Aug 29, 2024 | 2024, Advising, Alabama, Birmingham, Business Lessons, Entrepreneurialism, Financing, Founders, Investing, New Dynamics in Seed Funding and Financing Series, Post-Covid Investing, Seed Investing, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups
When you’re building a startup in Birmingham, Alabama—or any other non-coastal city—capital is a luxury, not a prerequisite. While the debate about the merits of this reality could go on indefinitely, I believe it’s more productive to accept it and build...
Aug 16, 2024 | 2024, Advising, Birmingham, Business Lessons, COVID-19, Entrepreneurialism, Financing, Founders, Investing, New Dynamics in Seed Funding and Financing Series, Post-Covid Investing, Risk, Seed Investing, Start-Ups
In this evolving world of seed investing, the re-evaluation of risk is significantly impacting early funding rounds, which are decreasing in number — and with fewer rounds, there is an increase in pro investor terms. This trend is driven by market dynamics and...
Feb 17, 2023 | 2023, Books and Resources, Business Lessons, COVID-19, Economic Development, Entrepreneurialism, Founders
I read for a lot of reasons, but I read business books primarily to help me shape my thinking. They provide new perspectives and help me to articulate thoughts not yet fully formed. Reading business books also allows me to hear stories that provide insight and...
Sep 29, 2022 | 2022, Business Lessons, Entrepreneurialism, Founders, Mission-Driven Businesses, Social Capital and Social Entrepreneurialism, Social Capital Series
Social capital is a topic I have spent a lot of time with, both in my writing on this blog and website and in my own thinking. One pivotal moment for me was the SOCAP Conference in San Francisco, which is coming back in person this year (though I unfortunately will...
Jul 19, 2022 | 2022, Birmingham, Business Lessons, Competition, Entrepreneurialism, Founders, Marketing, Podcast, Sales, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups, The Structured Start-Up Podcast
The fifth and final episode of The Structured Start-Up Podcast is all about the competitive landscape. For this episode, we turned to Lee Ross, the CEO of SlateXP, a Birmingham-based student safety software company. Ross has successfully launched two companies in...
Jun 28, 2022 | 2022, Birmingham, Business Lessons, Entrepreneurialism, Football, Founders, Marketing, Podcast, Sales, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups, The Structured Start-Up Podcast
The fourth episode of The Structured Start-Up podcast focuses on the importance of finding your entrepreneurial story. As Mike Goodrich, the principal of First Avenue Ventures, says, “If you don’t have a compelling narrative that people will buy into, your...
