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. Louisiana
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Louisiana's growing film industry is sprouting production companies, such as Moonbot Studios in Shreveport.
- 2012 startup rate: 400 per 100,000 adults
When startups grow in Louisiana, they're in good company. Louisiana has a rich history of fostering young businesses, some of whom eventually evolved into large companies.
Delta Air Lines, for instance, was born in Louisiana in 1924 as an aerial crop-dusting operation. It became a commercial passenger carrier in 1929 with service beginning out of Atlanta. And the nation's first offshore oilwell was set up in Caddo Lake in northwest Louisiana.
Many startups are attracted to Louisiana's traditional fishing and oil and gas industries, but the state's growing technology, life sciences, music and entertainment sectors also are luring new businesses, said Scott Martinez, president of the North Louisiana Economic Partnership.
"There's a 'coolness' factor inherent to many parts of Louisiana that's particularly appealing to the music, film and arts communities," said Martinez.
The city of Shreveport in particular is quickly becoming the epicenter of Louisiana's growing film industry; startups in the field enjoy sales tax rebates and other local incentives. Entrepreneurs in the state can take advantage of affordable living costs and low taxes too.
Source: 2013 Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, published by the Kauffman Foundation. The 2012 startup rate for each state is based on a yearly national survey of about half a million people -- adults aged 20 to 64 who start a business each month with 15 or more hours worked. In Montana, for example, Kauffman found that 530 of every 100,000 adults started businesses in 2012.
- Last updated June 20 2013 11:48 AM ET
