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 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 | 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...
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...