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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 localentrepreneurs are reluctant to start or expand their businesses. The brightest of our youngseek 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 advertisingcampaign promoting our economic futility and lack of competitiveness. As such, it is nosurprise that there is little confidence, both inside and outside of New Orleans, that thiscity 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 begetsfurther entrepreneurship. As businesses multiply, their needs drive the requirement for educational, political and other reforms. Entrepreneurship is thus a catalyst for positivesocial change.Furthermore, such change will stem the out-migration of young New Orleanians bycreating jobs and a demonstrated sense of professional/vocational possibilities. Thereexists a budding movement for greater entrepreneurship as exhibited by the nearly 80 business plans submitted to the LOA business plan competition. Young New Orleanianswho 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 Orleanswill have on luring business prospects to the city. Once reforms are perceived to beunderway, outside businesses looking for alternatives to cities that have experienced rapidgrowth and its consequent costs, will begin to consider New Orleans as a viablealternative.LEI, beginning with P21, seeks to sow the seeds for change in New Orleans throughentrepreneurship.

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 economicallysuccessful 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 businessresources.More vexing is the malaise that has settled over our city, according to some, more than acentury ago. The severity of this resignation must be met with an equally severe effort tocreate a sense of possibility in a small, but visible group of entrepreneurs. This groupmust 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 asusual. 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 OFTHE NOTION OF “GOOD CAPITALISM.” IT IS THE DISCUSSION OF THEPOWER OF THE FREE MARKET AND TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN, HIGH-ENTREPRENEURSHIP MARKET ECONOMY TO IMPOSE AND RESPECTMORAL VIRTUES, WHICH IN AND OF ITSELF, IT DOES NOT - THE MARKET ISJUST A PRACTICAL MECHANISM FOR ALLOCATING RESOURCES. BUT TOPICK UP ON SAM’S IDEA OF REFORM, OUR DESIGN COULD/SHOULD TAKEINTO CONSIDERTION THAT APPROACH WHEREBY ENTREPRENEURSHIP ANDIT’S DIRECT IMPACT ON SOCIAL VALUE.) In simplest terms, it must break cleanlyfrom the past, entirely different from what has come before, built of innovation, yetorganically, 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’sdisingenuous, 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, justunavoidable. 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 readyto shoulder risk, who are emotionally invested in New Orleans, but also driven byuncompromising, 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 businessgame, understanding the big picture and picking and choosing our play. We’re moregiven to resign ourselves to fate and excuses like political corruption. But some believeotherwise. 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 thelogic being centered on the lack of any significant corporate support; the continueddecline of the city’s population; the exodus of our best and brightest. All of these andmore feed the growing frustration with the futility of the economic development effortsof New Orleans.

Recently, five “blue ribbon committees” have been assembled with every good intentionto 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, itseems like the same people have been locked into a room to decipher the obvious andnothing specific seems to result. People need a new idea, one that is scalable, and behindwhich 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 NewOrleans as well as within the city.The perception that New Orleans is not progressive or business friendly has manifested inseveral 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 citygovernment. In New Orleans, local government leads business.” Another attendantissues 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 businessescan succeed in New Orleans. Accordingly and equally as important, it is imperative tomake 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 aschanging 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, thegreater business world comes into New Orleans businesses and New Orleans businessesconnect 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 bedependent on attracting large, established companies to New Orleans. As such, the focusmust be on growing more, successful and sophisticated smaller local businesses. Thissuccess will encourage increased business activity of a similar scale by both localentrepreneurs as well as to the million who are already favorably predisposed to NewOrleans (expatriates and advocates, the most efficient targets, a strategy in contrast totraditional economic development activities which targeted according to industry).