Louisiana Colleges Fueling Surge in Student Entrepreneurship

A growing number of Louisiana universities are actively fostering student entrepreneurship, resulting in a wave of innovative startups ranging from reptile businesses to biotech firms.

Kat Lee, a Loyola University New Orleans nursing student, began breeding and selling geckos after discovering her dorm room pets had unexpectedly become parents in 2022. What started as a solution to an unexpected litter has grown into Katamaran Reptile Ranch, a business grossing roughly $30,000 over the past 12 months by breeding and shipping lizards nationwide. Lee’s success is emblematic of a broader trend, supported by Loyola’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development and similar programs across the state.

This rise in student-led ventures is fueled by increased access to resources like pitch competitions, business incubators, and specialized coursework. Shafin Khan, a vice president at the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation, noted that “Students of this generation see an opportunity while they are young to take risks and try to build something on their own. They want to leave their mark and that’s why there’s high demand at the competitions.” Other examples include Andrew Bradford and Julien Bourgeois, creators of the basketball performance app Ball AI, and Dylan Murray, co-founder of Exactics, a biotech startup developing an at-home Lyme disease test that recently secured $1.5 million in funding. For more information on funding opportunities, visit the Small Business Administration.

Universities like Tulane, Xavier, LSU, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette are expanding their entrepreneurship programs, reflecting a shift in student priorities away from traditional corporate careers and toward independent ventures. Kimberly Gramm, leader of the Tulane Innovation Institute, explained that the goal is to “give students across all disciplines different tools to identify problems, analyze markets and pitch their solutions.” This trend could have significant implications for Louisiana’s economic future, potentially fostering a more innovative and resilient business landscape. You can learn more about Tulane’s entrepreneurial initiatives here.

School leaders anticipate continued growth in these programs, with plans to further integrate innovation and entrepreneurship into curricula across all departments.