Amy Good joined the Nashville Entrepreneur Center for a mailbox.
Two years later, she’s an advisor, a Lunch & Learn facilitator, and last month, she brought her seven-year-old daughter Lindley to the EC—wearing a blazer Santa brought early—to meet with a founder about patents.
That progression from practical need to deep community involvement captures something essential about what membership at the EC can become when you make it.
The Pivot She Didn’t Plan
Before COVID, Amy was VP of Operations at a national educational organization. She had a traditional career trajectory, a stable role, and no plans to start a business.
Then the pandemic rewired everything.
As Amy adapted her professional life, she realized something: the operations and marketing skills she’d developed over years weren’t just corporate assets. They translated directly to helping small companies figure out the basics—the stuff that seems obvious once someone shows you, but paralyzes founders who don’t know where to start.
“A lot of entrepreneurs don’t know where to start,” Amy explains. “They either think they have to have this huge marketing budget right off the bat to be able to do everything. But they don’t. They just need to understand what their company is, who they are, and where their audience is.”
That insight became EyeCandy Creative, the marketing agency Amy co-founded with a values-first approach. Not a vendor churning through deliverables, but a partner walking alongside founders through the messy early stages.
Joined for the Mailbox, Stayed for Everything Else
Amy’s initial reason for joining the EC was entirely practical: she needed a professional business address for her Google Business Profile. The mailbox service solved that problem.
But membership started compounding in ways she hadn’t anticipated.
Before she even joined, she attended one EC event—a luncheon where the mayor was scheduled to speak. Standing in the food line, she met Debbie Garcia, founder of Virsitour.
“Amy and I really connected while standing in a long food line at a Nashville EC lunch n’ learn,” Debbie recalls. “It was one of those crowded events where conversations are rushed, but somehow we ended up having a meaningful one. I shared that I was in the middle of rebuilding my platform and looking for the right development and marketing partner. Amy was genuinely engaged—asking thoughtful questions and wanting to understand the bigger picture. She suggested continuing the conversation with her partner, Michael, and that moment turned into a partnership that’s now approaching two years. EyeCandy Creative has become an extension of the virsitour team, helping us think through challenges and move the platform forward in a thoughtful, collaborative way.”
That conversation plus the mailbox included in the CoWork+ membership convinced Amy the EC was different. She joined.
Meeting rooms gave her a professional space to host client conversations. The preferred vendor program put her business in front of other members—including a lead from Memphis on a potential major project. Networking events connected her with founders at every stage.
“You never know who you might be able to help,” Amy says. And increasingly, she realized that worked both directions.
From Imposter Syndrome to Advisor
Throughout her first year at the EC, Amy watched the advisors—experienced professionals volunteering their expertise to help members navigate challenges. She admired them from a distance.
“I kind of had imposter syndrome,” she admits. “I was like, you know, that’s so cool. They have so much experience and knowledge. And that’s amazing.”
Then came a shift.
“One night I was just thinking about it and I was like, you know what, Amy, you have had a lot of experience in your career. And maybe someone could benefit from that. And don’t be afraid to just take the leap and become an advisor because even the failures in your journey could give someone inspiration or you can talk about how you got through those things.”
She asked if she could become an advisor. The process was straightforward. Now she meets with founders who are stuck exactly where she once was—overwhelmed by marketing decisions, paralyzed by the pressure to get everything perfect before they start.
Her advice is consistent: “Just do it. Just go for it. Don’t overthink the process. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”
“We get into our heads where everything has to be just right. And at the end of the day, it just needs to be started and done. You don’t have to try so hard to get perfection because it holds you back from making progress.”
The Blazer Meeting
Lindley has been watching.
At seven years old, she’s seen her mom work from home, attend networking events, and build a business from scratch. She started pretending to host her own networking events, making name tags, creating computers out of cardboard boxes.
“That’s how kids learn is through play,” Amy reflects. “She’s definitely watched me throughout the years.”
Then Lindley came home with an invention.
Amy almost dismissed it at first—another creative project from an imaginative kid. But after using it for three nights, she realized her daughter had actually solved a problem. The invention needed refinement, but the core idea was smart.
The challenge: Amy had never navigated patents before. She didn’t know where to start.
But she knew someone who did.
At an EC panel for high school girls interested in entrepreneurship, Amy met Isebella Greathouse, a founder who’d recently completed the Takeoff program. Isabella had gone through the patent process herself. When Amy mentioned Lindley’s invention, Isabella immediately offered to help.
“She was so encouraging,” Amy recalls. “Originally just saying, don’t talk to anyone about this. I will sign an NDA. We’ll meet with your daughter.”
That meeting happened at the EC. Lindley wore her new blazer. Isabella shared what she’d learned navigating the patent system—knowledge that had taken her considerable time to figure out on her own.
“I don’t think that if I weren’t an EC member that I would have even taken on my daughter’s invention seriously and certainly wouldn’t know what to do as far as getting a patent and going through the process.”
Lindley has since started holding yard sales to save money for her business expenses. She’s learning about NDAs, bank accounts, and the hundred small steps between an idea and a product.
“I think it’s so important to get the next generation, and especially females, into seeing this as a potential career,” Amy says. “Starting your own business is going to be, I think, a lot of the wave of the next generation of jobs.”
Paying It Forward
After a year and a half of attending Lunch & Learns, Amy approached the EC about leading one herself. She wanted to challenge herself, work on her presentation skills, and share what she’d learned.
Her next session is January 15 at 11:30 AM: Marketing Made Manageable: What to Plan, When, and Why.
If marketing feels like a never-ending list of things you should be doing, Amy gets it. She’ll break down a practical roadmap—what to focus on first, what can wait, and how to prioritize as your business grows.
It’s free. It’s practical. And it’s led by someone who started exactly where you might be right now.
Register for the Lunch & Learn →
Join the Community
Amy joined for a mailbox. She stayed for the connections, the growth, and the chance to help her daughter meet a founder about patents.
Through January 31, new members who commit to 6 or 12 months get a free parking pass for the duration of their term:
- Cowork Membership: $149/month
- Incubate Membership: $299/month
About the author
