New Orleans Startup Fund

The New Orleans Startup Fund has invested in more companies than any seed stage investor in the state of Louisiana and has one of the largest portfolios of women and people of color-owned technology companies in the southeastern United States. Diversifying and Expanding the Entrepreneurship Pipeline in Technology in New Orleans (DEEP Tech NOLA) will unlock additional innovation capacity and capital, strengthen economic competitiveness, and advance equitable wealth-building. The project seeks to ensure that companies founded by women and people of color are venture investment-ready and venture capital is ready to invest in them to move their startups from conception to growth stage. New Orleans Startup Fund will (1) Enhance its portfolio management capacity and operations through additional staffing to help more entrepreneurs of color and women navigate the complexities of accessing capital; (2) Deliver customized technical assistance to more than 100 entrepreneurs who are women or people of color over the next three years to help them progress along the capital access continuum from pre-seed funding to venture capital rounds and exits; and (3) Leverage regional partnerships to drive more investment to high-growth technology businesses owned by underrepresented entrepreneurs in the region.