LEI (LOA Entrepreneur Institute)

Sowing the seeds for change in New Orleans through entrepreneurship.

The Problem - Why does New Orleans need LEI?

New Orleans is economically stagnant. Outside businesses refuse to locate here and local
entrepreneurs are reluctant to start or expand their businesses. The brightest of our young
seek their opportunities elsewhere. Not only do we lose their talent, other cities, our
competitors, are strengthened. Our brain drain is a 24/7 multimillion dollar advertising
campaign promoting our economic futility and lack of competitiveness. As such, it is no
surprise that there is little confidence, both inside and outside of New Orleans, that this
city can create and sustain a vibrant, healthy business community.

The Solution - Why Entrepreneurship?

There are several catalysts for change. One that is readily accessible is entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurs create value. Value manifested as jobs and opportunity, which begets
further entrepreneurship. As businesses multiply, their needs drive the requirement for
educational, political and other reforms. Entrepreneurship is thus a catalyst for positive
social change.

Furthermore, such change will stem the out-migration of young New Orleanians by
creating jobs and a demonstrated sense of professional/vocational possibilities. There
exists a budding movement for greater entrepreneurship as exhibited by the nearly 80
business plans submitted to the LOA business plan competition. Young New Orleanians
who remain are seeking to create their own opportunities due to the lack of others.

Attendant to the impact on out-migration is the effect an entrepreneurial New Orleans

will have on luring business prospects to the city. Once reforms are perceived to be
underway, outside businesses looking for alternatives to cities that have experienced rapid
growth and its consequent costs, will begin to consider New Orleans as a viable
alternative.

LEI, beginning with P21, seeks to sow the seeds for change in New Orleans through
entrepreneurship.

Practical and Psychological sub-text:

The futility of the New Orleans business economy is a component of both reality and
perception. It is difficult to argue which is more damning. The fact exists that as a major
city in a thoroughly capitalistic country, the practical opportunities to be economically
successful are abundant and easily accessed. Yet these opportunities have passed the city
by. As such, there is the fundamental need to better organize and apply business
resources.

More vexing is the malaise that has settled over our city, according to some, more than a
century ago. The severity of this resignation must be met with an equally severe effort to
create a sense of possibility in a small, but visible group of entrepreneurs. This group
must be sufficiently distanced from the existing business infrastructure, free from undue
insider contacts and political favoritism. There can be no impression that it is business as
usual. It must utilize to the fullest extent, the potential of “good capitalism,” – that is the
process by which the economy delivers reward for hard work and self-improvement.
(NOTE: THERE IS A LARGER AND MORE INTERESTING ELABORATION OF
THE NOTION OF “GOOD CAPITALISM.” IT IS THE DISCUSSION OF THE
POWER OF THE FREE MARKET AND TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN, HIGH-
ENTREPRENEURSHIP MARKET ECONOMY TO IMPOSE AND RESPECT
MORAL VIRTUES, WHICH IN AND OF ITSELF, IT DOES NOT - THE MARKET IS
JUST A PRACTICAL MECHANISM FOR ALLOCATING RESOURCES. BUT TO
PICK UP ON SAM’S IDEA OF REFORM, OUR DESIGN COULD/SHOULD TAKE
INTO CONSIDERTION THAT APPROACH WHEREBY ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND
IT’S DIRECT IMPACT ON SOCIAL VALUE.) In simplest terms, it must break cleanly
from the past, entirely different from what has come before, built of innovation, yet
organically, thoroughly of New Orleans.

FOLLOWING ARE SOME RANDOM NOTES:

Why not New Orleans?
Some use the excuse that we don’t want to become Atlanta or Houston. But that’s
disingenuous, like the couch potato who never works out because he doesn’t want to
become too muscular. Of course we don’t want to become a faceless sterile urban center,
but there is room for progress and sophistication. Change is not good or bad, just
unavoidable. The socio-economic ramifications of a stubborn, stagnant New Orleans are
pervasive and recurring.

The challenge and opportunity is to grow New Orleans on “our terms.” By people ready
to shoulder risk, who are emotionally invested in New Orleans, but also driven by
uncompromising, global standards of business excellence. Once we start “working out”
then we can decide how “muscular” we want to be.

The truth is, most people have a hard time thinking we could be at the top of the business
game, understanding the big picture and picking and choosing our play. We’re more
given to resign ourselves to fate and excuses like political corruption. But some believe
otherwise. We need to give more people inside and outside of this city, a reason to
believe otherwise.

People are begging for change.

The bad news seems to be unremitting: The threat of the Saints to leave with much of the
logic being centered on the lack of any significant corporate support; the continued
decline of the city’s population; the exodus of our best and brightest. All of these and
more feed the growing frustration with the futility of the economic development efforts
of New Orleans.
Recently, five “blue ribbon committees” have been assembled with every good intention
to address community needs, the economy among them. However with the release of
each report, there seems to be a diminishing return in public confidence. To the public, it
seems like the same people have been locked into a room to decipher the obvious and
nothing specific seems to result. People need a new idea, one that is scalable, and behind
which they can rally.

