A Wary New Orleans Braces for a New Tech Boom
Efforts to brand the city as “Silicon Bayou” after Katrina didn’t pan out. But New Orleans is now seeing a fresh wave of technology hype — and trying to make sure locals aren’t left behind.
Aaron Walker (left), founder of New Orleans’ Camelback Ventures, with 2018 Camelback Fellows Myron Long of Social Justice School and Janine Gomez of I Dream Public Charter School.
Photo courtesy Camelback Ventures
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a wave of technology entrepreneurs descended on New Orleans. Pitching the flood-struck city as Silicon Bayou, they espoused tech’s abilities to aid in the reconstruction process.
“Everything had to be restarted,” says Jon Atkinson, the CEO of The Idea Village, a nonprofit focused on building New Orleans’ startup scene. “So you had this sort of entrepreneurial DNA getting spread throughout the community.”