New Orleans Entrepreneur Week

NOEW 2023 Hotel Blocks

Hilton Garden Inn Bookings

Blake Hotel, Best Western Premiere

Q&C Hotel

Ace Hotel

About NOEW 2023

NOEW isn't a conference. Dubbed the Mardi Gras of entrepreneurship by USA Today, NOEW is a uniquely New Orleans festival experience designed to connect, educate, and inspire the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the Gulf South. New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) 2023, sponsored by JPMorgan & Chase, is a 6-day entrepreneurial fest where startup founders, business leaders, aspiring entrepreneurs, industry experts, investors, and creatives come together to celebrate, learn, and network at the intersection of innovation and culture.

Where Culture + Innovation Connect

NOEW engages a dynamic network of entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, non-profits, students, and professionals to support growing companies and elevate entrepreneurial successes through six days of discussion, debate, education, competition, and celebration in a city like no other. Located at multiple venues that showcase the city of New Orleans, NOEW is quite literally where culture and innovation connect.

At NOEW 2023, you can expect to be a part of groundbreaking, forward-thinking conversations with some of the world’s most influential business leaders and the region's industry experts. At this year’s inaugural “NOEW Fest,” expect to dance and enjoy music ranging from funk to rock to electronic and more, all from major headliners and cultural entrepreneurs who live at the intersection of innovation and culture. You can also expect to watch top entrepreneurs from New Orleans and across the Gulf take the stage to showcase and compete for prizes at multiple pitch competitions. There will also be interactive art installations to immerse yourself in New Orleans’ art scene! Last but not least, at NOEW you can experience the classic tastes and savors of New Orleans-style food and cuisines and connect with world-class restaurateurs and foodies everywhere through the EATrepreneurs theme. NOEW is one of the fastest-growing events in the South to network and meet your next business partners, investors, rising startups, mentors, or friends!

NOEW 2023 Themes: 

• Culture Tech

• Climate Tech

• Health Innovation

• Saasy Entrepreneurship

• EATrepreneurs

• Future of Local Business 

• Startups for Impact

• Investing in Innovation

Read more information about each theme here.

Speakers

While NOEW 2023 will host 100+ speakers and sessions, a sneak peek of this year’s headliner speakers include:

• Steve Case: Founder of AOL, renowned businessman, investor, philanthropist and author of two bestselling books Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream and The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future.

• The Honorable Mary Landrieu: An American entrepreneur and former politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015, she now works across the ideological spectrum to advance climate solutions and generate broad, bipartisan support for practical paths forward in response to a changing climate. 

• Taylor Griffin: Former NBA player, now leads the Athlete Relations team and other athlete activation efforts at the private equity investing firm, Patricof Co. 

• Ryan Williams: Founder, Executive Chairman, and Co-Chairman of tech startup Cadre, a groundbreaking commercial real estate investment platform that is democratizing access to real estate investments.

• Zoe Perret: Strategist and investor focused on tackling climate challenges by supporting founders through programs and advising portfolio companies at Initialized Capital on how to secure their next round of financing and make the greatest impact. 

• Walter Isaacson: World-renowned author, journalist, and professor who’s a member of multiple nationwide organizations and serves on the board of United Airlines, Halliburton Labs, the New Orleans City Planning Commission, the New Orleans Tricentennial Commission, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and others.  He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, and the editor of Time. 

Sessions

A few of the featured #NOEW23 sessions to build your calendar around include:

• Talent Den presented by GNO Inc. and LED Fast Start - Get ready for your next big career move! This event is designed for anyone ready to find their next professional opportunity or connect with leading talent in New Orleans or across Louisiana.

• Rapid Rise of Health Tech presented by Ochsner Health - National venture experts and healthcare enthusiasts will share where the market is going next, innovation opportunities, and valuable insights from New Orleans-based #HealthTech founders that are putting the region on the map.

• Energy Transition Mini-Summit presented by Halliburton Labs - What will it take to accomplish the energy transition at scale? Join us for an honest and forward-looking conversation about the future of energy, and how the "Third Coast" is bringing on the future, faster.

• BioTech Mini-Summit co-presented by Tulane Innovation Institute and LCMC Health - Be inspired by novel approaches to bio-technologies, healthcare innovation, and therapeutic frontiers. This mini-summit features high impact clinical research, biotech startups, and investor insights.

• IDEApitch, presented by The Idea Village -  Showcasing the region’s top startups from the high-growth, advanced VILLAGEx accelerator program, competing for hundreds of thousands of dollars in investment prizes.

Wednesday night will culminate with free outdoor music at Lafayette Square, in partnership with the much beloved Wednesday at the Square spring concert series. On Thursday night, The Idea Village is excited to introduce the inaugural “NOEW Fest,” bringing innovation and culture to life with a back-to-back music line-up you won’t want to miss. (Get your fest pass now!) As is tradition, Friday, March 31st, is Pitch Day, featuring multiple pitch competitions including IDEApitch.Saturday, April 1st, will close the week, with more music, food, fun, and a special Innovational Marketplace to put the spotlight on select products and services by New Orleans’ best and brightest entrepreneurs.

For more information on NOEW ticketing and speaker announcements in the future, visit www.noew.org and subscribe to the newsletter.

NOEW Fest

Experience NOEW Fest from March 30-April 1. The musical lineup includes:

• White Denim
• Pell
• People Museum
• Brass-A-Holics
• Water Seed
• SaxKixAve
• LeTrainiump
• DJ Mel 

...and many more! Experience the back-to-back concert series across multiple venues on Thursday, March 30, Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April1. This stellar lineup features a vast array of musical styles from up-and-coming artists that are constantly pushing the boundaries of cultural innovation – be it through their original music, creative businesses, or work in the community. Learn more about NOEW Fest here.

History of NOEW

The spirit of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) first began in 2009 as the “IDEAcorps Challenge,” a program by The Idea Village to engage MBAs and volunteer consultants from across the country. In 2011, the IDEAcorps Challenge evolved into a full week-long event dedicated to entrepreneurship that has come to be known as  “NOEW” (pronounced noh-wee!) – sending a regional and national message that New Orleans’ entrepreneurial ecosystem is thriving and growing. Since then, NOEW continues to evolve and is now an annual festival that serves as a platform for the rapidly expanding New Orleans and Gulf South entrepreneurial ecosystem. With attendance growing steadily every year, NOEW is an integral piece of The Idea Village’s vision of New Orleans being the hub of entrepreneurship in the South.

Why New Orleans?

Because when other cities compete, we collaborate; when other communities close their doors, we open our arms; when other people give up, we hustle forward. NOEW celebrates the unique innovation, entrepreneurship, technology development, culture, and new thinking that is constantly emerging from New Orleans and the Gulf South.

NOEW is produced by The Idea Village, a 501(c)(3), whose core belief is that entrepreneurship is an agent of social and economic change. As an early champion of entrepreneurship in New Orleans, the organization has played an integral role in catalyzing the city's entrepreneurial movement. In addition to supporting over 16,000 entrepreneurs, The Idea Village has successfully elevated New Orleans' reputation as a hub of innovation, entrepreneurship, and business. By serving as a catalyst and developing programs that provide direct support and education to founders and early-stage companies, The Idea Village helps entrepreneurs build innovative and industry-leading companies that generate revenue and jobs and help create a more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient local economy. www.ideavillage.org.