The Blog

News and updates from GWV.

Human Resources

Human Resources

Human Resources seems to be a place of mystery in a lot of organizations. Employee searches, hiring, training, benefits, performance management, promotions and separations all typically happen under the umbrella of HR.  HR...

MyVillage

MyVillage

CEO and co-founder Erica Mackay recently described her vision for MyVillage at a meet and greet at Goodworks Place.  Most working parents in Montana know how difficult it can be to find the right place for their little ones while they are at work.  For...

Space

Space

I have been thinking a lot about space recently. We created an open floor plan at Goodworks Place with furniture that can easily be reconfigured as needed.  People love it, and we are happy about the amount of use the space is getting.  We created private office space...

The ecosystem that creates industry

The ecosystem that creates industry

Goodworks Ventures’ latest investment… We are proud to partner with Reflex Protect, a safety company that provides a non-lethal self-defense spray and violence response training for use at home and in the workplace.   Reflex Protects offer a highly effective yet...

Manufacturing.

Manufacturing.

A lot of political discussion these days revolves around the death of manufacturing in the United States. That’s not what we see here in Montana. Manufacturers are often small businesses but their multiplier effect is pretty substantial. For every $1 spent in...

Failure.

Failure.

We have had a number of investments not work out this year. Or to be more direct, some of the businesses we invested in failed. There is a lot of discussion around failure and startups these days. Fail fast. Failure is the way you get to success. Failure is a badge of...

Branding.

Branding.

After a couple of years of languishing, we finally updated our website. The impetus was to provide better services to the entrepreneurial community of Montana and to help build our brand. As the only impact fund in Montana, we have never really promoted ourselves or...