Water

Water

Tackling disparities caused by water’s impacts and participation in water industries

Our Impact

Since 2011, Propeller has incubated and accelerated 263 ventures through the Impact Accelerator and Social Venture Fund. Collectively, they have generated over $262 million in external financing and revenue and created 485+ full- and part-time jobs. Our businesses and nonprofits overall have an 84 percent survival rate, compared to the national average of 56 percent.

In 2019, Propeller water alumni (14 respondents) reported grossing $5.4mm in revenue, $1.9mm in debt financing, $200,000 in equity financing, and $202,000 in grants.

As a result of our work with ventures in the water focus area, Propeller has influenced the following outcomes:

  • Restored or mitigated 700 acres of coastal land.
  • Received a total of 18 government contracts totaling $1,363,700 for their work in coastal restoration/mitigation and urban water management from the Sewage and Water Board, NORA, Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, New Orleans Department of Public Works, and Plaquemines Parish Government.
  • Completed the installation or design of 310 urban water management projects designed to capture a cumulative 13,183,668 gallons of stormwater.
  • Provided environmental education to over 1,000 community members.

Water Focus Area

Propeller works with small businesses and nonprofits to tackle critical regional water challenges and establish Louisiana as an emerging leader in the water management industry. Propeller entrepreneurs are building underground rain harvesting systems to keep stormwater from flooding to neighborhoods most vulnerable to environmental disaster. They are preserving coastal wetlands and building new technologies to prevent coastal land loss to protect native communities who are unable to uproot and move inland. Propeller also works to support minority and local business enterprises establishing Louisiana as a premium market for seafood, constructing vessels, and training the next generation of green infrastructure professionals.

In water, Propeller’s Impact Accelerator focuses on supporting entrepreneurs working in urban water management, coastal restoration, and adaptation or resilience, as well as those working to diversify the local water economy. Propeller prioritizes ventures strengthening the local water economy to increase how the industry represents and includes BIPOC individuals.

Propeller prioritizes solutions that specifically address the following issues in the water focus area:

  • Community-level interventions to improve how we live with water, companies or organizations directly addressing environmental disparities for communities of color
  • Design or construction of coastal projects in alignment with state coastal master plan, e.g. marsh creation and rock terracing
  • Design or construction of green infrastructure for public or private clients

To date, Propeller has accelerated 47+ water-focused ventures by providing access to contacts, contracts, community, capital, mentors, and subject matter experts (financial modeling, graphic design, customer pipeline, marketing, fundraising, etc.). This support has resulted in notable success for these entrepreneurs. Below are some of our notable Alumni.

Propeller Ventures working in this Sector

J&C Marks Enterprise

J&C Marks Enterprise

Jay and Chabry Marks

Areas of focus: Water
Whimscapes

Whimscapes

Kellye Schroeder and Mariah Theobald

Areas of focus: Water
Big Shane’s Landscaping and Lawn Care

Big Shane’s Landscaping and Lawn Care

Trevor Monnie and Racquel Hayes McKay

Areas of focus: Water
Sankofa CDC

Sankofa CDC

Naish Williams, Ronni Johnson, & Rashida Ferdinand

Areas of focus: Water
Garden Picasso

Garden Picasso

Preston Robinson, Jr.

Areas of focus: Water
Flourish Horticulture and Landscapes

Flourish Horticulture and Landscapes

Fabian Harper

Areas of focus: Water
Delta Builds

Delta Builds

Dr. Dorothy Nairne

Areas of focus: Water
Nature Study Project

Nature Study Project

Gerard Perrone

Areas of focus: Water
Kost

Kost

Keith Marrero

Areas of focus: Water
Urbanscapes Design+Build

Urbanscapes Design+Build

John Coyle

Areas of focus: Water
Glass Half Full

Glass Half Full

Franziska Trautmann

Areas of focus: Water
Home by Hand

Home by Hand

Oji Alexander

Areas of focus: Water
Grounds Krewe

Grounds Krewe

Brett Davis

Areas of focus: Water
Glory Gardens

Glory Gardens

Rianda “Reedy” Brooks

Areas of focus: Water
Sponge City

Sponge City

Jenny Wolff & Joanna Farley

Areas of focus: Water
The Solutions Journal

The Solutions Journal

Dr. Beth Caniglia

Areas of focus: Water
Louisiana Land Art

Louisiana Land Art

Parker Davies

Areas of focus: Water
Gravel Road Builders and Construction Services

Gravel Road Builders and Construction Services

Travis Banks

Areas of focus: Water
Delta Flora Native Plants

Delta Flora Native Plants

Lees Hopkins

Areas of focus: Water
Cicada Radio

Cicada Radio

Asher Griffith

Areas of focus: Water
Bright Side Oysters

Bright Side Oysters

Nathan Herring

Areas of focus: Water
New Orleans Stormwater Training Corps (NOSTC)

