Tulane University Hosts Contest for Ideas to Improve New Orleans

Got an idea to improve life in New Orleans? Enter the 2010 PitchNOLA competition and you could win $5,000 to make it a reality.

PitchNOLA is an “elevator-pitch” competition for ventures designed to effect positive social or environmental change in New Orleans. Now in its second year, the competition gives local social entrepreneurs the chance to pitch breakthrough ideas for social change to a panel of celebrity judges and an audience of more than 200 business professionals, social activists and community members.

The competition takes place at 6 p.m., Nov. 17, at Freeman Auditorium in the Woldenberg Art Center on Tulane University"s uptown campus. To enter, individuals or teams must submit a 500-word proposal online at www.seno-nola.org no later than Friday, Oct. 15. The top 10 to 15 proposals will earn a spot in the live PitchNOLA competition at Tulane. Anyone interested in participating as an audience member may visit this same website to register to attend.

The individual or team with the most innovative idea will win the $5,000 prize, but all the participants will benefit from the opportunity to promote their ventures, get feedback on their presentations and make valuable connections with potential partners and investors.

“Through events like PitchNOLA, we think we can encourage the growth of innovative small businesses, and those businesses are key to keeping Tulane graduates and entrepreneurs in the New Orleans area,” says Chris Williams, president of the Tulane Entrepreneurs Association.

“Over the past five years, we"ve seen a growing interest in solving societal problems through entrepreneurship,” says Andrea Chen of Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans (SENO). “With PitchNOLA, we aim to bring creative, innovative minds together and connect them with supporters and resources in the community.”

PitchNOLA is sponsored by Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans (SENO), the Tulane Entrepreneurs Association, Tulane Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives, Tulane University"s A.B. Freeman School of Business and the Young Leadership Council. Individuals or teams selected to participate in the live competition will receive coaching from Chris Schultz, founder of Voodoo Ventures, and Ralph Maurer, visiting assistant professor of management at Tulane"s A. B. Freeman School of Business.

For more information about the competition, visit http://www.seno-nola.org.