Blab Business
Curate Conference Expands to New Orleans, Launches $15,000 Pitch Competition
Victoria Armstrong, the founder of Curate for Women Who Work, has announced that the annual Curate Conference will move from its Baton Rouge roots to the lively backdrop of New Orleans for its fifth year. The multiday gathering, slated for September 17‑19 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, will host more than 300 female professionals from across the United States and will weave professional development with personal growth.
Curate’s story began in Baton Rouge, where Armstrong and her husband run the video‑production firm 4thFLR. The first conference—then called Curate Women in Marketing—drawn 114 attendees ranging from healthcare workers to business owners. By the second year the event had doubled in size, prompting Armstrong to seek a larger venue. “I want to keep Curate headquartered in Baton Rouge because there’s a lot of need here, but there’s also a lot of resources,” she said.
The conference’s rapid expansion has been fueled by the Curate Besties model, a network of female angel investors who pool $1,000 donations from friends and family. Those pooled funds become the prize money for the conference’s pitch competition. According to the source, women launch businesses with an average of $75,000 in capital—less than half of the amount men typically use—and the World Economic Forum estimates a $1.7 trillion funding gap for micro‑ to medium‑sized enterprises worldwide.
The New Orleans program will feature sessions on artificial intelligence, grant writing, experiential marketing, and personal‑development classes covering social styles, hormone cycles, and therapy. Armstrong said, “We have learned for many years that you keep your personal stuff at home, but you bring your personal self to work. In order to be our best selves at work, we have to be our best selves mentally.”
This year’s pitch competition is the second ever and will focus on tech startups. The prize has increased to $15,000 from $10,000 the previous year. The first winner, AnnaBeth Guillory of Beauty Findr, received a $10,000 award in 2024, which she used to rebuild her platform’s technology and marketing. Guillory said, “When you’re an entrepreneur, just to hear someone say ‘I believe in you’ means a lot.”
Armstrong explained that the Curate Besties program is named after a pinky promise, symbolizing the support best friends give each other. “They want to help fund whatever ideas these women have that could be beneficial to them, or our children, or our jobs, or some of them are just like, ‘I just want to see a girl win,’” she said.
Laura Siu Nguyen, founder of Night Market BTR and a Curate Bestie, noted that the network introduces women to other female entrepreneurs. “We just want to see women thrive,” she said. Ann Connelly, owner of Ann Connelly Fine Art, shared that her gallery’s launch took five years and was made possible by a circle of supportive friends.
Curate’s national footprint now includes participants from all 50 states, and Armstrong hopes the conference will move to new U.S. cities each year while remaining headquartered in Baton Rouge. The expansion to New Orleans reflects the organization’s strategy to accommodate larger, multiday events and to tap into the city’s capacity for large gatherings.
At present, the conference’s next iteration will run from September 17‑19 in New Orleans, with a $15,000 pitch competition and a broadened session lineup. The organization has not yet announced additional funding rounds, regulatory approvals, or executive changes. Stakeholders will watch the event’s attendance and the performance of the new prize winners to gauge Curate’s continued impact on women’s entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Curate’s story began in Baton Rouge, where Armstrong and her husband run the video‑production firm 4thFLR. The first conference—then called Curate Women in Marketing—drawn 114 attendees ranging from healthcare workers to business owners. By the second year the event had doubled in size, prompting Armstrong to seek a larger venue. “I want to keep Curate headquartered in Baton Rouge because there’s a lot of need here, but there’s also a lot of resources,” she said.
The conference’s rapid expansion has been fueled by the Curate Besties model, a network of female angel investors who pool $1,000 donations from friends and family. Those pooled funds become the prize money for the conference’s pitch competition. According to the source, women launch businesses with an average of $75,000 in capital—less than half of the amount men typically use—and the World Economic Forum estimates a $1.7 trillion funding gap for micro‑ to medium‑sized enterprises worldwide.
The New Orleans program will feature sessions on artificial intelligence, grant writing, experiential marketing, and personal‑development classes covering social styles, hormone cycles, and therapy. Armstrong said, “We have learned for many years that you keep your personal stuff at home, but you bring your personal self to work. In order to be our best selves at work, we have to be our best selves mentally.”
This year’s pitch competition is the second ever and will focus on tech startups. The prize has increased to $15,000 from $10,000 the previous year. The first winner, AnnaBeth Guillory of Beauty Findr, received a $10,000 award in 2024, which she used to rebuild her platform’s technology and marketing. Guillory said, “When you’re an entrepreneur, just to hear someone say ‘I believe in you’ means a lot.”
Armstrong explained that the Curate Besties program is named after a pinky promise, symbolizing the support best friends give each other. “They want to help fund whatever ideas these women have that could be beneficial to them, or our children, or our jobs, or some of them are just like, ‘I just want to see a girl win,’” she said.
Laura Siu Nguyen, founder of Night Market BTR and a Curate Bestie, noted that the network introduces women to other female entrepreneurs. “We just want to see women thrive,” she said. Ann Connelly, owner of Ann Connelly Fine Art, shared that her gallery’s launch took five years and was made possible by a circle of supportive friends.
Curate’s national footprint now includes participants from all 50 states, and Armstrong hopes the conference will move to new U.S. cities each year while remaining headquartered in Baton Rouge. The expansion to New Orleans reflects the organization’s strategy to accommodate larger, multiday events and to tap into the city’s capacity for large gatherings.
At present, the conference’s next iteration will run from September 17‑19 in New Orleans, with a $15,000 pitch competition and a broadened session lineup. The organization has not yet announced additional funding rounds, regulatory approvals, or executive changes. Stakeholders will watch the event’s attendance and the performance of the new prize winners to gauge Curate’s continued impact on women’s entrepreneurial ecosystems.
