BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana entrepreneurs are signaling confidence in the state’s business climate, with more than 9 in 10 saying they expect to remain in Louisiana and about two-thirds planning to add employees over the next year, according to a new statewide startup report.
Louisiana Innovation, a division of Louisiana Economic Development, and the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane University’s A. B. Freeman School of Business released the 2026 Louisiana Startup Report, the first statewide assessment of Louisiana’s startup and early-stage business ecosystem.
The report expands on research the Lepage Center began in 2019 to measure early-stage business activity in Greater New Orleans. Through the partnership with LA.IO, the project now includes businesses across Louisiana and is intended to provide entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and economic development organizations with data on startup activity, access to capital, workforce trends and technology adoption.
The 2026 survey received 161 responses, with 143 validated responses representing businesses in 27 parishes. LA.IO and the Lepage Center worked with 60 community partners to broaden participation.
The inaugural statewide report is being treated as a “Year Zero” baseline that future reports can use to measure changes in business growth, employment, capital access and technology adoption.
Among respondents, 92% said they would probably or definitely remain in Louisiana, while 66.4% said they expect to increase their workforce during the next 12 months.
Access to capital was the most frequently cited obstacle to growth. Respondents also identified workforce challenges, ecosystem support and strategic partnerships as areas affecting their ability to expand.
“Louisiana’s entrepreneurs and innovators are creating jobs, bringing new ideas to market and strengthening communities across our state,” LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said. “To support their success, we need a clear understanding of where our startup ecosystem stands today and where greater opportunity remains.”
Technology also emerged as a significant theme in the survey. Nearly two-thirds of respondents identified intelligent and machine-learning technologies as likely to have the greatest long-term impact on their industries. The report also found 75.9% of respondents said advanced artificial intelligence technologies are already having a favorable effect on productivity.
Josh Fleig, LED chief innovation officer, said the statewide report provides a common set of data that can help policymakers and economic development organizations evaluate where startup support and investment are most needed.
“For years, Louisiana has had strong startup communities doing important work in different parts of the state, but we haven’t had a single source of data that allows us to see the full picture,” Fleig said.
The report also includes an interactive digital platform that allows users to explore survey results by region and industry, generate downloadable charts and access anonymized data.
While this year’s respondents came from 27 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, LA.IO and the Lepage Center said they plan to expand participation in future editions as the report develops into a broader source of statewide market intelligence.
The 2026 Louisiana Startup Report and its interactive data platform are available at louisianastartup.report.