Startup St. Bernard Announces $120K+ Prize Package Details
CHALMETTE, LA – Officials have announced the prize package for the 3rd Annual Startup St. Bernard Competition, the annual entrepreneurship competition presented by the Meraux Foundation and the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation, to take place Monday, March 20, at Docville Farm in Violet, LA, from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Tom Gregory, multiple regional Emmy Award winner and WYES producer, will emcee the event.
This year’s package is valued at $120,535, with $37,600.00 of capital and another $82,935.00 of in-kind services. Entering its third year, Startup St. Bernard highlights the parish as a premier location for business, and is designed to propel startups and entrepreneurs to launch and grow in St. Bernard Parish.
The Meraux Foundation, the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation and the Idea Village™ are joined by a deep bench of partners working together to make Startup St. Bernard possible.
Donors include the Meraux Foundation, Park Investments, Ltd., St. Bernard Parish Government, Palms Truck Stop, Sidney Torres, III, Mrs. Rita Gue, Mr. Floyd Gue, Nunez Community College Foundation, Taurus Properties, Inc., Southern Insurance Agency, LLC, Palmisano Contractors, Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann, Senator Sharon Hewitt, Senator JP Morrell, 40 Arpent Brewing Company, Christie’s Dreams Seafood, and Coast Roast.
Supporting partners and in-kind service providers include the Meraux Foundation, Park Investments, Ltd., 40 Arpent Brewing Company, Christie’s Dreams Seafood, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company, John Brian White, Esq., inHouse Consultants, Inc., & AdamsIP, LLC, evanSchmidt Design, LLC, Sherman Strategies, Ragusa Consulting, Bernard & Franks, A Corporation of Certified Public Accountants, Baker Donelson, Kushner LaGraize, LLC, St. Bernard Chamber of Commerce, Biz New Orleans, Shine Productions, Outfront Media, Ditto’s Printing and Copy Center, Global Staffing Solutions, Bill Haines, Crave, and Grow St. Bernard.
America’s Small Business Development Center has provided all finalists one-on-one business mentoring sessions in preparation for the competition and Nunez Community College has led an advisory committee to provide guidance and feedback on the finalist’s presentations.
Finalists for the 2017 competition include Crescent City Seafood Connection, Da Parish Kayaks, Functional Health & Wellness, Leduc Entertainment, and Reactive Digital Systems.
2015 Startup St. Bernard winner, 40 Arpent Brewing Company will host a Startup St. Bernard After Party, following the event, from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at their taproom in Old Arabi. Admission is free and open to the public.
Startup St. Bernard is being held in conjunction with New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW), the annual festival celebrating business, innovation, and advanced thinking in metro New Orleans. Produced by The Idea Village™, NOEW engages a dynamic global network of entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, nonprofits, students, and professionals to support growing companies and elevate entrepreneurial success through eight days of discussion, debate, education, competition, and celebration. This year, the festival takes place March 19-24 and more than 10,000 are expected to be engaged through over 100 different events.
View the full prize package here
Register to attend Startup St. Bernard here
