It's Baton Rouge: Out To Lunch

We’ve all heard the alarming statistic: Louisiana loses a football field of coastline every 30 minutes. And we know a lot of money and resources is being put towards the problem. But, is it too late to really change the trajectory we’re on? And what does that mean for where Louisiana’s citizens will live in the years to come? LUMCON Dr. Craig McLain is Executive Director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, or LUMCON, a research institute based on the coast that promotes, facilitates and conducts research in marine and coastal sciences relevant to the sustainability of coastal and marine environments in the Gulf of Mexico. That includes areas dealing not only with coastal loss and restoration, but the impact humans have on coastal and marine systems, and the intersection between the physical, chemical and biological environments. Craig has been at the helm of LUMCON since 2016, and is a nationally recognized marine, ecological and evolutionary biologist with more than 60 publishe

Sometimes, the idea for a business comes from seeing a need and creating a product or service to fill it. Sometimes, it comes from just doing something you love because, well, you think it’s going to be fun. Although we often hear business advice along the lines of "Find something that makes you happy," is that necessarily also going to make you money? Stephanie's guests on this edition of Out to Lunch are putting that maxim to the test.   Diana Raffray is co-owner of The Modern Debutante, a Baton Rouge-based business that rents hedge, flower and shimmer walls. If you’ve been to a wedding or a big event lately, you know are all the rage. The trend has been growing in popularity for the past several years and though it’s not clearly exactly who came up with the idea, it’s a safe bet the concept caught on big time after Kim Kardashian and Kanye West exchanged vows in front of a wall of white roses in 2014. Dianna got her MBA degree in 2017, was in pharmaceutical sales, and neve

Have you checked out what happens when you Google Cure For Cancer? You get a lot of information about cancer treatment, but there's not a lot of information about who is working on an actual cure for cancer. On this edition of Out to Lunch Baton Rouge, Stephanie Riegel dives into a cure for cancer, and what's up with Google search. Cure for Cancer We often hear stories from successful entrepreneurs that contain the sentence, "Everybody told me I was crazy when I started out." The reason we only hear from a handful of successful entrepreneurs is because a lot of people's ideas for a new business are in fact crazy. If you're an entrepreneur with an idea that has no clear predecessor, when nobody knows what you’re talking about, where there is no proven pathway to making money, how do you know if you're a genius, or just misguided? In the case of Paige Miller, if she's right about her crazy idea, she's going to change the world. She's going to cure cancer. From right here in Baton Rouge. Paige is President

Sometimes entrepreneurs find fame and fortune by inventing a new product or service that creates an entire new industry. Bill Gates, for example, invented the personal computer. Steve Jobs created Apple products. Elon Musk is building rockets and electric cars. But sometimes, success in business comes from less ambitious successes. Like addressing bad odors. Or figuring out how to make it easier to make a bed. Bathroom Maria Bhacca is CEO of Aerowest International, a Baton Rouge based company that specializes in scent marketing and odor control for some of the country’s most prestigious hotels, hospitals, and universities. Aerowest manufacturers and services its own line of professional air freshening dispensers and 50 fragrances. Aerowest is nearly 140 years old and was originally based in New York until 2012, when Maria and her husband bought the business and relocated its headquarters to Baton Rouge. Since then, they have slowly grown Aerowest throughout the country. Maria didn’t imagine hersel

It made a big splash in Baton Rouge! Just as everyone was emerging from a year-long pandemic, the Blue Zoo Aquarium opened in the Mall of Louisiana, of all places. This isn’t just any aquarium - it’s an attraction that has a fascinating back story. Nami Haws is the         of Blue Zoo Aquarium, a growing chain of aquariums around the country that opened its third location in March 2021, here in Baton Rouge. It's in a 16,000 square foot space in between the men’s and women’s Dillard’s in the mall. The aquarium has an array of sea life with more than 30 unique attractions.  Blue Zoo was founded by Damitu’s father, Wes Haws, who opened the first Blue Zoo in Washington in 2019, after a harrowing and inspiring experience. He suffered a traumatizing head injury while running a project to build homes in Ethiopia. After undergoing multiple brain surgeries and being left partially blind, he put a fish tank in his bedroom to help him through his recovery

