Baton Rouge has a lot of ingredients that are finally coming together," Riser says. A big part of the mix is Step One Ventures, a development organization co-sponsored by Jump-start America that invests up to $1.25 million in five high-potential start-ups per year. Add to that the new Ag-center Food Incubator at Louisiana State University, the newly opened Level Up Lab video game incubator and a film industry that pumps hundreds of millions into the local economy, and you've got a hot gumbo of creative energy. All this potential has also attracted corporate entities like IBM, which is building an application-development center in the city.