The term “Silicon Bayou” has been around for some time. It’s the promise of a new economy for Louisiana, sometimes thought of in New Orleans. Beyond the confines of the Crescent City, the Louisiana Silicon Bayou stretches well into Acadiana.

When you think about it, this area has always been the frontier when it comes to business, and that attitude was put on the map by oil speculators who came to be known as “wildcatters.”

Today we call that, “entrepreneur.” These are the risk takers. The folks hunting for the next big idea and hoping to strike gold. 

Christiaan’s lunch companions on this edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana both work in the world of startups — the new business frontier with a different kind of wildcat. 

Bill Dalton

Kyle Boudreaux, more often called Skip, got into the startup world early. By 25 he was the CEO of an innovative diaper company. He went on to work in the world of investment capital and he recently launched the first venture capital firm in the area, called Acadian Ventures. 

Skip Boudreaux

Bill Dalton has worked in digital marketing since the dot-boom. He launched Firefly Digital in the late 90s with his partner Mike Spears. The company was one of the first ad agencies in the area to build and design marketing campaigns for the web. People still called it the world wide web back then. Firefly Digital incubated the startup Smart Choice Technologies to a successful exit. Now re-branded as Firefly Marketing, Bill’s team provides full-service digital marketing for clients near and far. 

Bill Dalton, Christiaan Mader, Skip Boudreaux

Out to Lunch Acadiana is recorded over lunch at The French Press in Lafayette. Photos by Gwen Aucoin. More conversations about Silicon Bayou over lunch here.