Daulat Shtankey is a leader of the Datta Temple, the only full-time Hindu Temple in Baton Rouge and the only temple of the Datta sect of Hinduism in all of North America, with nearly 1000 members from the entire region. This Datta Temple was formed by an internationally renowned Hindu spiritual leader, and master yogi named Ganapathy Sachchidananda in 1997. He decided Baton Rouge, of all places, should be home to his North American temple because two years earlier, he had performed his first musical concert at LSU. The Datta sect is a denomination of the Hindu religion and the Datta Temple in Baton Rouge, located off Siegen Lane, holds daily ritual prayers and also serves as a community gathering spot for hundreds of area Hindus. Daulat is a retired real estate developer and broker, who serves on the temple’s committee and was president of its board for many years. The Datta Temple is a literal temple. But I’m sure you’ve heard people who take health and fitness seriously use the expression,

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while many of us were working remotely through 2020 and perhaps felt like we were putting our lives on pause, ambitious entrepreneurs were plowing ahead with their hopes, dreams and business plans. In the case of Stephanie's two guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Baton Rouge, this perseverance has turned out extremely well. Cool Heads Jack Karavich is owner of Tigeraire, a sports technology start-up founded at LSU’s Innovation Park that has developed an in-helmet airflow system for use in sports helmets, construction hardhats, and military helmets. This high tech head wear utilizes a small device that leverages the air vents in a helmet using a small battery, a couple of tubes and a tiny fan. It enables air circulation that keeps athletes and other wearers cooler, drier, safer, and better able to perform. Jack developed the helmet-cooling technology in partnership with LSU which has since licensed the product for its football team. Several other universities, including

There’s an old saying that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. That is certainly the case with the Beck family tree. John Beck Jr. is the president of The Assessment Company, a 25-year old firm based outside of Donaldsonville in tiny Belle Rose, Louisiana of all places, that was founded by John’s father, and as its name suggests it assesses the "occupational DNA" of a company’s employees, helping the employer to know who to hire, who to fire and who to hang on to. Emily Beck is founder of The Nines Botanicals, a startup that makes skincare products using botanicals – all natural products extracted from plants, fruits, vegetables and herbs. Emily founded her company in the middle of the pandemic in 2020, after discovering that wearing face coverings can lead to some unfortunate facial outbreaks, like acne. At the time, Emily was just a senior in high school and the pandemic put her plans on hold. So she made the best of it and created her own, all-natural line of skincare pr

No matter how educated or open-minded you might be, we all have our own individual take on the world and to that extent we all blinders on that limit our perspective and our ability to see the reality of our world - -and beyond – for what it really is. But, if we accept that there's more going on than we know about, and change the lens we’re looking through, it can open entirely new vistas and opportunities: from big-picture things like a greater understanding of our universe to more practical things like helping businesses more effectively provide services to clients. If you're looking for open-minded, perspective-changing revolutions in science and business the first place you think to look may not be Baton Rouge. Or neighboring Livingston Parish. What you're about to find out may come as something of a shock. the Edge of the Universe Dr. Joseph Giaime is Observatory Head of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory better known as LIGO, arguably one of the most exciting and best-k

There’s a lot of focus these days on STEM professions—science, technology, engineering and math—but those who were born with an artistic or creative temperament, really have no choice but to follow their passion. How do you turn a creative spirit into a profession that will support you for life? Colleen Waguespack has the answer to that question. In her case it's Colleen Waguespack Interiors. Colleen is a graduate of the LSU School of Interior Design, and started her career in Washington, DC where she worked for commercial architecture firms designing corporate interiors. In 2007, she and her husband, Stephen Waguespack, moved with their three sons to Baton Rouge, and shortly after she joined a nationally renowned Interior Design firm based in New Orleans. In 2015, Colleen founded Fig & Dove, a couture line of holiday décor designed to complement the interiors she was then working on. The following year, she launched her eponymous Colleen Waguespack Interiors. Colleen’s sign

