The Stars of Silicon Bayou

There aren’t enough bad things we could say about the COVID-19
pandemic. It's cut a path of death, destruction and suffering
around the globe since early 2020. But, like any major disaster,
it has also disrupted the old way of doing things and forced us
to come up with new alternatives that will live on after the
pandemic has passed - like telehealth consultations and working
from home. This long-running crisis has also created
opportunities - for entrepreneurs and innovators. Some of them in
Baton Rouge.


Calvin Fabre is President and CEO of Envoc, a software
development and services firm he founded in 2003. Calvin is the
creator of LA Wallet app, one of many but far and away Envoc’s
most visible product.


In 2018, before anyone had ever heard of Covid, Calvin created
the digital drivers license, which slid into your digital LA
Wallet, making Louisiana the first state in the nation to offer
such a product. The Louisiana State Legislature even passed
specific legislation to make a digital driver's license on LA
Wallet legal everywhere - from being pulled over by the police to
getting into a bar.


Then the pandemic hit.


What seemed like the most negative event of recent times became
an extremely positive development for Envoc. The State of
Louisiana expanded the digital driver's license on LA Wallet to
include a digital proof of Covid vaccination. Today, prompted
largely by the need to show proof of current vaccination to get
into many bars, restaurants, or a Saints game, more than 1
million people in Louisiana have downloaded LA Wallet. It's the
biggest digital ID platform in the US. And it's poised to spread
beyond state lines.  


Cody Louviere is founder of King Crow Studios, a local digital
media company that specializes in virtual reality and,
specifically, using VR tools to train some pretty important
clients – like the US Air Force and the US. Space Force.


Though the pandemic didn’t force Cody and his company to create
any new products or services per se, it created opportunities for
its existing clients to accelerate their training so that when
their employees returned to the office they were able to train
them faster and more efficiently, and achieve better outcomes.


In addition to running his own tech company, Cody works with the
Louisiana Technology Park to develop and retain the digital media
workforce available in our area. 


Cody and Calvin are undoubtedly two of the brightest stars in the
local tech galaxy collectively referred to as Silicon Bayou.


Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the
Boulevard. You can see photos from this show by Erik Otts at our
website. And check out Calvin Fabre's earlier to visit to Out to
Lunch in a pre-Covid world. 


See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.