The Math Doesn’t Work

Why New Orleans is Getting Harder to Build a Startup Life

This past Saturday, my wife and I were out exploring some of New Orleans’ hidden gems when we ran into an old friend—a successful entrepreneur I’ve known for over a decade. He and his wife were walking into The Little House, a funky wine bar in Algiers, with their young kids.

We hugged, caught up, and then he said it: “We’re moving.”

Why?

Because the math doesn’t work.

I’ve spent over two decades helping entrepreneurs start ventures in New Orleans. I’ve seen the scrappiness, the genius, the exits, the community. As a Founder of my own venture now, I’ve also seen the quiet cost of trying to build something here.

Here’s the reality we can’t ignore:

For founders with families trying to build in New Orleans—the math doesn’t work.

And unless we do something, we’re going to lose the very people who make this city’s future worth investing in.

Before You Scale a Startup, You Have to Survive

Let’s break it down:

Housing is expensive

• Median home price: ~$256,000

• Rent for a 2-bedroom: $1,289–$1,750/month

• To afford that rent, you need ~$66,000/year in income
  Yet median household income is only ~$55,000, and for Black households, it’s below $30,000.

Insurance is breaking budgets

• Homeowners insurance: $3,900–$10,000/year

• Flood insurance + rising premiums: adding $400–$1,000/month
  That’s before you factor in business or auto insurance.

Raising a family costs a second salary

• Private school? Charter lottery? Homeschool? All cost time, money, or access.

• Two kids in school = another mortgage payment.

Infrastructure is lagging

• Power outages. Road work delays. Drainage issues.

• Entrepreneurs can’t scale if their lives are constantly in recovery mode.

“Just Bootstrap It” Doesn’t Work Here

We love to glorify the hustle. But in this environment, “just bootstrapping” means:

• Burning personal savings faster than your company grows

• Piling stress on your family with no safety net

• Choosing between paying rent or hiring help

• Or worse—leaving New Orleans to survive
  

This Is a Tipping Point Moment

We are at risk of becoming a city that celebrates entrepreneurship in theory—while making it financially impossible in practice.

And when founders walk away before they launch, it’s not just a personal loss.

It’s a citywide loss of innovation, jobs, and future prosperity.

What Needs to Change?

If we want to build a future-ready New Orleans, here’s what we must do:

• Create programs that use AI, new mentor models, and digital networks to accelerate the startup stage. Founders don’t need four-month accelerator programs padded with meetings, workshops and pitch showcases. Time is money.

• Create subsidized housing pathways for entrepreneurs and essential workers

• Explore community insurance pools or state-supported coverage for flood zones

• Offer startup stipends or founder fellowships to high-potential risk-takers

• Invest in affordable childcare and educational access to keep families rooted

• Streamline infrastructure fixes that reduce the operational drag on families and businesses
  

I Still Believe in New Orleans’ Potential

New Orleans has always been a city of dreamers, artists, builders, and believers. Today, the ecosystem has institutional leadership and significant resources to support ventures at all stages.

But if we want to build the next great startup city—we need to be real about the math.

Because right now?

The numbers don’t add up for the people we need to grow new jobs and engage in civic endeavors.

And we can’t afford to lose them.