For the past year, New Orleans has emerged and earned respect from others as—believe it or not—a premier start-up city. According to National Public Radio, New Orleans now exceeds the national average for start-ups by nearly 30 percent. Inc.com has even dubbed New Orleans the coolest start-up city in America.

We’ve all heard the stories of young entrepreneurs coming to the city wanting to start a new life.  Several initiatives such as the digital media tax credits, cost of living, the rich culture, the ease of setting up in New Orleans, and using the Internet to do business nationally has made the start-up community a booming industry. But one sector that has always raised eyebrows is technology start-ups being created in New Orleans.

Like regular start-ups, tech start-ups face funding and scalability challenges in addition to unique problems such as technical issues or having a viable digital product/service that sells.  Because of this, Launch Pad Ignition was created with the goal of helping tech start-ups get off the starting block and to the finish line.

What Is Launch Pad Ignition?

In layman’s terms, Launch Pad Ignition is an accelerator program for tech start-ups in New Orleans. There are many accelerator programs around the country and in different cities.  This program gives your company the opportunity to transform an idea into a working model that will become a resourceful tool for making money and creating jobs.  Launch Pad Ignition selects companies that have a high-growth rate and the ability to generate traction. This means companies with a plan or business model that grow quickly, become profitable, and reap the benefits of longevity.

The program uses mentors who are—in this respect—people who offer start-up advice in many different areas that will be useful to those who may have trouble launching their ideas. The program’s ultimate goal is to reach Launch Fest with the ability to demonstrate traction.  Launch Fest is a culmination event where each start-up gets to demonstrate their idea to mentors, the community, and others who aspire to create their own start-up.  The tech start-ups in this program are hand selected.  Out of 50+ applications, only seven made the cut.

2012 Ignition Class

Ask anyone who has ever started a business or been an entrepreneur and they will tell you the workload is far from easy. The outcome or finished product is presented to the public, while the hard work, time and dedication remain hidden. A start-up is risky, the founders have to be a little crazy, and it requires long hours of work and continuous learning.  Because this type of commitment goes unnoticed and hidden behind the scenes, we will follow seven tech start-ups for twelve weeks in a series of articles that cover what it takes to really create a successful tech start-up.  The articles will not only look at each company and their ultimate goals, but also the personal sacrifices that each company will make in order to see their dreams come to fruition.

With that said, let’s meet the 2012 Launch Pad Ignition Class:

If you'd like to meet the founders and here about their startups, you can attend the official announcement along with a new documentary about launching a startup called “Ctrl+Alt+Compete”

• Tue, Feb 14 5:30-7pm
• Launch Pad - 643 Magazine St. New Orleans, LA 70130
• More info & RSVP: http://ignitionpremiere.eventbrite.com/