“The disruption economy” refers to the fact that technology is changing the traditional constructs of our capitalist economy. Amazon is one of the most obvious examples. Uber is another. Closer to home, local companies are part of that disruption economy, changing the rules of the game for everyone.

Chris Meaux is founder and CEO of Waitr, the phenomenally successful tech start up that is revolutionizing the restaurant and food service industries with its trademark food delivery app. Chris founded the company in 2015 from his home town of Lake Charles and the company took off on a growth trajectory that cutlimated in May of 2018, with Texas billionaire Tillman Fertitta (Houston Rockets, Landry’s Seafood restaurants, Golden Nugget Casino) buying into the company for $308 million, including $50 million in cash. The deal will take Waitr public and give it enough capital to continue its rapid expansion around the country.  

Josh Cauley is President and founder of Performance Mods, an e-commerce start up that ships auto parts to customers in a fraction of the time it would normally take. Josh started the company in 2016, when he was still a student at LSU. In the two years since, it has disrupted and revolutionized the auto parts industry, getting products directly from suppliers to customers within one to three days of an order being placed online, a fraction of the weeks or months it typically takes in the auto parts industry.

Photos over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard.