Celebrating Ten Years of The Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge with an Expansion to the Northshore and Gulfport, Mississippi!

In its tenth year of providing young entrepreneurs in Greater New Orleans an opportunity to compete for scholarship funds, The Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge is expanding its reach, embracing the entrepreneurial spirit flourishing on the Northshore of Louisiana and in Gulfport, Mississippi.

This month, Startup Northshore and Northshore Technical Community College partnered with JA to host St. Tammany’s first-ever Northshore Big Pitch Semi-Finals. Celebrating not only the creativity and innovation of local students but also the growing ecosystem supporting young entrepreneurs in the region, the event offered Northshore students a platform to pitch their most innovative ideas. Congratulations to Team Runba from Fountainbleu High School, who will advance to compete at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week at the Big Pitch on Wednesday, March 13th!

The journey for these aspiring entrepreneurs, along with those in Greater New Orleans and Gulfport, Mississippi, began in August 2023 with the JA Launch Lesson. Here, they were inspired by local entrepreneurs sharing stories of perseverance and determination. From there, the JA Catalyst program guided them through the ideation process, teaching design thinking and lean startup methodology to transform their Crazy Ideas into viable business concepts.

As the competition progressed, the Greater New Orleans Semi-Finalist teams participated in the Idea Accelerator Workshop Series in January and February, meeting weekly to refine their pitches with the help of local mentors and entrepreneurs. The culmination of their hard work arrives with the upcoming events.

On Saturday, March 2nd, Loyola will host the Greater New Orleans Big Pitch Semi Finals. Here, Semi-Finalist teams will present their Crazy Ideas to a panel of local entrepreneurs for a chance to enter the 2024 Greater New Orleans Big Pitch finals where they will compete against their Northshore peers from Team Runba.

Leading up to the Big Pitch, on Monday, March 11th, Loyola University New Orleans will also host the Young Entrepreneurs’ Forum, part of the New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) series. This event offers students insights from Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge Alumni, entrepreneurs, and subject matter experts, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for young entrepreneurs in their communities.

The climax of the Greater New Orleans and Northshore competitions arrives on Wednesday, March 13th, with the 2024 Big Pitch Finals at NOEW. Students will take the stage ahead of the NOEW Big Idea Pitch, vying for scholarships, school funding, and the chance to be crowned the local champion.

But the journey doesn’t end there. The NOEW Big Pitch winners will compete on Friday, April 19th, in the Regional Final Competition, which unites the finalists from across Louisiana and Gulfport, Mississippi. In this showdown, contestants will pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges, competing for the title of Regional Champion and additional scholarship prizes.

As the Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge expands to the Northshore and Gulfport, Mississippi, it not only nurtures the dreams of individual students but also fosters a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation within the community. With each Crazy Idea pitched, a new possibility emerges, demonstrating that with determination and support, any idea, no matter how crazy, can change the world.   

We deeply appreciate the support of our partners including the Brees Dream Foundation, Chick-fil-A, and MaxHome for investing in the crazy ideas and hard work of the next generation of entrepreneurs.

For more information on how your school can participate in The Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge, contact jordan@jagno.org.