Olsen Ventures uses the history and value of the past to build companies in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
When most people start businesses, they look to the future. We’ve always looked to the past. To our history, to what came before us. Our companies focus on creating new life from nostalgia.
Vice & Graft
927 Royal Street
It’s been said that New Orleans is a city built on vice and graft. We’ve used that idea as the foundation of our Royal Street store, where we curate items from - and pay homage to - the history of New Orleans. From film costuming to the backs of great musicians, our clothing has spread far beyond New Orleans.
Swamp Rags
533 St Louis Street
Swamp Rags curates 80s and 90s clothing and pop-culture memorabilia. We now work with agencies & brands to harness the invisible power of nostalgia. From Super Bowl to Taylor Swift, Swamp Rags has been involved in the biggest New Orleans events of recent years.
Louisiana Vintage Festival
House of Blues
The inaugural Louisiana Vintage Festival brought together the best vintage dealers in Louisiana to the French Quarter - for a sold out event. Hosted at the House of Blues, over 2000 attendees shopped 40 vendors in a tour de force of vintage. 2026 will have Louisiana Vintage Festival as a 2-day event, with multiple sub-festivals along the way.
Idea Kraft NOLA
Former Partner
A branding & digital marketing agency built in NY, expanded to NOLA. We created dynamic brands and executed marketing for incredible clients. Some of our favorite work was for CAT, Cooperstown Brewing, Amphenol, SUNY Cortland, and our local friends Jewel of the South, Home Place Pastures & NOLA CODE.
Previous Ventures
Director, Marketing & Communications - Modern Marketing Concepts
From 2013-2015 Chris Olsen developed the marketing strategy and oversaw all marketing implementation for a global sales company with 450+ employees and $1.5B in annual sales for their clients. Included was all marketing for launch of new company Motili, which sold to Daikin for $19MM - and Link Park - a $17MM workspace project developed in partnership with NYS.
Co-Founder, Voltage Video Games - Back in 2012 we helped raise funding, build a team, and source product for a vintage video game store in Syracuse, NY. It became profitable within the first month, and later expanded to two locations. We exited in 2014.