Mackie One is a full-service roofing and construction company that has served New Orleans since Hurricane Betsy in 1965. In 2017, CEO Earl Mackie joined the first cohort of Propeller’s Accelerator serving Black-owned brick-and-mortar businesses on and along the Broad Street corridor.

“The information I received and the training, help, and assistance were equivalent to going to business school.”

Over the course of the program, Mackie One increased their profit margin to 32 percent and secured an opening line of credit, enabling them to earn a $100,000 city contract for the renovation of the Ernest Morial Convention Center.

Numerous studies show that Black women are disproportionately more likely to experience chronic diseases than other race and gender groups. This includes heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer.*

“NOLA Organic Spa is truly grateful for being a part of the Propeller Accelerator. We learned so much and business has been much better. Thank you to everyone at Propeller.”

In 2016, Sonjauh Green opened NOLA Organic Spa, New Orleans’ first organic day spa using exclusively plant-based, chemical-free products. NOLA Organic provides a holistic, therapeutic approach to their customers. Their expertise includes providing services safe for clients undergoing chemotherapy, pain management, and educating people on the importance of knowing what ingredients they put into and onto their bodies.

Through Propeller’s Accelerator in 2018, NOLA Organic Spa restructured their pricing to better reflect the value of their services and transitioned their nail technitians from commission-based to hourly pay to increase staff retention and living wages.  In 2018, NOLA Organic Spa was named the best day spa in Louisiana by Travel Noire. As NOLA Organic Spa grows, their plans include building referral partnerships with cancer centers, podiatrists, and other healthcare providers.

*Psychoneurendocrinology 2019

While New Orleans is 60 percent Black, the city’s Black, Brown, and local teaching force has decreased dramatically since Hurricane Katrina, from 72 percent Black in 2004 to 49 percent in 2014.  

“Propeller helped to shape my vision and provided me with the groundwork upon which to build a sustainable enterprise.”

Scholar and historian Freddi Evans created Let’s KNOW Card Games to help bridge this disconnect, providing portable learning tools and ideas for classroom lesson plans that share the contributions of Black and Native groups to our region’s history and culture. During Propeller’s Startup Accelerator, Freddi grew Let’s KNOW from idea stage to pilot, conducted focus groups to help develop her prototype, finalized her business plan, and engaged a printer and distributor to begin production and bring her product to market.

Since graduating, Let’s KNOW has formed a network consisting of teachers, educational organizations, museums, bookstores, festivals, and gift shops. Next in the Let’s KNOW series of games will be “Let’s KNOW Louisiana Culture” and “Let’s KNOW Louisiana History.”

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Less than 50% of Louisiana children enter kindergarten developmentally prepared, and 84% of New Orleans’ children from low-income households do not have access to publicly funded early care and education seats.*

“As Alumni, we continue to benefit from Alumni support providing business and legal assistance.”

In 2016, co-founders Melanie Richardson and Christine Neely founded TrainingGrounds to create a free, safe space for caregivers to engage in child-led play with children birth to three years-old. During Propeller’s Startup Accelerator, TrainingGrounds focused on developing business skills and increasing access to sustainable funding. In 2017, TrainingGrounds won the first place prize of $5,000 and the Audience Favorite Award of $500 at PitchNOLA: Education, allowing them to open their first permanent We PLAY Center location. By the end of 2018, TrainingGrounds served 350 families and trained 930 early education professionals.

*The Data Center 2018

Propeller graduate Bhoomi sources Louisiana sugarcane to create a deliciously hydrating, functional beverage infused with super botanicals. Bhoomi's mission is to revolutionize sugarcane by promoting its ayurvedic whole food properties, partner with BIPOC sugarcane farmers in the U.S., and work towards radical positive environmental impact. Bhoomi's vision is to reconnect humanity to balanced health, equitable economies, and regenerative practices.

“Propeller’s team helped us achieve strategic goals, connected us with marketing support, and strengthened our team by introducing an incredible mentor.”

Bhoomi came to Propeller’s Accelerator as an early-revenue stage company and graduated having increased their revenue over 70 percent. In addition to investing directly in them through Propeller’s Social Venture Fund, Propeller made several key introductions for Bhoomi. These included connecting them with investors like the New Orleans Startup Fund and with key Natural Food Industry experts, one now a part of Bhoomi’s core team. Propeller also played a major role in introducing Bhoomi with Black sugarcane farmers in Louisiana, which subsequently inspired them to source sugarcane primarily from local farmers of color.

