St. Tammany Corp partners with The Idea Village
SLIDELL – A new partnership in St. Tammany Parish will give entrepreneurs and small business owners a great new asset in their hopes of building the next successful company on the North Shore.
St. Tammany Corporation and The Idea Village announced a collaboration that will provide a program to assist innovative entrepreneurs and potential startup founders to the tools they need to turn their idea into a scalable venture.
Chris Masingill, CEO for St. Tammany Corporation, said, “This partnership with The Idea Village is a key component of our Startup Northshore initiative to assist business formation and business retention efforts.
“This partnership is designed to bring specific, technical business development support for entrepreneurs from a nationally recognized leader in the entrepreneurial space directly to our Northshore area businesses,” he added.
Jon Atkinson, CEO of The Idea Village, has collaborated with St. Tammany Corporation to launch the IDEAinstitute Northshore program.
“The momentum of regional entrepreneurship shows that good ideas don’t know parish lines,” said Atkinson. “Our new partnership with the St. Tammany Corporation will offer Northshore entrepreneurs an enhanced opportunity to benefit from The Idea Village’s deep experience with startups, while also connecting them with other Northshore startups, business coaches, mentors, and investors that are closer to home.
Business founders who enroll in the program will follow the Lean Startup Methodology business plan and will meet like-minded founders during the course.
This 10-week program is run in a hybrid format, with each week’s session running virtually and opportunities to engage in person in the final week. IDEAinstitute is led by Dr. Felipe Massa, Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at Loyola University New Orleans and produced by The Idea Village in collaboration with local partners.
Since its inception, the program has served 261 founders across seven cohorts while continually fine-tuning the curriculum and surrounding acceleration model. Now a proven model with a consistent net promoter score of more than 70 (the industry standard for “world-class”), IDEAinstitute is looking to expand hands-on support and accessibility in surrounding communities by developing a network of local satellite programs that will be delivered through partner organizations to expand the program’s footprint and reach across the region.
`Ultimately, The Idea Village envisions a hub-and-spoke network that brings world-class startup resources to all communities within our region and connects and provides value to all regional entrepreneurs. St. Tammany Corporation is the first “spoke” partner of this approach.
The program will provide entrepreneurs the knowledge and expertise needed to turn an idea into a scalable business venture. The program is offered in a hybrid format of evening virtual classes, in-person networking events, and mentorship opportunities.
To learn more, go online to:
Ideavillage.org/ideainstitute
St. Tammany Corporation’s Startup Northshore initiative is made possible through the financial support and partnership of Chevron and Citizens National Bank.
This three-year entrepreneurial ecosystem pilot program is designed to deliver first-class programming and technical assistance to entrepreneurs, startups, and second stage companies on the Northshore through strategic partnerships with recognized entities in the entrepreneurship landscape.