#96 Part I - Chris Cassagne - Source Louisiana

What happens when a major economic development project comes to Louisiana—and how can local businesses get involved?In this episode of The 318 Experience, Brian sits down with Chris Cassagne, Executive Director of the Louisiana Growth Network at Louisiana Economic Development (LED), to talk about Source Louisiana and the opportunities it can create for businesses across the state.Chris has been with Louisiana Economic Development since 2014 and now leads initiatives focused on helping Louisiana businesses expand, innovate, and grow through access to coaching, connections, and capital. A native of the Greater New Orleans area and an LSU graduate with an MBA from the LSU Flores MBA Program, Chris has built his career around strengthening Louisiana’s small-business ecosystem and helping companies scale.A major focus of that work is Source Louisiana, a statewide platform featuring more than 80,000 Louisiana businesses and designed to help prime contractors and major projects identify local vendors, suppliers, and service providers.Chris breaks down what Source Louisiana is, why it was created, how businesses can position themselves to take advantage of it, and why connecting major investment with Louisiana companies is so important to the state’s economy.If you own or operate a Louisiana business and want to better understand the opportunities being created across the state, this is a conversation you’ll want to hear.