Aug 25, 2025 | 2025, Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham Funded Start-Ups List, Economic Development, Entrepreneurial Assessment, Entrepreneurialism, Exits, FAV Funds, Financing, Founders, Investing, Legislation, Mid-Year Assessment, Regional Cooperation, Seed Investing, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups, Valuation
“In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.” ― Carl Gustav Jung As we size up where we are mid-year with the Birmingham and Alabama entrepreneurial ecosystem, the theme that I see is: out of chaos comes order. One of the trends we’ve noticed...
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...
Aug 9, 2024 | 2024, Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham Funded Start-Ups List, COVID-19, Economic Development, Entrepreneurial Assessment, Entrepreneurialism, Financing, Founders, Investing, Mid-Year Assessment, Seed Investing, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups
It is that bi-annual time of year when I make my usual plea that we are not providing enough equity support. Once again, this is true, but perhaps this is also time for me to offer more productive thoughts. Thanks to Will Wright, the Head of Innovation at Protective...
Mar 19, 2021 | 2021, Business Lessons, Entrepreneurialism, Founders, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups
Part Two of Three: The Five-Year Pro Forma[1] Read Part One: Valuation here Budgets are crucial — and usually provided to investors — for even the most nascent start-up. Even if no revenue is expected within the first year, money is still needed to run the...
