Conversations with Taylor Hood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Hood.

Hi Taylor, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started wrestling in junior high and continued into college. After wrestling, I started training in MMA. Combat sports was really a passion of mine. Was a big fan of the early Pride and UFC days. After college, I moved to Houston and trained there for a year while planning a wedding. After the wedding, we moved to Nashville to begin working in music. I was an agent for four years and rarely had time to work out or train. In the evenings, I started investing and doing side hustles and got kind of good at it. I ended up leaving music and focusing full-time on venture capital projects. With me being my own boss, I was finally able to start making my own schedule and the first thing I did was make time to start getting healthy again. At the time, I weighed 225 pounds. I ended up joining Nashville MMA as a student. I quickly fell in love with the team, the facility and everything they had to offer. The owner then, and now my business partner is Ben Grove. He took that team and business to the next level and quickly filled the gym to where we were overflowing with people. I told him I loved what he was doing and would love to be involved in some way. I bought a chunk of the gym and we worked out a partnership agreement.

Around that time, Michael Chandler built a brand new facility a mile down the road from us. I reached out to him to discuss a merger and he was receptive. We ended up moving 400+ members from Nashville MMA into Michael Chandler’s Training Camp and have been doing great ever since. Ben Grove, Michael Chandler and I are the owners and have made a great team together building Nashville MMA and Training Camp into what it is today. Venture capital isn’t always fun or interesting but this project allowed me to sink my teeth into something I am passionate about. Venture capital in general also allowed me to focus on my family when we were becoming parents. Making my own schedule and making sure I am available for my wife and son is paramount to me. I view every deal I make and every investment as something for my son. Something he will one day own and I will be able to pass along to him. Becoming a father definitely changed my approach to business and life in general. My son is my world and everything I do is for him.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely been a rocky road. Like all businesses in 2020, we were unsure of our future. Ben Grove, Michael Chandler and I sat down at the beginning and decided no employee of ours would miss a paycheck during this pandemic even if it came from our own pocket. We kept a lot of very talented people because of that decision and I think has allowed us to stay growing the way we have. Our team of coaches and employees really are what are bringing people to our facility. We also struggled finding a new head coach for our MMA team but think we hit it out of the park with Dorian Price. He has brought a whole new level of training to our fighters and we cant wait to see what the future holds.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am very ADD. I have a very narrow attention span so venture capital has allowed me to change focus and work on a number of different projects at a time that keeps me interested. When I was in the music business, I learned a lot from my boss/mentor at the time on how to be creative in business and negotiating deals. I think that has carried over heavily into my venture capital career. If I am working on a deal with 4 or 5 different people, it is up to me to find a creative way to make that deal attractive to everyone involved. If I go hard-nosed with someone I am going to end up working with for the next few years, it isn’t going to be a strong partnership. However, if I can negotiate a deal structure where everyone feels like they are winning, then the business side runs a lot smoother afterward. I really feel like in all my projects, I have found ways to make money while making other people money. I think this reputation has allowed me the opportunity to work with more people and keep my business relationships strong and healthy. I have also been able to branch out into new industries like entertainment, producing, management, beverages, real estate, etc…

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I think you can attribute luck to anything. I am fortunate enough to work with amateur and professional athletes on a daily basis with my MMA team and they will tell you it is your job to remove luck from the situation with hard work and dedication. If they get lucky in a fight, so be it, but they will never count on luck to win so they put in the hours honing their craft. I think I apply the same principles to my career. I have ventured into unknown territory before but have worked hard to learn new industries and study to learn what I need to be successful. I definitely think I have been lucky to have the relationships I have/had. I have friends and mentors who I can reach out to for advice or guidance and am immensely grateful for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: nashvillemma.com and trainingcampnashville.com
• Instagram: @nashvillemma, thood77 and @trainingcampnashville
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nashvillemma

Image Credits
“Valor Fighting Challenge” for the fight photos.