Governor Bobby Jindal and Smashing Boxes CEO Nick Jordan yesterday announced that the digital product agency will launch new operations in New Orleans, where the company will create 85 new direct jobs averaging $75,000 per year, plus benefits. The company will also make a $500,000 capital investment, according to a statement. The Louisiana Economic Development Office estimates that the project will result in another 86 new indirect jobs, for a total of 171 new jobs in New Orleans and the surrounding regions.

Smashing Boxes specializes in the creation of innovative technology for brands and startups. The company’s strategists, designers and developers work in small collaborative teams to craft products and services spanning Web, mobile and connected devices. Founded in 2010, Smashing Boxes is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, with an office in Montreal and clients across North America. The company plans to launch operations in New Orleans in early 2016.

Governor Jindal said, “Since 2008, Louisiana has pursued a highly successful strategy to attract software development, digital media and information technology employers across our state. The entrance of Smashing Boxes into the New Orleans market will add another chapter to the city’s growing success story as the No. 1 city in the U.S. for creative professionals. We wish Smashing Boxes well on this new chapter in their story, we know they will find success with the highly skilled and creative talent in New Orleans, and we’re proud that more families will benefit from our efforts to make Louisiana the best place in the world to live, work and raise a family.”

According to a spokesperson for Smashing Boxes, Louisiana Economic Development began discussing project possibilities with Smashing Boxes in May 2015. When company leaders were introduced to New Orleans during New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week in May 2015, they were attracted to the creative spirit and set of values that the company shared with the city’s residents.

“I was struck by a like-mindedness with the local entrepreneurs and technologists,” said Jordan. “There’s a community-wide spirit of commitment that’s truly inspiring. Our ambition as a company is to shape the future of technology in New Orleans. We see a real opportunity to do just that – to help build a leading tech community.”

To secure the project, the State of Louisiana offered a competitive incentive package that includes the comprehensive solutions of LED FastStart®, the nation’s No. 1 state workforce development program. In addition, the company is expected to utilize Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media and Software Development Incentive.

“This exciting software announcement comes as a result of direct work between GNO, Inc., New Orleans Business Alliance, and the Smashing Boxes team over the past nine months,” said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. “Smashing Boxes is an outstanding digital company that could have brought its 85 new jobs anywhere in the world, but they chose Greater New Orleans because of our attractive digital media incentive, world-class culture, and great overall business hospitality.”

Since 2008, New Orleans has welcomed investments from a wide variety of digital interactive media and software development companies, including GE Capital, Gameloft, High Voltage Software, Performance Software, 4th Source, inXile and more. Smashing Boxes’ approach to integrated Web, mobile, and emerging technologies adds a new dimension to the New Orleans technology sector.

“As more and more knowledge-based companies like Smashing Boxes invest in the New Orleans economy, they validate our city as a place to build high-growth companies,” said Quentin L. Messer, Jr., New Orleans Business Alliance President and CEO. “We’re very excited that the months of collaboration among our economic development partners have yielded a new, committed addition to our business community. For more companies like Smashing Boxes, New Orleans represents the ideal intersection of quality of life and economic opportunity for digital media and software innovators.”

Current employees will have the option to relocate to New Orleans, said Margaret McNab, director of growth at Smashing Boxes. The expansion to New Orleans represents the company’s employee culture, said McNab, “it’s also a huge opportunity for New Orleans to influence our culture.”

“We see this expansion as an opportunity to build a bridge between the two tech communities,” said Margaret McNab, director of growth at Smashing Boxes. “New Orleans has a lot to offer with its cultural assets, people and progress.”

Smashing Boxes recently earned recognition as one of the Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America by Entrepreneur magazine.

The expansion, said McNab, “is a way to attract and retain young, entrepreneurial talent with the company even when they’re seeking a new adventure.”