Meet the local startups that took the stage at New Orleans VC Fast Pitch

Marques Colston could be on a beach somewhere, hardly paying attention to brokerage firm updates on various positions taken with the capital he amassed over 10 seasons playing for the New Orleans Saints.

Instead, he’s hands-on, spending his time trying to get investors to stop bringing up the week he wrecked their fantasy football team and start talking dividends with the former wideout. 

“It takes patience,” Colston said.

Colston joined other strivers last week at New Orleans VC Fast Pitch, hosted by Black Dog Venture Partners, a St. Petersburg-based business accelerator that hosts similar events around the country. 

Events have been held in over 60 cities and raised over $130 million for entrepreneurs over the past 15 years, according to the organization.

The New Orleans event was also presented by the local startup accelerator Idea Village, which held the event at its downtown offices.

The event was “over capacity,” Black Dog Ventures CEO and Fast Pitch judge Scott Kelly said to local entrepreneurs and investors in attendance.

The judging panel also included Colston, Colston’s business partner and MMA fighter-turned-investor Nick Edwards, as well as John Roberts, managing partner of Boot64 Ventures, and Ricco Mendes, who handles ventures and finance for StartUp Health. 

Founders take the stage for fast pitches and candid feedback

Four founders participated in the five-minute fast pitch to receive questions and feedback from judges. 

Colston and Edwards opened the event with a separate, joint presentation, and without a timer. They pitched investing into their venture fund, the Champion Fund. Accredited and non-accredited investors can buy ownership in parts of the sports industry, including fractional shares of pro teams. 

Then it was on to the fast pitches. 

Josh Fertel, founder of Loop, a platform for medical equipment logistics, received kudos for his idea of not replacing software for healthcare locations but being an “overlay” service on top. 

“That is scalable, and massive,” Edwards said from the judge’s panel. 

Edwards also gave a “good on you” to Tim McGraw, founder of the sports nutrition and recovery suite of products called Rare Breed Brands, for disclosing in his pitch that his company is already registered with the SEC. 

Then, Edwards said he was curious why McGraw wouldn’t concentrate on one product instead of investing in multiple “SKUs.”

“Our formulations are really, really hands-on,” McGraw said. 

Another sports and nutrition offering, the app Eat2Win, was pitched by founder Ronnie Harper, who also participated in one of Idea Village’s accelerator programs.

Finally, Joshua Johnson, founder of TrayAway, presented his guest service platform that comes with hardware for places like hotels and hospitals. He previously received early angel funding from Boot64. 

“It’s always good to see other people in the ecosystem,” event attendee Josh Bartholomew, cofounder of Build-A-Way, said. “It’s a tight-knit community.” 

Budding entrepreneurs get their own 1 minute spotlight, too 

Black Dog events also have a one-minute pitch portion. A few founders signed up. 

Jeric Jones, a New Orleans software engineer who is another of the Idea Village’s participating founders, said he signed up for the one-minute pitch at the last second just for the practice of pitching. 

Jones pitched his idea that is without an official name yet: a removable game controller that attaches to smartphone screens for enhanced gameplay. 

“It’s good,” Jones said, “to get a microphone in your hand.”