Over the next few years, the disaster management industry in the United States alone is expected to top $122 billion dollars, which points to a lot of problems with our climate, but also to the many opportunities that exist for companies able to respond to the needs of city, state and local governments when they’re hit hard by natural disaster. Louisiana has a growing expertise in the disaster management arena and is home to a handful of companies that are carving out a space in the field and helping to define it as it becomes more specialized. At the same time, the state’s tech industry is become more sophisticated and competitive, and local companies are providing services to clients in newer, different and more effective ways. Bart Farmer is co-founder and managing partner of The Workforce Group, a local company that provides claims, staffing and disaster assistance to private clients and state and local governments.    Rob Wise is CEO of IT Inspired, a local IT company that

With the technology explosion that seemingly never ends, there’s never been a more exciting time to be an inventor, an innovator or a creator. But the same tech that brings an inventor’s ideas to life also open us up to complications, and challenges that make us vulnerable to threats from competitors who may want steal our great ideas. And that’s why we have Intellectual Property laws. Michael Leachman is an attorney with Jones Walker who specializes in Intellectual Property: patents, trademarks and copyrights. In his decade at Jones Walker, Michael has prepared and prosecuted patent applications covering a broad spectrum of inventions and technologies in the mechanical, chemical, biomedical, bioscience, and nanotechnology fields, and handles trademarks, trade secrets, and unfair competition litigation in federal and state courts. Jason Hugenroth knows a lot about patents and intellectual property. Jason is the owner of Inventherm, an engineering R&D company that spec

Food is such an important part of our culture in south Louisiana and there’s no shortage of entrepreneurs who try their hand at launching a food-related business. But just because you can make magic in the kitchen, doesn’t mean you can run a successful restaurant, catering operation, or packaged food company. In fact, 80% of restaurants don’t make it five years. What makes it so tough, and how do some people managed to pull it off? Stephanie's guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Baton Rouge have a bunch of first hand experience to share. Jarvis Green is owner of Oceans 97 Seafood, a Baton Rouge-based seafood company that specializes in selling shrimp from the waters of Jarvis’ native Louisiana. Jarvis got his start in the shrimp business in 2010 shortly after retiring from the NFL. That’s right, we’re talking about NFL two-time Superbowl Champion Jarvis Green, who played as a defensive lineman for the New England Patriots. When Jarvis was at the height of his career in t

One of the keys to successful entrepreneurship is figuring out how to build a better mousetrap. It’s not so much about inventing something new or different but just doing it in a new or different or better way. The impetus for this kind of ingenuity and creativity is finding a novel way to exploit a known market, but how do you (a) do that exactly and (b) convince people who already have an established purchasing preference that they ought to dump their old habit and switch to your product?  Meet Erin White Landry and Ben Nguyen. Erin White Landry is a microbiologist and owner of Thomas Therapeutics, a Baton Rouge based brand of all-natural, skincare products designed to help those with sensitive skin conditions. Erin founded the company in 2016, after years of frustration dealing with eczema, a condition both she and her sister suffer from. Through trial and error, she has learned to use herbs, teas, essential oils and other plant-derived ingredients to make gentle soaps, body butters, moisturizer

As healthcare becomes more complicated, complex, and expensive, some providers are getting frustrated and fed up. Others are finding opportunity in the challenges and creating new ways of delivering care, providing benefits, and making sense of the industry for those who are stuck paying the premiums. Whether it’s through holistic health and wellness programs or sophisticated consulting firms, the business of healthcare is booming for free-thinking alternative healthcare entrepreneurs in Baton Rouge. Phillipe Pucheau is president and CEO of PBM Solutions, a Baton Rouge based consulting firm that helps companies reduce the cost of their pharmacy benefits and teaches them how to use their benefit plans in the most cost efficient way possible. With prescription drug costs increasing some 40% over the past decade, helping employers figure out a more efficient way to provide pharmacy benefits to their employees is no small accomplishment. PBM Solutions attacks the problem in several different ways – by

