Success Story

Heeding the Entrepreneurial Spirit: Chris Hilliard’s Journey With Suds

Chris Hilliard was destined to be an entrepreneur. He opened his first business as a teenager and hasn’t looked back. “When I was 15, I started cutting hair out of my grandparents’ house for $7 a head. That’s where it kicked off,” he says. “That entrepreneurship spirit had always been in me.”  Now, as co-founder, …

Heeding the Entrepreneurial Spirit: Chris Hilliard’s Journey With Suds Read More »

Delivering Health and Happiness: Ceres’ Startup Journey

Food is central to Louisiana’s culture. So it’s no surprise that local founders Rich Simmerman and Branson Morgan have turned that culinary heritage into a thriving startup, which they named Ceres after the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain harvests. The founders drew from their childhood nostalgia for having sugary cereal for breakfast or a …

Delivering Health and Happiness: Ceres’ Startup Journey Read More »

How Calvin Mills Jr. Is Using His Startup Experience to Support Louisiana Founders

When Nexus Louisiana CEO Genevieve Silverman called Calvin Mills Jr. to let him know she was stepping down, he knew the right thing to do was to offer to step up as interim CEO. It wasn’t a difficult decision for Mills. “It’s just the right move,” Mills says. “What better person to have in this …

How Calvin Mills Jr. Is Using His Startup Experience to Support Louisiana Founders Read More »

Why You Should Pursue Your Passion: A Cannabis Story

Dr. Chanda Macias has faced challenge after challenge in achieving her dream of helping patients by dispensing medical marijuana through her startup, Ilera Holistic Healthcare.  What keeps Macias going despite the significant setbacks she’s faced over the years?  Macias is confident in her products’ ability to solve medical problems. Her drive for success is fueled …

Why You Should Pursue Your Passion: A Cannabis Story Read More »

VCAP’s Third Cohort

VCAP’S Third cohort has concluded For Immediate ReleaseJanuary 25, 2022 BATON ROUGE — Thirty-eight students from LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business completed the third cohort of the Venture Capital Apprentice Program (VCAP), a project formed by Nexus Louisiana, Innovation Catalyst, and the Red Stick Angel Network in collaboration with LSU’s E.J. Ourso College of Business. …

VCAP’s Third Cohort Read More »

GIFT'D BizTech Challenge 2021

BizTech Challenge™ Rewards Next Generation of Louisiana Entrepreneurs

The BizTech Challenge™ is a STEM-based pitch competition, developed by Nexus Louisiana, that allows students attending Louisiana’s historically Black colleges and universities to validate their business ideas, build real businesses and even win some cash. “These students are so bright and we want to demonstrate that entrepreneurship is an accessible, viable pathway from them,” says …

BizTech Challenge™ Rewards Next Generation of Louisiana Entrepreneurs Read More »

Prysm Capital Investments Wants to Make Cryptocurrency Investing Easier

The rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrency can be challenging for investors to decipher. Prysm Capital Investments wants to change that. Founded by recent Louisiana State University grads, the New Orleans company aims to make Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies more accessible to individual investors by managing portfolios for them. In June, the early-stage company received …

Prysm Capital Investments Wants to Make Cryptocurrency Investing Easier Read More »

How MasteryPrep Came Out of the Pandemic Stronger

The coronavirus pandemic dramatically changed education, generally not for the better. Students discovered school just isn’t the same when physically separated from peers and teachers (and parents discovered work becomes way more difficult when you’re simultaneously educating your children). Like many in the education field, MasteryPrep had to adapt quickly. They were not only able …

How MasteryPrep Came Out of the Pandemic Stronger Read More »