by Mike Goodrich | 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...
by First Avenue Ventures | Jun 23, 2022 | 2022, Alabama, Birmingham, Business Lessons, COVID-19, Entrepreneurialism, Founders, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups, World Games
“And you may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?'”– The Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime” As Randall Woodfin and Protective Stadium get ready to welcome the world to Birmingham, we need to to remember that the journey towards...
by Mike Goodrich | Feb 17, 2022 | 2022, Birmingham, Books and Resources, COVID-19, Entrepreneurialism, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups
The recent Disney+ delight, The Beatles: Get Back, shows us the full creative process. It is messy and slow, but it helps put the challenges of producing quality creative material in perspective. Sure, we all enjoy the pithy tweet or the poignant Medium article, but...
by Mike Goodrich | Jan 12, 2022 | 2021, 2022, Birmingham, Birmingham Funded Start-Ups List, COVID-19, Entrepreneurial Assessment, Entrepreneurialism, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups
As always with the new year, we’re taking some time to pause and reflect. First Avenue does so by compiling our annual list of funded start-ups in Birmingham, which helps us analyze the health of the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. I also like to take stock...
by Mike Goodrich | Jun 28, 2021 | 2021, Birmingham, Birmingham Funded Start-Ups List, Business Lessons, COVID-19, Entrepreneurialism, Founders, Services, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups
“You need to make hay when it rains.” I first heard this axiom — in that instance, in connection to a business in high-end consumer goods — in my early days as a lawyer. Simply put, the goal is to make your money during the good times, knowing that the...
by Mike Goodrich | Feb 5, 2021 | 2020, 2021, Birmingham, Books and Resources, Business Lessons, COVID-19, Entrepreneurialism, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Start-Ups, Technology
For some reason, my reading habits changed during the pandemic. I certainly had more time, but that did not lend itself to me reading more business books. When the world is falling down around you and your days are spend in dread, do you really find comfort in a tech...
