Most businesses fail. Most businesses with solid revenues don’t. Most businesses with traction at least have a fighting chance. You can’t gather around the fireplace and kick your feet up unless you have firewood out back – and you can only get that firewood by chopping.

One of the big catch-phrases of 2006 was “chopping wood,” I phrase I picked up from Rutger’s football coach, Greg Schiano.

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For a great intimate conversation with Mitch Free, CEO of MFG.com, check out the latest installment of the StartupLounge.com podcast. I honestly think that content-wise this has been one of our stronger shows.

Mitch shares some very candid views on a variety of topics ranging from what its like to work with Jeff Bezos to what his view of the early-stage venture market is here in Atlanta.

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Some more breaking news from Atlanta. My friend Mitch Free over at MFG.com just sent the following notice to me, announcing a new round of funding, although he didn’t specify the amount (UPDATE: word on the street says $4M or so). Mitch will be joining us as our guest on the StartupLounge podcast later this month, so we’ll definitely add this to the list of things to discuss.

I have long felt that MFG.com (along with EZ Prints, Vendormate, and a few others) are leading the charge for early-stage Atlanta companies. These guys all continue to chop wood and gain traction. All of these plays have logical global expansion routes, although MFG is further along on that path than the others. Nice to see a globalization strategy paying dividends for them.

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