Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Raistone Capital CEO Dave Skirzenski announced the New York-based financial technology firm is expanding to New Orleans with the establishment of an office in the city’s Central Business District. Raistone Capital, one of the world’s leading providers of working capital finance, will create 50 jobs over the next five years at its 400 Poydras Tower location.
Raistone Capital will generate a cumulative payroll of $12 million by 2025 through the new direct jobs. In addition, Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in an additional 44 new indirect jobs, for a total of 94 new jobs in greater New Orleans. Leveraging technology, Raistone Capital forms a financial bridge by providing immediate working capital to help companies grow and scale their businesses.
“Historically, New Orleans has played a key role in the establishment of global trade in agriculture, commodities and financial instruments,” Gov. Edwards said. “Raistone Capital represents a next-generation technology trend for which New Orleans and Louisiana are well-prepared with talented workers and a growing financial services economy.”
Raistone Capital operates in the “fintech,” or financial technology sector. Formerly a division of Seaport Global – a full-service investment bank and broker-dealer with over 3,000 major investment trading partners – Raistone draws upon the resources of that foundation. That sponsorship, combined with a sizable equity investment from a $30 billion family office and one of the world’s largest wealth managers, positions Raistone Capital as a market leader in working capital finance.
“We selected New Orleans specifically due to the strong talent pool and the compelling business case the city made,” Skirzenski said. “As a fast-growing fintech company, we had to weigh a number of factors when looking for places to grow our business. We couldn’t be more excited about our future in the strong fintech ecosystem that has evolved here over the last several years.”
Raistone recognized strong cohesion among state, regional and local economic development groups, and the company identified a dynamic New Orleans fintech sector as reasons for launching its new location. Those New Orleans fintech players include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Finance Center at Michoud Assembly Facility; the headquarters of iSeatz, a loyalty tech company that completes over $4 billion in travel and lifestyle bookings annually; the headquarters of Levelset, which facilitates nearly $2 billion in monthly online transactions for construction projects across all 50 states; Tradeshift, a global business-invoicing tech firm born in Denmark, headquartered in San Francisco and now operating in New Orleans; Netchex, the Northshore-based provider of human resources, payroll and benefits services; Gilded, a New Orleans-based online business transaction facilitator; and CivicSource, a New Orleans-based provider of online property auction services.
“The City of New Orleans is excited to welcome Raistone Capital to our business and technology community as we continue to emerge as a financial technology hub,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said. “I want to thank GNO Inc., the New Orleans Business Alliance and LED for recruiting Raistone to the city and bringing 50 jobs over the next five years. Recently, Orleans Parish was ranked number one out of all 64 parishes in Louisiana for first-quarter workforce development performance. As Raistone expands their operations to our city, they will be met with a strong and skilled workforce that is only continuing to grow.”
In New Orleans, Raistone Capital will provide working capital finance through a technology platform that serves a global customer base. Raistone will maintain sales, operations, credit and customer support teams at the 32-story 400 Poydras Tower.
“Raistone is a dynamic company that embodies the future of our region,” said President and CEO Michael Hecht of GNO Inc. “As we continue to diversify the region’s economy, we see a great opportunity in the fintech sector, which leverages our success in tech, and builds on the region’s historical standing in finance. Our shared commitment is to build an economy where everyone has the opportunity to participate, and we are proud that Raistone shares that same objective. We look forward to the growth of Raistone and the fintech sector in greater New Orleans.”
Beginning in late 2019, LED joined GNO Inc. and the New Orleans Business Alliance in recruiting Raistone Capital to New Orleans. The company is expected to utilize the State of Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media and Software Program, as well as the Quality Jobs Program.
“The fintech cluster continues to expand in New Orleans, strengthening our community’s ties to the global tech economy,” said President and CEO Quentin L. Messer Jr. of the New Orleans Business Alliance. “Raistone Capital’s expansion to this market demonstrates the strength of our tech ecosystem and our local talent. We welcome Raistone Capital and look forward to supporting their growth and success in New Orleans.”