Year in Review 2012: New Orleans gains tech traction

December 20, 2012 – New Orleans CityBusiness

New Orleans might not be Silicon Valley, but developments in the local technology industry are pushing it in that direction. This past year saw a growing collaboration between academia and the business community to foster the burgeoning tech industry in the area.


New Orleans BioFund Invests in Be Well Nutrition

December 18, 2012 – Silicon Bayou News

The first ever BioFund loan took place last week at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center. With $2.55 million in loans to give out before February of 2014, the BioFund has started out by investing capital into Be Well Nutrition, the brand behind the new drink called Iconic.


Medical District’s Bio Center Launches New Orleans Startups

December 16, 2012 – Huffington Post

The New Orleans BioInnovation Center or NOBIC—a glittering, $47 million, state-funded structure that looks as if it might house modern art—opened a year and a half ago on Canal Street. The downtown edifice is part of the city’s larger BioDistrict, to be anchored by the University Medical Center and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which are under construction, and the new Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium building.


BioFund Makes Its First Loan

December 13, 2012 – The Times-Picayune / NOLA.com

The New Orleans BioInnovation Center business incubator on Thursday announced the first recipient of a low-interest loan from a newly established fund designed to spur economic growth in the region affected by Hurricane Katrina. The first grantee is a company called Be Well Nutrition Inc., which is developing a health drink named Iconic.


Making a Push for BioInnovation in New Orleans

December 13, 2012 – Southern/Alpha

New Orleans may be receiving national press for its post-Katrina startup boom, but some business initiatives making waves now have been in development since the early part of the decade. Aaron Miscenich, President of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, knows this firsthand. He has spent the better part of the last decade seeing the science incubator through from concept to reality.


Founder of New Orleans Alternative Fuel Company Wins Fellowship for Entrepreneurs

December 03, 2012 – NOLA.com

A New Orleans entrepreneur who started a company that uses algae to create synthetic oil is one of 13 people internationally to win acceptance to the Kauffman Global Scholars Program for 2013. The program will send Brandon Iglesias, founder of a firm called ReactWell, to universities and think tanks in Boston, Chicago and Silicon Valley, where he will study business skills and make contacts to advance his enterprise.