Biz Talks

Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Austin Sherman and Alexis Korman founded Big Easy Bucha seven years ago to create "healthy beverages spiked with New Orleans flavor." Now, they produce, distribute and sell millions of bottles annually. Last week, it was announced that Latin American drink maker Beliv purchased Big Easy Bucha for an undisclosed amount. Sherman and Korman plan to hire another 50 employees in New Orleans as they expand to meet increased demand.

On this week’s podcast, Sherman talks about the origins of his business, the details of the acquisition and why the market for kombucha and other health drinks is booming.

Since taking over in January of 2019 as the third generation of Baumers to lead Baumer Foods — makers of the iconic Crystal Hot Sauce for almost 100 years — Alvin Adam “Pepper” Baumer III has been battling to lead the company through the pandemic and all its challenges. In this casual chat, he shares the big lesson he learned from aunt and great aunt Ti Martin and Ella Brennan about handling adversity, how his leadership differs from his dad’s, and the surprising way the hot sauce industry has begun mirroring the beer industry.

Jeff Strain is a video game programmer whose new studio, Possibility Space, is headquartered in downtown New Orleans. An icon in the industry, Strain is the founder of Undead Labs, which makes the State of Decay video game series; and co-founder of ArenaNet, makers of the Guild Wars online role-playing game.

Following up on last week’s podcast with Jack Jensen, Robby Showalter — a veteran of the container shipping industry and head of an opposition group to Port NOLA’s $1.5 billion proposed container facility in Violet — shares his opposing views on the proposed project and why he plans to do whatever it takes to keep it out of St. Bernard Parish.

This week’s podcast features Jack Jensen Jr., founder of TCI Trucking and Warehousing. As a member of the board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, Jensen is enthusiastic about the Port’s plans for a new container terminal in St. Bernard Parish. He talks about why he believes the Violet terminal will be beneficial to the parish, the city and the region — and what New Orleans needs to do to keep pace with other Gulf Coast port cities.

New Orleans is once again a hotbed for filming: just in the first three quarters of 2021 the industry has brought $753 million into the city. In this week's episdoe, Carroll Morton, director of Film New Orleans, shares her thoughts on the future (including the threatened IATSE strike and tax credit battles) along with details on how easy it is to break into the industry and start a new career.

This week’s Biz Talks podcast features native New Orleanian Scott Wolfe, a lawyer and entrepreneur who founded the New Orleans-based technology startup Levelset in 2012 to make payments less stressful for contractors and suppliers in the construction industry. The company is headquartered in the Lower Garden District and has nearly 300 employees worldwide. News broke last week that California-based software company Procore will purchase Levelset for roughly $500 million in the fourth quarter of this year. It’s the largest ever VC-backed tech acquisition in Louisiana. Wolfe will talk about how the deal came together, despite the pandemic and Hurricane Ida, and what it means for the New Orleans tech community.

Now in its 11th year, the must-attend event of the year for the New Orleans residential and commercial real estate industry is returning for two virtual half-days of programming Oct. 19 and 20. In this week's episode, we talked to event co-chairs, Katie Witry and Mike Mito, to learn about the highlights of this year’s schedule.

In this week's episode, Jerry Bologna talks about the challenges business owners have faced because of Hurricane Ida. Bologna is president and CEO of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission, an independent arm of parish government that works to support businesses in the area. Since Aug. 29, JEDCO has been providing resources and information to help the business community recover from the storm's effects.

In this week's episode, labor and employment attorney Michelle D. Craig of Transcendent Law Firm shares the top questions and concerns she’s hearing from local nonprofits, schools and businesses when it comes to vaccinations and masks and offers up some guidance in the midst of an ever-changing and uncertain legal landscape.