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 | Jan 7, 2021 | 2021, Business Lessons, COVID-19, Entrepreneurialism, Start-Ups
No paradox in my life has been more stark than the current COVID-19 paradox: with the great relief of vaccines on the horizon, we’re seeing massive increases in the amount of casualties. The former inspires hope and a quick end; the latter, destruction and...
by Mike Goodrich | Sep 9, 2020 | 2020, Business Lessons, COVID-19, Entrepreneurialism
This essay has one symbolic animal, two analogies, and a couple of disparate themes. That’s allowable in essays in 2020. While my fear of bears came into focus with Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen, I can actually trace its origin to an earlier time. When I was...
by Mike Goodrich | Aug 27, 2020 | 2020, COVID-19, Entrepreneurialism, Financing, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Social Capital and Social Entrepreneurialism, Start-Ups
In his essay released on April 18, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 Crisis, Marc Andreessen — famed venture capitalist and founder of Netscape — implored businesses, business people, and society to build great new things – in healthcare, in education, in...