PitchNOLA: Living Well Issues $11,500: Winners Announced

The inaugural PitchNOLA: Living Well competition took place at Propeller on April 24, 2014 with a packed audience. 12 semi-finalists pitched for $11,500 in cash prizes and five ventures walked away victorious. Their solutions will get New Orleanians healthier and more active.

25 April 2014

PitchNOLA: Living Well was made possible with the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and numerous community partners including Eat Fit NOLA, Fit NOLA, Health 2.0 New Orleans, LSU Health New Orleans, marketumbrella.org, Ochsner Health System, The Berger Group, LLC., and Tulane’s Prevention Research Center. 

Propeller is committed to supporting health and wellness for all New Orleanians as demonstrated through the substantial impact made within the health & food sector


PitchNOLA 2014: Living Well Finalists

1st Place — $5,000 & Technical Assistance from Propeller
Coordinated Care for the Whole Child
Connie Bellone

We are removing health barriers to education for at-risk youth by embedding health and preventative care in schools.

"Propeller helped us communicate our mission and develop our business plan. With their help, we gained insight that will help us move our foundation to the next level, and we had a whole lot of fun in the process!"

2nd Place — $3,000
Just Bee Cause
David Young

Just Bee Cause, a campaign of Capstone, will work to increase honey production and sales, which will be used to offset the cost of the farm's operations and allow food to be given away to those in need.

“Non profit fund raising continues to be increasingly harder each year. At Capstone we decided if we were going to continue to expand the service to our community we needed to have a source of long term sustainable revenue. Winning Pitch NOLA '12 Lots of Progress and 2nd place in Pitch NOLA '14 Living Well has allowed us to establish a fruit and citrus orchard, and expand our honey bee operations, which will provide the much needed revenue stream.”

3rd Place — $2,000
Treux North Wellness
Danielle Burrell

Treux North Wellness is a premier provider of community wellness services, with a focus on fitness.

"Having the opportunity to Pitch with Propeller was an honor!  I was so excited to meet all the other entrepreneurs and I am looking forward to future collaborations with many of them. Latona Giwa, who is a Propeller Fellow and one of my Zumba clients, has been telling me that I could benefit from Propeller's support;  I had always hesitated because I didn't think my business "fit in"....but after this experience, I am thrilled to have been embraced and rewarded!"

4th Place — $1,000
Your Nutrition Delivered
Erik Frank

Your Nutrition Delivered enables employees to access fresh nutritious meals anytime, day or night.

"What makes the team at Propeller so special is there selfless caring for Entrepreneurs. Their team is willing to work long thankless hours to insure that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in New Orleans continues to thrive."

Audience Favorite — $500
Lower 9th Ward Market
Ward "Mack" McClendon

The Lower 9th Ward Market is a community driven outdoor market space providing residents with easy access to healthy and fresh produce.

"We at the Lower 9th Ward Village and SUA learned so much from this experience — from the grant application writing process to the final pitch presentation. We were all truly in awe of the dedication, ingenuity, and hardwork of all of those who were part of this competition and are inspired to keep pushing forward to putting our idea into action."