Like many American cities, New Orleans faces simultaneous issues of food waste and food insecurity.* While one in four Louisiana children struggled with hunger, food waste comprised 75 percent of all waste in New Orleans in 2017.**

“I was able to refine my business model and pivot to a subscription-based service, which carves out a much quicker path to profitability and financial stability.”

Shani Christopher came to Propeller with an idea to tackle both. She founded Repurpose Food Co., which reclaims produce to make nutritious, affordable baby food, with a focus on serving low-income communities of color. In May 2018, Shani pitched RePurpose Food Co. at Propeller’s PitchNOLA competition focused on increasing food access and equitable health outcomes.

That fall, she joined Propeller’s Startup Accelerator, where she worked on developing relationships with local food suppliers to capture unsold produce. She also launched a pilot with low-income mothers to develop and test her product.

*Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality 2018,
**Feeding America 2017

When Adrianne Jackson thinks about what motivates her work, she shares that Black women’s educational attainment is increasing, yet their health outcomes are not. A report from Duke University showed infants born to Black women with doctorates or professional degrees were still three times more likely to die than infants born to White woman with high school diplomas or GEDs.*

“Propeller continues to accurately identify the best opportunities for their Alumni. Their support has been very instrumental in our growth as a business.”

When Jackson started yoga, she noticed she was able to sleep better, relieve chronic knee pain, quit smoking, and find confidence and calm. After a decade of teaching, she founded New Orleans’ first Black-owned yoga studio, Magnolia Yoga Studio. When she came to Propeller’s Growth Accelerator, she was the sole instructor teaching 20 classes a week.

During the Accelerator, Jackson developed systems and processes for managing her team, from writing an Employee Handbook to implementing a payroll system and financial tracking tools to promptly pay off loan debt and taxes. In the final month of the program, Magnolia Yoga’s profit margin increased to over 50 percent. She now has just under twenty part-time employees and 159 active, paying monthly members.

*The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University 2017

Mette Dyrhberg first entered functional medicine in response to her own chronic health issues. After identifying and tackling what became six autoimmune diseases, she built Mymee to help others do the same by providing them with data-driven coaching.

“The learnings from being part of the Propeller Accelerator significantly influenced the way I run the business and at its core taught me to trust my gut and lead with integrity.”

Mymee is a software platform that helps people identify the root causes for their problems and inspire them to change specific habits to reverse their symptoms. When Mymee came to Propeller’s Startup Accelerator, they were in the process of beta testing with doctors and patients. After graduation, they enrolled in Propeller’s Growth Accelerator, where they learned how to apply a racial equity framework to their business, which largely serves low-income women of color.

They have since partnered with physicians to change the lives of more patients through careful data evaluation and helped numerous patients track and identify allergies, migraines, lupus, heart conditions, and more. In 2018, they raised $1.3 million in funding and grew to a staff of 12.

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At $2.4 billion in economic impact, the Louisiana seafood industry is a major contributor to the state economy. Commercial fisheries also employ one in seventy workers in Louisiana.* With this in mind, Bluefin Data launched VESL, a “hook to database” software platform designed to simplify and consolidate government reporting for the seafood industry.

“Propeller was extremely useful in reaching my goals. The Accelerator program was beneficial for internal business decisions and processes.”

Since joining Propeller’s Startup Accelerator, Bluefin has grown its overall revenue by 33 percent. In 2018 alone, Bluefin Data secured nine new contracts totaling $540,000 and hired four full-time team members. Their clients include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, fisheries and state agencies across Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Florida and as far north as Maine. Bluefin Data plans to expand to the East and West Coast by the end of 2020.

*Louisiana Seafood 2018

While Southeast Louisiana’s water management industry has the federal funding and foundation to grow into an economic powerhouse, the region lacks a local workforce equipped with relevant skills and education.*

“I am fortunate enough to have gone through two Propeller programs. The exposure we gained and contacts we made continue to benefit our endeavor.”

New Orleans Stormwater Training Corps (NOSTC) was founded 2018 by nonprofit housing developer Oji Alexander, landscape architect Dan Johnson, and Monique Pilié of Louisiana Green Corps. Through NOSTC, young adults in training are installing French drains and rain gardens across New Orleans under the supervision of licensed professionals.

NOSTC joined Propeller’s Startup Accelerator in 2018, where they grew from the idea stage to generating revenue, refined their training curriculum, developed a marketing plan and materials, and initiated a three-year strategic plan. The result has been 40,000 gallons of rainwater mitigated annually.

*The Data Center 2017