How Louisiana Colleges Are Fueling the Next Generation of Student Entrepreneurs

From Dorm Room Geckos to Thriving Startups

In 2022, Kat Lee and her roommate at Tulane University thought the geckos sharing an enclosure in their dorm room were both females. They didn't learn otherwise until they discovered a happy family—mom, dad, and two babies—living in the habitat a few weeks later.

After the initial shock, Lee, who grew up around all sorts of exotic pets, came up with a solution with an upside: she would offer to sell the two new lizards to other students looking for low-maintenance companions. By the end of the school year, she had bred and sold 10 baby geckos for $400 each, including a complete "starter kit" that included an enclosure and supplies. Each transaction earned her a tidy profit.

After transferring from Tulane to the nursing program at Loyola University New Orleans at the end of her freshman year, Lee has continued to grow her startup company, Katamaran Reptile Ranch, now headquartered in her half of shotgun double near campus. Over the past 12 months, she has grossed roughly $30,000 by breeding and shipping the lizards nationwide.

The Rise of Campus Entrepreneurship Support

As she's worked to grow the business, Lee has received support from Loyola's Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development, an 11-year-old initiative that's been cranking up programming to meet rising student interest in all things entrepreneurial.

She is far from the only one getting similar help.

Across the state, colleges and universities are cultivating student entrepreneurs and helping them launch successful startups through new and expanded entrepreneurship classes, on-campus business incubators, and pitch competitions. The move comes as young people show a greater awareness of entrepreneurship than older generations and less interest in trying to climb the corporate ladder for the duration of their career.

The Digital Advantage for Young Founders

The internet and social media have fostered the growth of this trend by providing access to low-cost marketing, customer feedback, e-commerce, and networking. Lee's business, for instance, is powered by the website MorphMarket, an "Etsy for reptiles" of sorts that connects buyers and sellers online.

"Students of this generation see an opportunity while they are young to take risks and try to build something on their own," said Shafin Khan, a vice president at the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation, which runs some of the school's entrepreneurship programming. "They want to leave their mark and that’s why there’s high demand at the competitions."

Diverse Student Ventures Across Louisiana

From Better Basketball to Mochi Donuts

Lee's fellow undergrad entrepreneurs at schools across Louisiana have set out to solve a wide range of problems.

During his freshman year at UNO in 2022, Andrew Bradford partnered with his friend Julien Bourgeois to take the top prize at the school's inaugural StartupUNO pitch competition. Bradford and Bourgeois have since racked up about $70,000 in prize money for "Automatic," their Apple Watch app that helps basketball players improve their performance by providing shot-by-shot analysis as they practice. The app, recently renamed Ball AI, has been downloaded 40,000 times.

"Pitch competitions teach you how to speak publicly and how business works," Bradford said. "Engineering and computer science majors aren’t going to learn to write financial models, create a pitch deck or strengthen networking skills, but starting the business has given that to us for the rest of our lives."

In Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Lafayette student Ethan Ly launched a mochi donut business, "Domochi," which offers an assortment of colorful, Instagram-worthy treats in flavors that include beignet, matcha and Nutella. Social media marketing is a key to the venture's growth.

Loyola student Tristan Sariego founded Breeze Shuttles in 2023 to provide safe and affordable late-night rides for students. The service began with golf carts and is expanding to add electric vehicles to its fleet.

Other student-led ventures include an online game to help children develop emotional intelligence; 3D-printed, biodegradable Mardi Gras beads; a tool to improve the efficiency of solar panels; and an app to help farmers manage their crops more efficiently.

High-Growth Potential Ventures

Some of the companies have a higher potential for growth than others.

Tulane senior Dylan Murray is one of four co-founders of Exactics, a biotech startup that has raised $1.5 million from investors so far to help launch its first product, an at-home test that can confirm if a tick is infected with the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease, enabling early detection and treatment.

Last month, Tulane's 2-year-old venture capital fund, Tulane Ventures, announced a $250,000 investment in the young company, which has contracted the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center to validate the effectiveness of its product.

"They have plans for developing future diagnostic tools," said Kimberly Gramm, leader of the Tulane Innovation Institute. "Lyme disease is the first of many, and infectious diseases is one of Tulane’s areas of scientific focus."

Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

'It's How You Take Control'

The school leaders supporting these young entrepreneurs see the coursework and extracurricular programming as a way to enhance learning in all departments.

"We’re giving students across all disciplines different tools to identify problems, analyze markets and pitch their solutions through new courses, mentorship programs and campus-wide competitions," said Gramm.

The ultimate goal, she added, is to see more companies launched in New Orleans that create jobs and keep more talented graduates in the local community.

Changes at Tulane and elsewhere reflect efforts to achieve that goal.

Tulane's Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation debuted in 2017, and the school's minor in entrepreneurship became available five years later. Separately, Tulane's Innovation Institute launched in 2022 to help students, faculty and community members turn ideas into businesses.

The same year, UNO launched its StartupUNO pitch competition.

Xavier University of Louisiana established its Entrepreneurship Institute in 2023. LSU launched its major in entrepreneurship four years ago and hosts multiple pitch competitions and other similar programs across all disciplines.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe has a long-running event that attracts applicants from around the state. UL at Lafayette debuted its "Inn-eaux-vate" pitch competition six years ago and has seen growing interest.

"We had 83 students submit applications this year, which is crazy," said Jonathan Shirley, a program manager at UL's entrepreneurship center. "That's about double what we had last time."

Earlier this year, Tulane hosted a training program for faculty to help them find ways to embed innovation and entrepreneurship into their classes. The school also has created the Startup Strategy Lab for undergraduates, and the Tulane Innovation Institute has partnered with the Young Entrepreneurship Academy to provide an after-school program for high schoolers.

Loyola hosts the annual Wolf Pack LaunchU pitch competition, which Lee won last month, along with the 4-year-old Side Hustle Expo, which is a combination of a pop-up market and science fair.

"Our goal is to help students survive off of their passions," said Sam McCabe, director of the school's entrepreneurship center.

Taking the goal a step further, Loyola began hosting New Orleans Entrepreneur Week last year. The multiday event originally created by the Idea Village now connects undergrads with founders, investors and entrepreneurial support organizations from around the region.

To Shirley, this type of programming is about more than developing business skills.

"It’s a philosophy for life," he said. "It’s how you take control and do what you want to do. That mentality is something more universities are looking to weave into their curriculum because it’s a skillset that transcends whatever job you might go get."