Two decades of stagnation.

The New Orleans economy has stagnated since the early 80s. While there have been
bright spots, most notably tourism, the business community is not viewed as vibrant nor
business friendly. This opinion is common to business people and press outside of New
Orleans as well as within the city.

The perception that New Orleans is not progressive or business friendly has manifested in
several areas. Most notably in the exodus of the city’s young educated citizens.
Additionally, there is palpable perception that the city is politically corrupt or intrusive.
As one city council member candidly put it, “in other cities, business leads city
government. In New Orleans, local government leads business.” Another attendant
issues is the departure of several major companies and their thousands of employees.

While not ignoring of other pressing infrastructure needs in New Orleans (most notably
public education), there is clearly a need to facilitate the means by which new businesses
can succeed in New Orleans. Accordingly and equally as important, it is imperative to
make this means visible and demonstrative in order to counteract the oppressive
perception that New Orleans will never be an excellent place in which to do business.

LEI is designed to address both the means by which new businesses are created as well as
changing the existing perception.

P21, as the first significant application of the mission of LEI, is place devoted to
promoting and nurturing entrepreneurial businesses. It will be devoted to the exchange of
ideas and practices not limited to the New Orleans business community. At P21, the
greater business world comes into New Orleans businesses and New Orleans businesses
connect with the greater business world.

The major components of LEI are:

Entrepreneurship.
The premise is that the near-term success of the New Orleans economy cannot be
dependent on attracting large, established companies to New Orleans. As such, the focus
must be on growing more, successful and sophisticated smaller local businesses. This
success will encourage increased business activity of a similar scale by both local
entrepreneurs as well as to the million who are already favorably predisposed to New
Orleans (expatriates and advocates, the most efficient targets, a strategy in contrast to
traditional economic development activities which targeted according to industry).
Uncompromising, world-class standards.
The premise is that New Orleans business standards have been largely provincial. It is
imperative that the operators of businesses be concerned with the ability to compete on a
national/international level. While these measures are largely subjective, it is important
that they be given priority and pursued in business operation. One way to incorporate
and maintain such standard is through active networking with businesses beyond New
Orleans. This includes, but is not limited to the use of technology for the purpose of
overcoming geographic barriers. Not only will this create the opportunity for more
business, the exchange will result in increased sophistication of local practices creating a
more competitive business community.

Interaction and the networked economy.

In spite of many as yet unrealized promises, technology has created exponentially greater
opportunities for business to incorporate complimentary expertise through partnerships.
Where as such partnerships were traditionally limited by geography or perhaps industry,
today these barriers have been diminished if not removed. It is imperative for
progressive local businesses to utilize relationships in other parts of the country and the
globe to keep their businesses competitive and growing. It is no longer necessary to have
all the components under one roof. A company with a specific expertise can now realize
its market potential through the technology network.

Target Market - Who Cares?

Expatriates:
If it can be accepted as fact that one of the more severe problems in the New Orleans
economy is the departure of our best and brightest, than the time for the LEI has come.
The most common question asked by those who have left is “what’s going on back
home?” Many fear that they will put their careers in reverse or that there are no
opportunities if they return home. While there is no single answer to this problem,
consider the following scenario:

The reply to “what’s going on in New Orleans?” is now, “there’s the very cool business
center that’s got some cutting edge operations in place. It’s this beautifully designed,
totally wired facility on the edge of the funky lower Garden District. It’s kind of a
pioneer mentality, in that it was built from the demolition of the St. Thomas housing
project.”

Best case scenario, the expatriate finds a way to come home and plug some of his
business contacts directly into New Orleans. Good, the expatriate connects with P21
from afar, networking with the New Orleans facility from where he/she currently calls
home. Worst case scenario; “there’s some progressive thinking going on in New Orleans.
Definitely not the same old same old.”
Business Media:
This is tailor made for Fast Company, Business 2.0 and traditional business pubs. A good
story with meat. We keep feeding success stories/updates.

Fence sitters:
This is a response to those who live in New Orleans, but with one foot outside of the
door. Drag them through. Encourage them to do their own thing. Make it inclusive,
give them ownership if they want to start thinking big and embracing the dream. This
does not mean holding people against their will – we must be invested in the free market
economy – but we should lay out a path for those who would rather not leave, but are
searching for reasons to stay. This is a sizeable portion of our community.

Final Thought:
LEI is a relatively small, focused effort. It’s weapon is entrepreneurship and its ability to
catalyze social reform in New Orleans. LEI is designed to be successful, inspiring and
scalable. It is conscious of the greater environmental issues of New Orleans as well as
thoroughly invested in the standards of the greater business world. It is New New
Orleanians, which perhaps may be intimidation to those who have held power and
enjoyed status for generations. But LEI is not designed to succeed at the expense of past
generations, but rather humbly asks for the support and wisdom of these businesses while
new energy is applied to saving a city in decline.