Today we’d like to introduce you to Ty Marion.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I appreciate you guys having me here today. It really all began in 2019. I was going into my sophomore year of high school. That was when I began to realize my dream of playing professional football wasn’t as realistic as I once thought. I knew I wanted to be involved in sports, transparently, I had no idea what that meant at the time. This is when I decided to combine my passion for football and editing videos.
During my 90-minute round-trip commute to school, I would send hundreds of direct messages on Instagram to college football players, offering to create free highlight videos for them. For a while, I didn’t hear back from anyone, until I got a response from University of Miami running back, Deejay Dallas.
To this day, I look back at this message and it makes me smile. It seemed like I had hundreds of no’s. All it took was one. Deejay gave me the chance I needed. It has all come full circle as I am soon to graduate from The U, the same place Deejay gave me a chance at. Him telling a random kid a thousand miles away that he has control of the vision, just make sure it is – lit – gave me the confidence to go out and build something that would do exactly that.
Fast forward 7 years, we now partner with athletes, entertainers, and businesses. Our thesis is to build audiences and drive new revenue to their brand through our operational system. We treat each one of our partners as their own media company. For instance, Jayden Reed is a media company that happens to be one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. 3rd-i Technology is a media company that is redefining social safety. To us, each client has their own positioning and voice. We are the vehicle that gets their brand out in front of the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There is never an easy road. I started out with no connections in the industry, trying to make a name in a competitive landscape, building an idea into a real company as a young CEO. Over time, I realized it is not about how many punches you throw, it is about how many punches you can take.
One of the biggest struggles I had throughout the last 7 years was constantly being the youngest in the room. We are trying to get deals done with the same people who negotiate with guys like Dana White, the front offices of NFL teams, etc. These are well experienced individuals that have been working in the business longer than I have been alive. The first few times I sat across the desk from an individual of this caliber, I wasn’t confident. On my drive over, I questioned why I was there and why would he even trust what I was going to say? I mean I was a kid, I wouldn’t blame him. Over time, I realized there is a reason why I am sitting in these rooms. These are busy businessmen. They aren’t wasting their time meeting with me if they didn’t think we could provide value. They know a lot about business, but lack the knowledge of the modern day trends. This is why they wanted to talk to me. Once I started to view these meetings through that lens, my position changed. That is my new though process going into these meetings that has allowed us to ultimately partner with clients of this caliber. Being young is still a challenge, but now, I am using that to our advantage.
As you know, we’re big fans of TradeMark Sports & Entertainment. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
TradeMark Sports & Entertainment operates at the intersection of sports and entertainment, partnering with notable athletes, entertainers, and businesses to build and scale media companies. Our thesis is to create digital ecosystems that build audiences and drive revenue, shaping the future of media for our partners.
I am a big believer in AI and the amazing opportunities it will open for many in the industry. I also believe sports is an anti AI bet. Through the pandemic and technology, we have seen how valuable sports is. I am positioning our company to sit at the crossroads of today’s demand and tomorrow’s opportunity. Even with the evolution of AI, humans will always need personal connection. They will want to consume content of real people that have real emotions. We aim to be the leading partner in developing the business operations for this next iteration of technology in the world.
I am most proud of the team that we have in place. Spearheading the growth of this company meant turning a brand name with no prior connections to any athletes, agents, news outlets or anything into something that people could recognize and buy in to. Each day is a challenge for us, and I respect our team for believing in me. As someone who has built this with no back up plan, we are creating our own lanes with our own ideas. I value culture over everything and that is something I take directly from my time playing quarterback. We have built a phenomenal culture of trust, buy in, and ultimately just doing your job. Everyone has a role to play and if we can all execute that we will be successful in this endeavor. We’ve brought together top talent from across the country to operate as one team, aligned around a single goal.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
There is no one right answer. That’s something I learned from speaking with people from different backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs. All of them answering the same question in different ways. What I took from that is simple: you don’t copy anyone’s path. You take pieces of insight and build your own. I realized some advice will apply to me, some won’t.
But the most universal principle I can give is this, you have to be willing to do what others aren’t. I took this motto from my high school football days. If a workout set is 10 reps, we are doing 12 reps. If we’re supposed to run 100 yard sprints, we are running 102 yards. The endurance and enthusiasm you need to have will be your base. If you want to achieve something no one else has, you have to be willing to do what no one else is willing to do to get there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.trademarkse.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ty-marion/
Image Credits
Courtesy of TradeMark Sports & Entertainment
Photos of Saquon Barkley, Tyrone Tracy Jr, and Jayden Reed.
