Diversify and Conquer: Growth of Multiple Industries Well for Entire Region’s Economic Forecast
Published Jun 27, 2008
BioSpace 1 in Shreveport’s InterTech Science Park is home to several of the area’s newest high-tech companies.
Business development in Northwest Louisiana is broad, deep and energized by innovation.
The region has avoided putting all its economic eggs in one basket and so is well positioned to weather downturns in any one sector. That wide-ranging approach serves the area well in terms of both corporate recruitment and retention, says Harold Turner, chairman of the Northwest Louisiana Economic Development Foundation and president of Red River Bank.
“We think it’s important to develop the [entire] region because we all live so close together,” Turner says. “It’s not just a Shreveport approach or a Bossier approach. The success of the overall region is important to each and every business here, and what we do as a foundation is make sure we get companies into Northwest Louisiana without regard to what community they go into. We want people working and spending money throughout the region.”
ATTRACTING VENTURE CAPITAL
A key component of attracting innovative enterprises is the availability of capital. Ensuring seed money for promising new businesses is the daily charge at Louisiana Ventures LP, a new venture capital group, says Ross Barrett, general partner.
Barrett, who also is a partner at VCE Capital, was instrumental in raising $10 million in outside financing that was augmented by $5 million from the state’s economic development arm – money that now is being used to help establish new industries in the region.
Louisiana Ventures has helped bankroll Embera NeuroTherapeutics Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company working in the addiction-treatment field. Launched with $50,000, Embera has drawn more than $1 million in venture capital as it moves its drugs into the trial phase. Louisiana Ventures also helped move Arc Mail, an e-mail archiving firm with a worldwide client list, from Seattle to Shreveport.
“When you have a good investment opportunity, anchored with local professional investors, it will attract capital from out-of-state,” Barrett says. “Too often our investment capital has gone to other places, and now we’re starting to see a reversal of that.”
REELING IN FILM COMPANIES
One of the highest-profile growth industries in the region is film and television production. In addition to actual location filming, several major studios are establishing physical plants in the area, bringing with them a variety of support companies.
For Alissa Kantrow and Lampton Enochs, who temporarily relocated their business, Louisiana Production Consultants, from New Orleans to Shreveport after Hurricane Katrina, the region proved to be so rich with opportunity that they decided to make the move permanent.
“We’ve found this to be a very proactive community and a great place to form a business,” Kantrow says. “We thought the possibilities were endless here.” LPC has worked on several movies since setting up shop, including The Mist, The Killing Room and Tekken, a film based on the Japanese video game.
“Shreveport’s definitely on the map,” Enochs says. “We’ve had a lot of favorable press, and a number of studios are shooting here now. We want to keep bringing projects in, building up our local crew base. We love that so many vendors are based out of here now, and we see no reason why that growth trajectory shouldn’t continue. We’re going to do our part to make sure that happens.”
SETTING THE STAGE FOR INNOVATION
Another area where local talent is carving a niche is in technology. Much talk has centered on the new $100 million Cyber Innovation Center coming to Bossier City and how it will help develop multiple career opportunities on the cutting edge of technology, but there are several established companies here that helped to create a favorable climate for such growth.
One example is Network Foundation Technologies, which was founded in 2001 by Louisiana Tech graduates Marcus Morton and Dr. Mike O’Neal. Network Foundation Technologies is changing the way television is viewed online, and is doing so from offices in Shreveport and Ruston. The company was one of the first to participate in the state’s Angel Tax Incentive Program, which gives Louisiana-based technology companies tax credits worth up to 50 percent of their investment. In 2007, the Louisiana Business Incubation Association named Morton Entrepreneur of the Year.
“It’s been a great decision to stay here,” Morton says. “We wanted to start and grow a company here.”
NFT’s NiFTy Online Television streams sports events, concerts and other broadcasting online, and is working on a model that is supported by advertising revenue instead of the existing pay-per-view model.
“More and more people want to view television online and watch for a longer time,” Morton says. “Our technology is about broadcasting to larger audiences online at a reduced cost.”
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by JCM
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