10 August 2021
(New Orleans, LA) - While in the midst of this year’s hurricane season, Propeller is excited to announce the winners of our 2021 PitchNOLA: Water competition, where startup and growth-stage entrepreneurs pitched their solutions for improving our region’s relationship with water. New Orleans and its surrounding areas are no stranger to the effects of water on the local environment, economy, and our most impacted communities–these winners were able to bring their ideas to the table and take home top prizes to advance their solutions.
PitchNOLA: Water 2021 Winners:
Glory Gardens (Reedy Brooks)
Top Startup Award
Audience Favorite Startup
Ubuntu Construction (Nicole & Greg Nixon)
Top Growth Award
Audience Favorite Growth
"We are humbled, honored, and excited to have won the votes of the audience and panel of judges for the 2021 PitchNOLA event,” says Nicole and Greg Nixon. This investment will assist Ubuntu in purchasing a trailer, necessary in furthering their full service stormwater management projects and mission towards urban resilience.
Through the support from PitchNOLA: Water, Reedy Brooks of Glory Gardens will help secure the funds necessary to secure a nursery, providing “reasonable prices to customers while offering quality jobs,” expanding job placement opportunities, and adding a new green infrastructure educational facility. “We also would have an increased capacity for offering dynamic services that benefit the health of our customers and their communities.”
Each finalist received pitch coaching, financial coaching, and videography support in preparation for their pitches to compete for over $15,000 in total cash prizes.The virtual event on June 17 was hosted by Propeller in partnership with the City of New Orleans, New Orleans Business Alliance, Thrive New Orleans, YouthForce NOLA, and supported through the $5 million New Orleans AdvancingCities collaborative award from JPMorgan Chase.
Competing finalists included: John Coyle of Urbanscapes Design+Build Youth Program, Simond Menasche of Regenerative Urban Agriculture by Grown On Urban Farms, and Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz of Glass Half Full. Check out all PitchNOLA: Water 2021 finalists’ solutions to improving our local water economy here.
Learn more about PitchNOLA: Water 2021 at http://gopropeller.org/pitchnola/.
About PitchNOLA
Over the past decade, PitchNOLA has awarded over $200,000 in grants to entrepreneurs. PitchNOLA winners have opened second and first locations, hit over $1 million in annual revenue, and received notable attention in the Washington Post, The Guardian, the Times-Picayune, The Advocate, WWNO, and WWL-TV.
Propeller is a New Orleans-based 501c3 nonprofit that grows and supports entrepreneurs to tackle social and environmental disparities. Our vision is an inclusive and thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in New Orleans that responds to community needs and creates the conditions for an equitable future. GoPropeller.org