An event hosted by the LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute will honor fast-growing businesses led by past University students.
The inaugural LSU 100: Fastest Growing Tiger Businesses Awards luncheon will be held today at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge, and all 100 businesses will be recognized. The top-10 businesses will be revealed and honored at the ceremony, said Jill Roshto, director of development at the Stephenson Institute.
Roshto said the event was inspired by a similar ceremony held at Texas A&M University called the Aggie 100.
“We’re recognizing the power of an LSU education,” she said.
Roshto said many University alumni are going into communities to jump-start and run numerous successful businesses, and the ceremony will honor their initiatives.
Those recognized had to be in business for more than five years, earn $100,000 or more in revenue for the past calendar year and had to be led by a University undergraduate or attendee, Roshto said. Not all those recognized finished their degree, she said, but the majority have.
The final criterion was the measure of growth a business has achieved, Roshto said, and the growth was measured by Postlethwaite and Netterville, an accounting and business advisory firm headquartered in Baton Rouge.
The speed of expansion was measured rather than the size or income of the business, Roshto said, and many small businesses saw better growth than bigger companies.
Some of the top 100 businesses recognized include the Shaw Group, Varsity Sports, Abita, Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar and VooDoo BBQ & Grill.
Of the 100 businesses, 40 are lead by graduates of the E.J. Ourso College of Business. Tim Rodrigue, assistant director of alumni and external relations for the college, said these results show the impact the College of Business has on the community.
“What we’re teaching is growing, and our people are leading,” Rodrigue said, explaining that though the event was not specific to College of Business graduates, many were still recognized.
He said many business graduates are not only starting businesses but are also working their way to the top of many major companies.
Planning for the second LSU 100 luncheon is already under way, Roshto said, and nominations begin in July.
 
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Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]