Meet the Nerds

Darrin Piotrowski
President

Darrin, the owner and original Nerd, has been providing expert service for two decades, and has made Rent-A-Nerd the place to go for computer networks and repair. When not saving the world one computer at a time, our fearless leader enjoys cooking gourmet meals, exploring his home city of New Orleans, traveling the world, and slaying zombies on PlayStation.

Charlotte Piotrowski
Marketing and Outreach

Charlotte is a 2015 and 2017 CityBusiness Women of the Year honoree. She attended LSU, received her undergraduate degree from UNO, and graduated from Loyola University School of Law with honors. After litigating for ten years, she turned her attention to other pursuits. She is a freelance writer and editor and has published magazine articles and an award-winning book of inspiring quotations and commentary. She handles the social media and marketing needs of several area organizations on a volunteer basis, and enjoys traveling, cheering on the Saints, and herding her four cats.

Nick Lauve
Network Specialist

Nick, born and raised in New Orleans, has worked with computers and networks since the tenth grade. In spite of the first computer he built catching fire upon its first boot, Nick joined Rent-A-Nerd shortly after graduating from Holy Cross High School and worked part-time while pursuing a degree in Computer Science at Loyola University. Nick has played music since he was fifteen, and currently plays in the local computer rock band A Living Soundtrack.

Cecily Coats
Office Manager

Cecily was born in New Orleans and is proud to be called a "Southern Belle." She graduated from LSU in December of 1994, moved to London and then New York, before returning home to find work. In September of 2001, Cecily became the first "Nerdette" and is responsible for managing the office’s day to day operations.

Marshall Flaig
Service Manager

Marshall was born and raised in Lakeview. He attended Holy Cross High School and the University of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, he joined the Nerd team. Marshall plays drums in the local electronic rock band, A Living Soundtrack, which you can check out on the web at www.alivingsoundtrack.com.

computer nerd new orleans
Beibei Lin
Network Technician

Beibei attended Grace King High School, UNO, and Remington College. His Associate Degree in Computer Networking earned him a job at the Help Desk at Remington (and lots of cache with the ladies), but after two years of repetitive and monotonous problems, Beibei dreaded every Monday. His life took a quick change for the better in 2006, when he started working for Rent-A-Nerd as an onsite repair technician. Network problems, hardware, software—you name it, he's probably fixed it.

Tyler Braddick
Network Technician

Tyler was born in Houston, Texas and moved to Mandeville in 2004. He attended Fontainebleau High School and is now pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Computer Science at UNO. When not working or studying, Tyler enjoys playing video games and reading comic books. He is also the president of the Mystic Krewe of Brew, a local homebrew club on the North Shore

Chien Nguyen
Network Technician

Chien was born and raised in New Orleans, went to Benjamin Franklin, and studied Computer Science and Electrical Engineering with a minor in Naval Architecture at UNO. Prior to joining Rent-A-Nerd, he worked for many years in the IT field, doing everything from customer support to networking. In his spare time he plays board games and tries to find creative ways of keeping his Great Dane from unlocking the door to his bedroom. Some people have stress balls; he has a Rubik's Cube.

About Rent-A-Nerd, Inc.

Rent-A-Nerd Car

Rent-A-Nerd started in a one-bedroom apartment on November 1st, 1997, when I realized my phone number spelled N-E-R-D.  Computer users in the New Orleans area were fed up with the lack of knowledgeable and honest computer consultants; I borrowed $300 dollars from my mom (thanks Mom!), posted flyers around the neighborhood, and Rent-A-Nerd was born. The response to the flyers was great and I quit my day job.  I had to call in a friend to handle the overflow.  Rent-A-Nerd was growing quickly—my apartment was already too small—so I moved into a house and converted the front into an office.

On January 1st, 1998, Rent-A-Nerd was incorporated.  Later that year we officially hired our first employee and Rent-A-Nerd outgrew my house.  Exactly one year after founding the company, we opened our first “real” office on Metairie Road.  By August 2005, Rent-A-Nerd had been featured in numerous news broadcasts, newspaper and magazine articles, interviews and photo sessions; and we had grown to twelve employees.  We were STILL growing quickly and still providing fast, reliable service to the New Orleans Metropolitan area.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina and a failure of the levee system devastated Greater New Orleans and scattered the Nerds.  Our staff was cut in half, with two of us—including me—forced to relocate to Baton Rouge.  Rent-A-Nerd was down but not out.  The Metairie location was spared the flooding so we were able to resume operations almost immediately, aiding our customers as they returned to the city.

The years since Katrina have been a time of optimistic outlook and steady growth.  In the spring of 2013, I participated in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, during which I developed a new-found sense of excitement for my industry and my city.  And as of March 1, 2016, we have relocated to a much larger office at 2200 Tulane Avenue, Suite 302 (the corner of Tulane and Galvez). If all goes well, Louisianians will be renting Nerds for years to come.  We are your best place to find a reputable and skilled computer technician in New Orleans!

~Darrin Piotrowski