Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined the executive team of TraceSecurity Inc. to announce the relocation of two of the company's key operating divisions, software development and national sales, from
Continuing upon the momentum that inspired Entrepreneur magazine to praise
Please join the Louisiana Internet Software and Technology Association for a general information meeting Thursday, Jan. 14, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the
The meeting is free and open to anyone interested in promoting a more business-friendly environment for the technology industry in
http://www.listainc.org/event/8-LISTA-Membership-Meeting.html
Click on the link below to see LISTA Founder Erich Rapp talk about the Digital Media Tax Incentive on WAFB-TV's morning show.
An Op-Ed Submission by Erich Rapp, charter member of the Louisiana Internet Software and Technology Association (LISTA)
From Shreveport and Baton Rouge to Lake Charles and New Orleans, hundreds of technology-based businesses and thousands of savvy professionals and new college graduates are immersed in the state’s growing Internet software and new media industries.
What the rest of the United States is beginning to discover is that they too can benefit from the experience and innovation of these professionals for 35 percent less than their counterparts in other regions of the country. That’s 35 percent added to the bottom line, 35 percent to their market capitalization.
In 2009, at the urging of the Louisiana Internet Software and Technology Association and other advocates for the growth of the state’s technology-based industries, the Louisiana Legislature established tax credits equal to 35 percent of all labor costs paid to Louisiana residents and 25 percent of all production costs spent in the state for digital media initiatives and other software development projects.
These aggressive tax credits placed Louisiana among the top states acting to attract technology-based businesses. As important, these credits are in place now and can benefit companies already working here in both established and emerging industries.
In Shreveport and New Orleans, companies developing computer programs and digital graphics for biotechnology research projects can now do it for 35 percent less in Louisiana. 3D animation studios and video game developers can reduce their overall costs by half by hiring some of the 14,000 professionals working in digital interactive media industries between Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans. Manufacturing plants along the I-10/I-12 corridor can create plant optimization software and save tens of thousands of dollars. Engineering, communication and aviation companies working in Alexandria, Monroe and Ruston can develop new technologies and programs, while investing in homegrown talent.
For the thousands of Louisiana-based workers and the thousands of college graduates that want to live and work in the state they love, the Digital Media Tax Incentive Program creates their best opportunity to date to establish roots in Louisiana, with an average annual salary of more than $50,000. Importantly, they can put their skills to work and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
The Louisiana Department of Economic Development will begin 2010 by reviewing the success of the Digital Interactive Media Tax Credit Program. To date, companies and individuals have submitted dozens of applications. Most importantly, Louisiana’s technology innovators are being put to work in all types of industries that are just now learning about the resources available to them.
We are just powering up.
Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media Tax Credit program is working. Louisiana-based technology companies are seeing more business because of it.
Business is coming to Louisiana and more of our people are being put to work in highly skilled, technology-based jobs. Now is the time to push ahead and continue this important program.
LSU's Center for Digital Innovation is set to receive $1 million in federal funds, which will be used to add jobs and expand Electronic Arts' local operations. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu announced the appropriation, which was part of an omnibus bill signed by President Barack Obama last week.
A Landrieu aide says the appropriation was added at the request of LSU, which wanted the money to expand its curriculum and provide new training. The money will lead to some more jobs, but a deal between LSU and EA, "is not yet cooked,” the staffer says. EA, which opened a video game testing facility at LSU last year, has said it is looking at moving some jobs to Baton Rouge in order to take advantage of the low costs. Last week, it was reported that EA is looking at moving a development center from California to several Southern states, including Louisiana. The center could employ up to 300 people.
Excerpt taken from the Baton Rouge Business Report
2010 will bring more promising investment opportunities for angel investors and will feature more exits than any year in the past decade. That’s the conclusion of a panel discussion at the Always On Venture Summitin Menlo Park, Calif. featuring several prominent angels and veteran investors. The panel suggested that there will likely be 50 or more initial public offerings in 2010, making it a banner year for start-ups and their financial backers.
Angel groups have grown significantly in the last decade, as more and more organizations have been established and more individual angels have joined the groups. Angel groups now exist in nearly every American state and Canadian province. In May of 2008, the Angel Capital Association listed 165 members. Recently the Angel Capital Education Foundation listed 281 Angel groups in 49 US states and Canada. The only state not represented was Louisiana. That number is now 282 with the addition of South Coast Angel Fund, which now represents Louisiana on that list.
The term “angel” originated in the early 1900s and referred to investors who made risky investments to support Broadway theatrical productions. Today, the term “angel” refers to high-net worth individuals, or “accredited investors,” who typically invest in and support start-up companies in their early stages of growth.
The Baton Rouge technology company, obd Edge, LLC, provides a technology solution that prevents drivers from using their mobile phones while driving. The New York Times took note in an article on Saturday November 21, 2009 entitled, High-Tech Devices Help Drivers Put Down Phone and this reference was then cited in the Baton Rouge Business Report Daily Report dated Monday November 23, 2009 in any entry entitled, Tech Park company, Community make New York Times.
Baton Rouge will see many more Louisiana based companies develop many more high tech devices, software products, web platforms, web applications, and mobile applications in the next few years as the Louisiana Digital Media Act takes hold.
Congratulations to obdEdge, LLC on the release of their new projects and on the media coverage in the Baton Rouge Business Report and the New York Times.
For more information about obdEdge's product, see www.cellcontrol.com.
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