Looking Backward, Looking Forward

It's been over a month now since the start of NOEW 2010. Things have calmed down a bit, one could say, although preparations for next year's big event are already nearing into sight again. At the Idea Village, we're always looking forward!

At the same time, we should reminisce briefly and thank all of those who made this year's event as stunning and vitalizing as it was. With the help of the nation's best and brightest, we made massive strides in placing New Orleans on the national map of innovation and entrepreneurship. Even after the craziness of Entrepreneur Week, the momentum at the Idea Village and in New Orleans remains insuppressible.

Big things have been happening for the Idea Village's entrepreneurial class since Entrepreneur Week. Of course, the guys at Big Easy Blends are preparing for their big trip to San Francisco, which they received for winning the Coulter Challenge during NOEW. While in the Bay Area, they will have the opportunity to pitch their already-booming business to prominent investors organized by Jim Coulter himself.

Drop the Chalk's Jen Schnidman also recently participated in Tulane University's 2010 NewDay Challenge and received first place (accompanied by a pleasant $20,000 in seed funding) for her business's financial sustainability and potential to effect social change.

Not that the Idea Village has missed out on the action, of course-- the IDEACorps Program, which now forms a part of the annual Entrepreneur Week, was recently named the Southern Policies Board 2010 Innovator Award Winner from Louisiana! The award recognizes the Idea Village's initiatives for improving economic opportunities and quality of life in the region.

There's no doubt, then, that it remains ON in NOLA!