChapterSpot
  • Jon Atkinson – CEO, The Idea Village
  • Mark Quinn – Conrad N. Hilton Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, Xavier University of Louisiana
  • Michael Hecht – President & CEO, GNO Inc.
  • Shawna Young – CEO, Camelback Ventures
  • Tim Williamson – Founder & CEO, NieuxCo
  • Tony Zanders – President & CEO, Nexus Louisiana
  • Trivia Frazier – Co-Founder, President & CEO, Obatala Sciences