As a Tulane freshman in 2006, Teddy Nathan saw firsthand the power of public service. Now, as a young entrepreneur, he’s hoping to tap into that spirit of service to address some of the city’s biggest needs.
Teddy Nathan, second from left, won PitchNOLA with his pitch for Crescent City Connections. Also pictured are Propeller’s Rebecca Conwell, third from left, and Nathan’s teammates Annie Daskovsky and Zach Cheney.
Nathan (LA ’10, MBA ’16), senior program coordinator at the Tulane Center for Public Service, was the big winner at the fifth annual PitchNOLA competition. The elevator pitch contest for local social entrepreneurship ventures took place on Nov. 19, 2013, in front of a packed audience in Freeman Auditorium.
Nathan, a current PMBA student, and colleagues Zach Cheney and Melissa Garber earned the $5,000 grand prize with their pitch for Crescent City Connections, which works with local nonprofits to create customized volunteer experiences for tourist groups. The organization then channels fees collected from the volunteers back to the sponsoring nonprofit.
In awarding this year’s top prize, judges praised Crescent City Connections for its efforts to turn the growing demand for volunteer opportunities into sustainable income for nonprofits. Competition judge John Frazee said judges liked the idea of a venture that would benefit both volunteers and worthy organizations in the community.
“They seemed to have the potential for having impact on a lot of people,” said Frazee, senior vice president with CBS News. Nathan said he plans to use the prize money to host a pilot event for members of the business, hospitality and nonprofit communities to help those partners better understand what the organization hopes to provide for tourist groups.
“It’s so they can actually have the volunteer experience we’ve been talking about, so that it’s no longer just a concept,” Nathan explains. “They can then be our goodwill ambassadors.”
PitchNOLA was a joint presentation of the A. B. Freeman School of Business, Social Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives at Tulane, and Propeller, a nonprofit that supports social innovation in New Orleans.
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