There’s an old adage that says: If you catch someone a fish, you feed them for a day, if you teach them how to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. Mentorship matters, especially today, where there are so many needs and so many people are looking for role models. Trey Godfrey is executive director of 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge, a nonprofit organization that mentors and empowers young Black men, starting in middle school. Through a variety of programs, 100 Black Men helps boys and young men improve their educational outcomes and develop their leadership potential. It also empowers them economically. The organization is the local chapter of a national nonprofit by the same name that was founded in the early 1990s by, among others, Trey’s father, the late Brace Godfrey Jr., a community leader and developer who helped restore and return to commerce some of downtown baton rouge’s historic buildings in the early years of the downtown redevelopment. Trey has been executive director of 100 Ba

Have you ever pondered the awesome power of the Internet and wondered, "How can I use this tool to come up with something that will revolutionize a certain sector of the economy?" If you were born before the internet era, like a lot of us, you probably have. And you probably haven’t been able to come up with anything. Which is what separates you, and the rest of us, from Stephanie's two guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Baton Rouge.  Stephanie Hoskins created Debtle. It's a cloud-based platform that enables organizations and individuals to easily and efficiently negotiate and settle overdue invoices and bad debt accounts, in a transparent and frictionless manner. This may just be as significant an invention as the fountain of youth or a perpetual motion machine! How does Debtle do it? Essentially, it lets the cloud-based software do the negotiating in a transparent process that takes the uncomfortable personal stuff out of these situations. Stephanie Hoskins co-founded the company in 2019. Her

Although we live in a digital world today, most of us – both at home and at work - have too many pieces of paper still stored in file cabinets, boxes, and in piles that we have promised ourselves we’ll go through one day soon. But, as we all know, "one day doesn’t" always come. And that’s a problem that not only puts us at risk for information theft, but also clouds our ability to organize our finances, and our lives. Jay Babb has a solution for you. Jay is the owner of Secure Shredding and Recycling, a local company that provides document destruction and shredding services on site at your office or home, as well as at its plant-based facilities in North Baton Rouge and, since 2019, Lake Charles.   Jay founded the company in 2009 and has grown it over the years. Today they shred some 250 tons of paper per month for clients that include government offices, businesses and individuals. As its name suggests, Secure Shredding and Recycling recycles all that paper it shreds, into altern

Necessity is the mother of invention, so the saying goes. And while it may be a quaint adage it’s as true as ever today. Whether it’s brewing a better homeopathic cough syrup or designing duck hunting garb for female duck hunters, local entrepreneurs are building successful startups around products that the market was crying out for. Andrea Leyerle is a Baton Rouge-based entrepreneur who has created an online and retail nutraceutical business, Andi Lynn’s Pure and Custom Formulary. The company started out in 2010 in Andrea’s kitchen, where she began making her own version of elderberry syrup, which is known for its cold- and flu-fighting properties. In the years since, Andi Lunn’s Pure and Custom Formulary has expanded into a variety of homeopathic and natural remedies, as well as that are sold not only on line but in more than 150 retail locations in eight states. It’s an impressive story for an entrepreneur who has previously worked as a massage therapist, an instructor a

According to latest estimates, the U.S. wedding industry is worth over $60 Billion annually, and the average wedding sets the happy couple – or their parents – back by a whopping $44,000. Weddings are big business today. And this has created all sorts of opportunities for creative entrepreneurs who have figured out how to offer goods and services to satisfy the fancy and both the modest and lavish budget of every bride. Blooms Lauren Bercier is co-founder and CEO of Something Borrowed Blooms, a startup company that offers rent-and return flowers for your special day. The company uses high-quality silk flowers and then does the arrangements themselves, being mindful of the latest trends and fashions in floral arrangements. Lauren founded the company in 2015 with her cousin, Laken, based on Lauren's experiences as a bride, and after a couple of years of slow growth, company revenues shot up 400 percent in 2018 and - despite the pandemic-driven dip -  it's been gangbusters ever since. Lauren say