New Orleans Stormwater Training Corps (NOSTC)

Oji Alexander, Monique Pilié, Daniel Johnson

Areas of focus: Water
Culinaria Center for Food Law, Policy, and Culture

Culinaria Center for Food Law, Policy, and Culture

Pepper Bowen

Areas of focus: Water
Water Block, LLC

Water Block, LLC

Atianna Cordova

Areas of focus: Water
Mastodonte

Mastodonte

Arien Hall, Luisa Abballe

Areas of focus: Water
GEM Construction Group

GEM Construction Group

Glenn Moore

Areas of focus: Water
Urban Conservancy

Urban Conservancy

Dana Eness

Areas of focus: Water
Home by Hand

Home by Hand

Oji Alexander

Areas of focus: Water
The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans

The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans

Nathan Lott & Talia Latch

Areas of focus: Water
Teaching Responsible Earth Education

Teaching Responsible Earth Education

Heather Szapary, Arianne Carson, Chris Lee

Areas of focus: Water
AquaTerra Consulting

AquaTerra Consulting

Kristen Butcher, Eva Hillmann

Areas of focus: Water
Magnolia Landscape Architecture

Magnolia Landscape Architecture

David Abadie

Areas of focus: Water
Orleans Resource Center, LLC

Orleans Resource Center, LLC

William Belisle, Ph. D.

Areas of focus: Water
Marine Gardens, LLC

Marine Gardens, LLC

Michael Boatright, Kristen Boatright

Areas of focus: Water
The Great Delta Tours

The Great Delta Tours

Barbara Johnson, M.P.A, FM

Areas of focus: Water
LifeCity

LifeCity

Liz Shephard (CEO), Jessica Nehrbass (Director of Impact) & Molly Richard

Areas of focus: Water
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

Deborah Visco Abibou

Areas of focus: Water
Bluefin Data

Bluefin Data

Andrew Petersen

Areas of focus: Water
Batture, LLC

Batture, LLC

Robert Mora & Jennifer Snape

Areas of focus: Water
Louisiana Coastal Services, Inc.

Louisiana Coastal Services, Inc.

Erik Mayo

Areas of focus: Water
Landscape Metrics

Landscape Metrics

Benjamin Wellington & Matthew Seibert

Areas of focus: Water
Maritant

Maritant

Chris Stuckey

Areas of focus: Water
The GlassLand Project

The GlassLand Project

Guy Packard Seaberg, R. Thomas Seaberg, Chris Prasad & Joseph Santiago

Areas of focus: Water
Coastal Communities Consulting (CCC)

Coastal Communities Consulting (CCC)

Sandy Nguyen, Cristina Duong & Katrina Williams

Areas of focus: Water
ORA Estuaries

ORA Estuaries

Tyler Ortego

Areas of focus: Water
Martin Ecosystems

Martin Ecosystems

Nicole Waguespack

Areas of focus: Water
Hanging Gardens

Hanging Gardens

Colleen Butler & Anthony Mayer

Areas of focus: Water
Coastal Engineering Solutions

Coastal Engineering Solutions

Brent Duet

Areas of focus: Water
Coastal Waters Workforce

Coastal Waters Workforce

Christina Quijano

Areas of focus: Water
New Orleans Mosquito Control Board

New Orleans Mosquito Control Board

Claudia Riegel

Areas of focus: Water
Coastal Rewards

Coastal Rewards

Amory Walker

Areas of focus: Water
Public Lab: the Riffle Project

Public Lab: the Riffle Project

Stevie Lewis

Areas of focus: Water
Magnolia Land Partners

Magnolia Land Partners

Mark Bernstein

Areas of focus: Water
Greenman Dan

Greenman Dan

Dan Johnson

Areas of focus: Water
Land Trust for Louisiana

Land Trust for Louisiana

Marisa Escudero & Bridget Kelly

Areas of focus: Water
Louisiana Lost Lands Environmental Tours

Louisiana Lost Lands Environmental Tours

Lindsay Pick & Marie Gould

Areas of focus: Water
Goods that Matter

Goods that Matter

Tippy Tippens

Areas of focus: Water
Greenlight New Orleans

Greenlight New Orleans

Andreas Hoffmann

Areas of focus: Water

Sponsors