INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business

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INNOVATOR Imagination Movers Key innovation: interactive and educational entertainment for kids Where they’re based: Harahan Top executive: Rich Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche and Scott “Smitty” Smith, executive producers Year introduced: 2003 PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI THE IMAGINATION MOVERS began six years ago as a group of four New Orleans dads who liked to make up songs and silly antics to entertain their kids. That’s when journalist Rich Collins, elementary school teacher Scott Durbin, architect Dave Poche and New Orleans fireman Scott “Smitty” Smith started kicking around the idea of creating their own musical TV show. Living a few blocks from one another in the Mid- City/Lakeview area, they gathered at each other’s homes to write songs late at night after putting the kids to bed. “There were probably a half dozen songs that were born within a month of us starting to think about this project,” said Collins, a former managing editor of Gambit, who played several instruments in high school and college bands in the Washington, D.C., area before moving to New Orleans. When they started performing some of their material in concerts, they had no idea they were about to become genuine national rock stars. With their trademark blue coveralls, trashcan drums, rock and roll vibe, and interactive elements, their performances are a hit with kids and parents. Their big break came when a Disney executive caught their act at Jazz Fest. On Sept. 6, 2008, they finally realized the dream that has driven their success all along, when the “Imagination Movers” television series premiered on the Disney Channel. All four members star in the show and serve as its coexecutive producers. About 100 local crewmembers are on the set at the Harahan production studio. In negotiating the deal with Disney, the group insisted on keeping the project local so they could pay back the community for its longtime support. “When we decided to buy these blue polyester jumpsuits and start singing about snacks and naps, our friends, families, colleagues — the entire city, basically — just applauded and encouraged us,” Collins said. Tim Williamson, president and co-founder of The Idea Village, said the Imagination Movers’ success owes to their “extreme passion about what they are doing.” The group came to the business incubator in 2003 seeking guidance in getting their company started. Williamson views their story as an inspiration to other aspiring entrepreneurs and proof of the viability of New Orleans’ cultural economy. “We’ve always been a great creative place for music and food,” Williamson said. “What the Imagination Movers are validating is that we are also a place that can commercialize our creativity.”• — Sonya Stinson The Imagination Movers, from left, Scott Durbin, Scott Smith, Dave Poche and Rich Collins, made their national TV debut Sept. 6 on The Disney Channel. 22A 2008 Innovator of the Year
INNOVATOR Landscapedia.info Key innovation: a networking and information Web site for landscape professionals Biggest client: customers worldwide Where they’re based: temporarily in Ruston, with plans to move to New Orleans Top executive: Michael Franklin, designer and developer Year introduced: 2006 PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN MOISES AS A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, Michael Franklin was frustrated there were no free tools for landscape professionals to source out their plans, create project reports for their clients or get ideas for plant combinations. So he created www.landscapedia.info, a networking and information Web site for landscape professionals. Similar tools for landscape design professionals would cost a few hundred dollars a year. At first, he created Landscapedia just for himself. But after listening to friends in the business express similar frustrations, he shared it with them and word spread quickly. “Friends told friends and it took off. … It’s grown like crazy,” Franklin said. In addition to the Web site, Franklin created a Landscapedia application for the iPhone, which Apple has approved. The application allows users to access Landscapedia, access information about a specific plant and find out what other plants complement it. Franklin said this is an important tool because plant tags at garden centers often provide only a brief description of the plant. Without the application, designers would have to carry horticultural magazines with them for reference. Landscapedia’s reach extends outside Louisiana and the United States. Debbie Metrustry, a landscape designer in Dublin, Ireland, is a visitor and fan of the site. “Landscapedia is an excellent site and collaboration tool,” said Metrustry, who is spreading the word in the Irish landscape design community. “There is a vast library of plants available already and I like the companion plant suggestions, too,” The suggestions are also a big plus for Jennifer Estes, managing editor of State-by-State Gardening Magazines. “Visitors to the site can get something that might not have occurred to them otherwise,” Estes said. Networking is another facet of the site. Franklin said 60 percent of Association of Professional Landscape Designers members do not have Web sites or portfolios. Landscapedia allows landscapers to post pictures and portfolios online, with minimal knowledge of Web design or hosting. Franklin plans to market Landscapedia to garden centers this fall, offering to host their inventories for free. This would allow designers to check a garden center’s inventory online and possibly avoid an unnecessary trip to the store.• — Fritz Esker Michael Franklin’s Landscapedia.info Web site helps landscape professionals as far away as Ireland create project reports and plant combinations. New Orleans CityBusiness 23A
Page 3 and 4: Contents Past honorees . . . . . .
Page 5 and 6: On the Brink Duct Saddle Thermo Fau
Page 7 and 8: GOLD AWARD BK Products PHOTO BY FRA
Page 9 and 10: BRONZE AWARD The Receivables Exchan
Page 11 and 12: INNOVATOR PHOTO BY TRACIE MORRIS SC
Page 13 and 14: INNOVATOR Bull Sweeper SDT Waste &
Page 15 and 16: INNOVATOR The Domain Cos. Key innov
Page 17 and 18: “Genius is one percent inspiratio
Page 19 and 20: Your business technology challenges
Page 21: INNOVATOR PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI Gre
Page 25 and 26: INNOVATOR M.S. Rau Antiques Key inn
Page 27 and 28: INNOVATOR PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI Ken
Page 29 and 30: INNOVATOR PhytoCeutical Formulation
Page 31 and 32: INNOVATOR Schonberg and Associates
Page 33 and 34: INNOVATOR Tulane University Center
Page 35 and 36: MEDICAL Aquadex FlexFlow Ochsner He
Page 37 and 38: MEDICAL Deep Brain Stimulation Ochs
Page 39 and 40: MEDICAL PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI Dr. J
Page 41 and 42: MEDICAL PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI Membe
Page 43 and 44: NONPROFIT PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI Arc
Page 45 and 46: NONPROFIT Latino Apostolate of the
Page 47 and 48: NONPROFIT PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI Jer
Page 49 and 50: NONPROFIT PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI Tip
Page 51 and 52: ON THE BRINK CJ Creations Key innov
Page 53 and 54: ON THE BRINK Green Door Constructio
Page 55 and 56: ON THE BRINK Human Angiogenesis Ass
Page 57 and 58: Wake Up! IT’S TIME TO GET SERIOUS
Page 59 and 60: ON THE BRINK Precast Building Solut
Page 61 and 62: ON THE BRINK PHOTO BY TRACIE MORRIS
Page 63 and 64: where great people are doing great

INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business

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