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There\\u2019s more to life than money. That\\u2019s true.\\xa0In some circles it\\u2019s become fashionable to talk about the goal of business as being about more than single-mindedly making money.\\xa0Ok, that\\u2019s true too. But it\\u2019s worth noting that although money can\\u2019t buy you happiness, poverty can\\u2019t buy you anything.

I stole that witty observation from a meme on Facebook, but it does point up a basic truth: whatever else you\\u2019re trying to achieve, you can\\u2019t start, run, or grow a business without money.

When you hear terms like \\u201cVenture Capital,\\u201d and \\u201cSeries A Funding\\u201d you may find your eyes glazing over and your attention wandering, but these are just various ways of saying \\u201cmoney.\\u201d And if you have a local business here in New Orleans it can be hard to get your hands on enough of it to compete with businesses in capital-rich environments, like Silicon Valley.

My guests on Out to Lunch today are both in the business of funding local businesses.

Caroline Crumley is an investor at Benson Capital Partners, a venture capital firm founded by Gayle Benson, best known as the owner of the Saints football team and the Pelicans basketball team.

Van Hamilton Barbeau is Vice President of Evangeline Securities, a firm that facilitates mergers and acquisitions and capital raising services through their offices in New Orleans, Lafayette, and Boston, Massachusetts.

A lot of us have a love/hate relationship with money. We love having it, but we don\\u2019t love the effort, time, and risks we often have to take to get a hold of it.

Two wealthy and successful entrepreneurs in the 20th century, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, famously said, \\u201cMoney can\\u2019t buy me love.\\u201d But like love, if money was easy to get and to keep, it wouldn\\u2019t be as highly prized.

Where you find love is a topic for a different podcast, but if you have a business in Louisiana there are places where you can find money. Not least among them, Benson Capital Partners and Evangeline Securities. As\\xa0 investors and experts, Caroline and Van are providing literally invaluable tools and products for the development and growth of local businesses.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at\\xa0NOLA Pizza\\xa0in the\\xa0NOLA Brewing Taproom. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.