Launch Pad VIP Backstage Party Tonight

Posted in: Events by Chris Schultz on April 30, 2009

Happy Jazz Fest! You’re invited to come kick off the weekend with us tonight! We’re (pre)celebrating the launch of the Launch Pad on June 1st.

Fifty People, One Question: Ultimate Edition from Chris Schultz on Vimeo.

Join us for a VIP backstage party tonight:

• VIP Backstage Party for Bonearama and Midnite Disturbers
• The Studio @ Colton Theater
• Thursday, April 30 – 9pm until late
• Free beer backstage in green room
• DJ OtherTempo spinning
• $20 tix for show + free VIP if you’re a Launch Pad guest

There are two ways to get in:

• Buy tix now (preferred) – http://launchpad.eventbrite.com/
• Buy tix @ door. You email cschultz@voodooventures.com to be on the list.

**IMPORTANT** There is no entry to the VIP backstage area unless you are on the list. So get on it.

We will have backstage access to the Backbeat Presents Bonearama and Midnite Disturbers show. Big Sam, Trombone Shorty, Stanton Moore, Ben Ellman. It’s gonna be sweet. They rocked it so hard during Mardi Gras that they took the party to the streets on Frenchman. Expect craziness, band dancing & playing in the crowd, music from Black Sabbath to whatever you can imagine.

Also, back in the VIP, we’ll have DJ OtherTempo, aka Elliott Adams spinning. He was amazing on our SXSW trip, and he’s going to be great for this. We’ll have private space back there w/ free beer for all of us.

Ticket price covers show admission. A portion of the proceeds from Backbeat Presents shows support The Backbeat Foundation. The VIP party is on us.

Get your tickets now – http://launchpad.eventbrite.com/

Come to VIP Launch Party during Jazz Fest

Posted in: Events by Chris Schultz on April 25, 2009

One of the things we’re most excited about with Launch Pad is the community we’re building and the events we’ll be putting together. We’re kicking things off with the Launch Pad Party during Jazz Fest next week. Come join us and meet other members of the Pad and pass a good time.

• VIP Backstage Party for Bonearama and Midnite Disturbers @ Colton Theater
• Thursday, April 30 – 9pm until late
• Free beer backstage in green room
• DJ OtherTempo spinning
• $20 tix for show + free VIP if you’re a Launch Pad guest
• Get your ticket’s now!

We will have backstage access to the Backbeat Presents Midnite Disturbers show. Big Sam, Trombone Shorty, Stanton Moore, Ben Ellman. It’s gonna be sweet. They rocked it so hard during Mardi Gras that they took the party to the streets on Frenchman. Expect craziness, band dancing & playing in the crowd, music from Black Sabbath to whatever you can imagine.

Also, back in the VIP, we’ll have DJ OtherTempo, aka Elliott Adams spinning. He was amazing on our SXSW trip, and he’s going to be great for this. We’ll have private space back there w/ free beer for all of us.

In order to get to this, please get your tickets now so we can make sure you’re on the VIP list. Happy Jazz Fest y’all, see ya next Thursday. Oh, and Launch Pad opens June 1st. Join the party on Facebook.

Launch Pad coverage in Baton Rouge

Posted in: Press by Chris Schultz on April 24, 2009

It’s been a good week for Launch Pad coverage. I wanted to share this article from the Baton Rouge Advocate before Jazz Fest today. Ben & I are going to be announcing something else shortly too.

Chris Schultz, a 34-year-old principal in Launch Pad, said he’s stoked by his $25,000 prize. He moved from Los Angeles after meeting his future wife at the 2002 Jazz Fest.

A serial entrepreneur who operates a Web strategy company, Voodoo Ventures, Schultz and partners Will Donaldson — a Tulane MBA student — and Barre Tanguis, a real estate developer — will be based at the Launch Pad’s offices.

There, they’ll rent desk space to technology and business professionals at monthly rates of $750 for a closed-door office, $450 for a desk in the open environment, and $275 for a shared “co-working desk.”

“Getting into office space is very expensive, especially with three-year leases,” Schultz said. “We’re going to work with startups and creative class knowledge workers who may be freelancers who otherwise would work from home and who might need office space.”

Garland Robinette <3′s Twitter

Posted in: Press by Chris Schultz on April 23, 2009

Launch Pad was featured on WWL radio with Garland Robinette yesterday, and I had a lot of fun being on the radio again yesterday. I tempted him during one of the breaks to talk Twitter and we got into it.

Check out Launch Pad discussions @ the 18:20 & 22:30 marks.

Will gets shoutout in CityBiz Blog

Posted in: Press by Chris Schultz on

Will get’s props in a post on the City Business Blog by Greg Larose about the IP:

Will Donaldson typifies the spirit behind the IP. The Tulane MBA student is one of the partners in The Launch Pad, which will provide workspace and meeting facilities at the IP for fledgling entrepreneurs who aren’t ready to commit to a long-term office lease.

