Tech Entrepreneurs Bet on New Orleans for Growth, Despite Challenges

After spending decades in the tech corridors of the West Coast, Ted Elliott made a life-altering decision. In 2021, after surviving a battle with cancer, the CEO of software firm Copado relocated to New Orleans—his mother’s hometown—seeking proximity to family and, perhaps, a new frontier for his business.

“When we thought I was dying, my wife asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, ‘Be close to my parents,’” Elliott recalled in an interview. “When I recovered, she said, ‘Why do we have to wait until we’re dying to do that?’”

That move set off a deeper inquiry: Could New Orleans serve as a viable tech hub for Copado? With remote work reshaping the industry, location was increasingly flexible. The city offered direct flights to the West Coast and Chicago, where Copado is headquartered, and travel to key business centers like New York, Washington, and Atlanta was more efficient than from his previous home in California. By 2024, Elliott made his first local hire.

Unlike previous high-profile efforts to attract tech firms to Louisiana—such as the ill-fated deals with GE Capital and DXC Technology—Copado and other firms are taking a more measured approach. GE Capital shuttered its New Orleans operations, and DXC fell far short of its hiring goals. By contrast, Copado, alongside firms like Excella, is opting for incremental growth rather than headline-making promises.

“There’s an opportunity here,” Elliott said. “I’m trying to run dark, get it done, and then pop out of the woods so no one will know how we pulled it off.”

New Orleans’ Emerging Tech Scene

Economic development groups, including Greater New Orleans Inc. and Louisiana Economic Development, see promise in this grassroots approach. According to GNO Inc., the region’s tech sector contributed approximately $4.8 billion to the local economy in 2024, up from $4.3 billion in 2020. Yet, the city still lags behind established tech hubs such as Boston and Austin, Texas.

New Orleans failed to crack CBRE’s 2024 ranking of the nation’s top 50 tech talent markets, led by San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. It also missed the list of the fastest-growing tech hubs.

“When looking at the investments in cities like Boston, New York, and San Francisco, New Orleans entrepreneurs receive significantly less venture capital,” said Rob Lalka, director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane University. “Even compared to other ‘Rise of the Rest’ cities like Nashville and Raleigh-Durham, there’s still a significant gap. The data show we still have work to do.”

A Longstanding Pull to New Orleans

Despite the challenges, some tech leaders maintain a deep connection to the city. Burton White, founder of Excella, left New Orleans in the late 1980s for college and later launched his tech career in Washington, D.C.

“If you opened up the classifieds in D.C., there’d be seven pages of tech job ads,” White said. “At home, there’d be seven ads total.”

Still, White remained engaged with New Orleans’ entrepreneurial ecosystem, mentoring startups through the Idea Village accelerator after Hurricane Katrina.

“Like many who leave, I’ve always had a passion for the place,” he said. “I can’t shake it.”

Excella, which employs more than 300 people across 40 states, seized on the shift to remote work during the pandemic. Two years ago, the company established a Louisiana “talent hub,” now home to 13 employees, with plans to expand. White believes the city’s rich cultural backdrop offers a unique advantage.

“Technology solutions benefit from diverse perspectives,” he said. “And this city is built on creativity.”

Austin Gaspard, who leads Excella’s Louisiana hub, said the firm has invested tens of thousands of dollars in local tech organizations, including Black Tech NOLA and Agile NOLA. The state’s 25% digital media tax credit also made New Orleans an attractive option, he said, adding that Excella does not adjust salaries based on geography.

“We didn’t come into Louisiana to undercut the market,” Gaspard said.

Barriers and Opportunities

While industry leaders see potential in Louisiana, barriers remain. The recent announcement of a Meta data center in north Louisiana signals potential growth in the region, but attracting top-tier talent remains a challenge.

“To build something in California requires 84 permits just to get permission to think about it,” Elliott said. “It’s very difficult to do anything.”

Still, even as some firms embrace Louisiana, the expected influx of remote tech workers has yet to materialize. Some companies are calling employees back to offices, while others remain hesitant about relocating workers to a region with high insurance costs and a less established tech ecosystem.

California-based DAQA, a video game testing company, recently opened a facility at The Beach at UNO, aiming to employ up to 20 people. Meanwhile, 360 Insights, a brand-marketing software provider, relocated its headquarters from Delaware to New Orleans and is working toward hiring 50 local employees. Excella’s expansion and Copado’s slow but steady growth reflect a shift toward smaller, more intentional investments.

“People think it’s a lower cost of living, but all of a sudden, you get hit with the insurance costs,” Elliott said, acknowledging the hurdles. “We haven’t figured it out yet, but this is a great place to experiment. There’s not a lot of people actually paying attention to what we’re up to, so we can play around and figure out how to make this work.”