To honor standout board members, community leaders, and ambassadors, BRAC distributes annual awards to its investors. This year, award recipients were announced in early April.
For 2019, BRAC’s Business Growth Award for a small business was bestowed on Elifin Realty. The Business Growth Award was presented to a small and large company based on job growth within the Capital Region. The qualifying time period for this year’s applicants was 2017-2019.
We had the chance to chat with Mathew Laborde, president & CEO of Elifin Realty, about the success of his business. Read the interview below.
Why did you choose the Baton Rouge Area as the home for your business?
Baton Rouge is a place where someone can make their mark and really make a difference. After I came to Baton Rouge from Lafayette to attend LSU, it became incredibly hard to leave. The vibrancy of the people and the unbelievable opportunity in this city kept me here. Even though I started Elifin with the goal of expanding to multiple markets, I knew Baton Rouge would be a great place to call home.
What opportunities did the Baton Rouge Area provide when it came to starting and growing your business?
Baton Rouge has been in a unique and exciting position in recent years. With certain areas of the city seeing continued growth and other parts primed and ready for change, there is potential on every corner. The leaders of our city are also extremely accessible and generous with their time. I could call on (and have called on) the most successful people in town and they have been very gracious with their wisdom and guidance.
What resources in the Baton Rouge Area have helped your business get to where it is now?
Without question, the people. The people are Baton Rouge’s greatest resource and we should continue to do our best to keep as many of them here as we can. The talent pool in this city is rich with incredible individuals feeding through our universities. I would encourage any business owner to take advantage of that.
Your business has grown tremendously in the past three years. Where do you see your business in the next three years?
We’re not slowing down. Our success so far can be credited to our team of uniquely extraordinary individuals and their work ethic. We are continuing to look for and recruit A+ talent to join us and we’re aiming to provide a service that can be considered the best in the world. In three years, you shouldn’t be surprised to see us in all major markets in Louisiana and beginning to look for growth opportunities outside of Louisiana.
What would you say to someone considering the Baton Rouge Area as a home for their business?
Baton Rouge is on the rise and full of opportunity. If you want a place that offers you a seat at the table, a top-notch talent pool, cultural food and events that rival any place on earth, and the most welcoming people in the South, you want to be in Baton Rouge. To end the interview, Mathew left us with a few parting thoughts, “We often say that Elifin exists to help businesses, investors, and our community flourish. We mean it. We work hard for our clients and we also want to be known for helping and supporting our community. Thank you to BRAC for this honor. We’re excited about the direction Baton Rouge is headed and we love playing our part.”