Congrats Will, great stuff.

Launch Pad wins $25,000

Posted in: News by Will on April 22, 2009

504ward’s competition this past Saturday had a surprise winner! At the end, the competition’s organizer changed the rules to award New Orleans’ own space for small businesses, freelancers and entrepreneurs a new prize that wasn’t originally part of the awards. That prize was a $25,000 cash prize that will go towards improvements in the Launch Pad, which launches on June 1st 2009.

Among several new announcements is a strategic partnership with VCE Capital to provide fundraising assistance to new businesses. What’s next!?

Launch Pad in Times Picayune & City Business

Posted in: Press by Chris Schultz on April 15, 2009

Launch Pad had a great press day yesterday (and Barre had a great hair day). We were fortunate enough to be featured by the Times Picayune and City Business. We feel great about this, and look forward to continuing the positive exposure for all the members. We really are confident that this is going to be a tremendous story for the entreprenuerial community in New Orleans.

From the Times Picayune article “Former McGlinchey Stafford building becomes hub for entrepreneurial companies:”

“There will be a lot of interaction by virtue of being in the same building,” said Chris Schultz, whose is starting a company called Launch Pad that will provide low-cost office space to freelance writers, designers and others launching a new business who cannot afford to sign a long-term lease.”

And from City Business “504ward ready to pick Business Competition winner:”

The Idea Village is down to five finalists for its 504ward Business Competition, and the winner of $200,000 in products and services will be announced Saturday.

The contest is geared toward business ideas that will retain young professionals in New Orleans. The Idea Village launched the competition in September with a promotion and support team from Google. By a December submission deadline, the competition received more than 140 applications from 14 states. Panels of young professionals and members of the business community narrowed down the field to five finalists: Launch Pad, NOLA Social Sports, New Orleans Dance Institute, New Orleans Development Co., and Play NOLA.

As much as we like the attention, we are ready to shift the spotlight to our member companies. We’re in talks with our first founding members right now, including a VC-backed startup that is a very exciting business. Are you ready to take flight? Sign up here and let’s talk.

Launch Pad covered in OMMA Magazine

Posted in: Uncategorized by Chris Schultz on April 9, 2009

We’re thrilled that the positive press for the Launch Pad is already starting. Damien Lamanna called me up the other day excited that he had just read about us in the current issue of OMMA magazine.

The idea of incubating start-ups is catching on outside established tech centers like New York City, Austin and Boulder. Voodoo Ventures, an Internet development company in New Orleans, is preparing to open Launch Pad 2, which will rent office space and support services to local tech start-ups. The first Launch Pad, begun in late 2007, already houses the offices of Voodoo Ventures and several start-ups.

Voodoo founder Chris Schultz moved to New Orleans in 2002 partly for cheap office space for his various start-ups and consulting gigs. In a manner befitting the philosophy of incubators, the idea for Launch Pad was born during a conversation he had with another entrepreneur, a Tulane MBA student. Now, Schultz is using Launch Pad to help New Orleans grow post-Katrina by supporting its nascent high-tech industry.

“As challenging of a time as it is for the country, New Orleans – we sort of took our knock-out blow in 2005, and in a lot of ways, we feel like we’re further along the curve,” Schultz says.

Schultz plans to move the original Launch Pad, currently in an office building on St. Charles Street, into a much larger building this year. He envisions a loft-like space with modular offices so companies can choose to rent more than one unit.

Launch Pad 2 will be a purely pay-for-play environment, Schultz says. Start-ups will pay lease and membership fees, not a share in their future equity.

“The word is getting out. We’ve got about 20 people on the waiting list, so to speak – they’ve expressed interest and are sort of waiting for us to open the doors,” Schultz says. The environment in New Orleans is strong for start-ups like these, he adds. The tech community NetSquared opened a chapter in New Orleans last September. “In just six months, we’re now the sixth-largest [NetSquared] group in the country; we just passed Atlanta,” Schultz says. “There is a real sort of grassroots demand for this.”

Come Join Our Party

Posted in: News by Chris Schultz on April 8, 2009

The IP (the building that will house the Launch Pad) is throwing a an IPO party for all of the entrepreneurial tenants. We’ll be there showing people our new space!

The event is Thursday, April 16th from 5:30 to 7:30. There is a DJ and free drinks! RSVP here.

Launch Pad makes competition TOP 5!!

Posted in: News by Will on

The Launch Pad was selected as a finalist for 504ward‘s $200K business plan competition. Chris, Barre, and Will (Launch Pad founders) will be on stage presenting to the live audience that will select the winner!

You can attend. Simply RSVP here!

The event is Saturday, April 18th from 10:30am – 2pm. Come say hello and vote for us!