Speakers

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  TIM WILLIAMSON, Co-founder and CEO, The Idea Village

  Tim Williamson is Co-founder and CEO of The Idea Village, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to growing a dynamic network of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and professionals committed to helping startups launch in New Orleans. Under Tim’s leadership, The Idea Village has established itself as a globally recognized leader in developing place-based entrepreneurial ecosystems by providing direct support to well over 3,000 startups and leading the efforts to position New Orleans as a significant entrepreneurship hub.

  Tim is a dynamic business leader who successfully started multiple ventures in cities across the country before founding The Idea Village in 2000. He has been a steadfast advocate for making New Orleans a vibrant entrepreneurial community and is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship and leadership at conferences across the country and internationally. Over the years, Tim has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Time, USA Today, The New York Times, Business Week, CNN, Inc.com, Forbes, and Japan’s Nikkei Times.

  Tim began his career in 1987 when he was selected into the highly competitive IST training program at Drexel Burnham Lambert in New York City. In 1990, he joined Bear Stearns in Boston rising to Vice President of Investments. Three years later, in 1993, he launched his first startups in the video marketing industry in Boston and Atlanta, with clients including ATT, Bellsouth, and Alcan Cable. In 1996, Tim was hired by Cox Interactive Media to launch local internet studios in Pittsburgh and New Orleans. In 1999, he was promoted to Regional General Manager, where he managed the growth of internet markets in Austin, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Omaha.

  A graduate of the Stanford University Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders, the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute, and CABL’s Louisiana Leadership program, Tim has was honored among CityBusiness’ Power Generation, named one of Gambit’s “40 under 40,” and recognized as a 2009 YLC Role Model. He received Junior Achievement’s Rising Star Award and the “Heroes of the Storm” award in 2008. Tim currently serves on various civic boards including the executive committee of the Arts Council of New Orleans.

  A New Orleans native, he received a B.S.M. in Finance from Tulane University in 1987.