News

Competition focuses on rebuilding New Orleans

April 6, 2005

A team of MBAs that helped a New Orleans couple develop a strategic plan for their uptown coffee shop took the grand prize in the inaugural Rebuild New Orleans Business Plan Competition.

The competition, which took place at the school on March 31, was the culmination of the Rebuild New Orleans course, which assigned first-year MBAs to assist local small businesses and not-for-profits in developing business plans, implementing strategies and returning to profitability or sustainability in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Taught by John Elstrott, clinical professor of business and director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship, Rebuild New Orleans was the first course in the Freeman School’s new applied management module, which links MBA students with meaningful projects involving local businesses throughout the two-year program.

Students in the course undertook projects on behalf of 17 local businesses and organizations. The top nine projects were invited to participate in the competition and present their plans to a panel of judges drawn from local businesses and area universities.

The winning team—Jason Buff, David Drewek and Amalia Saade-Ospina—developed a business plan for Urban Cup Cafe, a neighborhood coffee shop that invites residents to participate in the artist culture of New Orleans. As the grand prize winning project, Urban Cup Cafe received a gift of $5,000 to assist it with its rebuilding efforts.

Second place went to Michael Krupa II, Sally Panicker and Anthony D. Wood, who helped to develop a business plan for Worner Hardware Inc., a distributor of door and window hardware. Worner Hardware received a gift of $3,000 in recognition of the award.

Third prize went to Jason Cherubini, Laura McDonald and Johnny Williams, who developed a business plan for the Katrina Krewe, a local volunteer group whose goal is to keep New Orleans clean through education and weekly trash pick-up volunteer events. For its third place finish, the Katrina Krewe received a gift of $2,000.

The Rebuild New Orleans Business Plan Competition was presented by the Tulane Entrepreneurs Association in partnership with the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship. Competition sponsors included DesireNOLA.org, Stewart Capital, Hancock Bank, Whitney Bank, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.