Photo by: Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship - Texas A&M Mays Business School
Quarterback to CEO: Athletes Honored at Prestigious "Aggie 100" Gala
Jan 11, 2017 | General
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By: Victoria White '18, Texas A&M Media Relations
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Whistle blows, blaring alarm clock sounds, adding the final touches to a business class project, then suiting up for practice. Student-athletes live by a sharp routine. Learning discipline, time management, team work and diversity, as well as leadership, resiliency and persistence in addition to tough curriculum, is a challenge.
Celebrating the 100 fastest-growing Aggie-led businesses in the world, the Aggie 100 is an elite honor born of the distinguished Mays Business School's Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship (CNVE).
From the sprinting and sweat-inducing workouts to minimal sleep and fierce competition, several Aggie 100 Honorees have done the seemingly impossible by exemplifying how hard work translates to business success, inspiring entrepreneurs and athletes alike.
Among the 2016 class were quarterback Branndon Stewart '98, wide receiver Terrence Murphy '05, tight end Hunter Goodwin '96, yell leader John Magruder '04, track & field pole vaulter Thor Thornhill '04, and Corps Hall of Honor inductee and namesake of the Cox-McFerrin Center for Aggie Basketball, Jerry Cox '72.
Through Kyle Field two-a-days and humble beginnings to NFL stints and extremely successful business careers, many shared their wisdom and how being an Aggie athlete contributed to their success as CEOs--representing Texas A&M just as they did while wearing the maroon and white.
"I always felt a huge sense of responsibility to represent the student body, to represent the 12th Man," Goodwin said. "They're there to watch you and you should honor that effort with your best effort. I felt like that culture definitely existed when I played here. The coaches create an environment for it but ultimately it resides in the hearts, minds and souls of the players."
Industries such as marketing, oil, civil engineering and real estate are on the list. The path to productivity begins by first believing in yourself according to Stewart, CEO of Outbound Engine—a company which specializes in bringing essential marketing automation features to businesses.
He played ahead of Peyton Manning in games during his time at Tennessee before transferring to Texas A&M and leading the Aggies to their first Big 12 Championship and BCS Bowl appearance. Now, his company ranked fourth in this year's Aggie 100.
"When I was at A&M I was around a lot of really great competitors and we all expected to be successful," Stewart said. "You never thought about losing. You always thought that you were going to win. Having that expectation in your head, that's a huge part of success, just believing in yourself and expecting you and everyone around you to win every day. Those are probably the two biggest similarities as far as playing and starting a company."
Requirements of earning the prestigious Aggie 100 award include having been in business for five years or more, having verifiable revenues of $250,000 or more for calendar year 2013, then of course a Texas A&M University alum must have served as the company's CEO, founded the company or owned 50% or more of it from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015. The ranking of businesses is determined by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) calculation.
At the core of it all though, the Aggie 100 is about recognizing well-rounded leaders committed to core values of Aggies everywhere.
"The one thing which is the foundation of it all is hard work and integrity," Murphy said. "You won't hear me say enough about you have to work hard and you've got to do it the right way. You can't cheat on reps, you can't cheat on sprints. You got to finish it right and so I think that's what's given us an amazing foundation to not only succeed in this market but to keep growing."
Murphy realized the real estate industry was for him after he retired from the NFL with the Green Bay Packers.
"During the off season I would come back to College Station even when I was still in the NFL, build houses, and just do different events and opportunities," Murphy said. "I was trying to figure out what my next career would be and make that transition earlier instead of waiting until the last minute. And I just fell in love with real estate."
His business TM5 Properties, located in Bryan/College Station, has been honored with the Aggie 100 award two years in a row.
"It's the closest thing I could find to being an athlete literally," Murphy said. "I've looked at a lot of different careers and this is probably the closest thing to just going out, working hard and getting a result from your hard work." Hunter Goodwin
Goodwin also resides in Aggieland with his family and is the CEO of Oldham-Goodwin Group. Nine years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons taught him how to compete at the highest level. He embraces diversity, diligence and integrity.
"You don't show up on Saturday and win because of what you did the six days prior," Goodwin said. "You show up on Saturday and win because of what you did the 364 days prior. It's how you eat, it's how you lift, it's how you approach every single thing you do in the offseason, during the season and when there is a huge expectation to be your best and compete. And anything less than that is unacceptable. It's really a cool thing to be a part of because you do not want to be the weak link. You want to get on board with it."
Stewart also found similarities between being a play-caller on the field and in his profession.
"As a quarterback you just get used to dealing with adversity and not getting overwhelmed when things go really well or not so well," Stewart said. "When you build a company, things go well, and then sometimes things go not so well. Being able to deal with that and not lose focus of what you're trying to get done, not getting frustrated, and having confidence in yourself that you can come back and do it again and do a better job next time…all of those things help."
The businesses have to overcome adversities with persistence and dedication.
"The most challenging is when you're first getting started, like convincing your first 50 or 100 customers to give you a shot. It's probably the toughest because a lot of times you don't have a reputation yet and it seems kind of risky," Stewart said. "But you just have to keep trying, not give up and make sure you do a good job with each new customer you have."
Then, the challenges change. Staying the course despite being told no, convincing venture capitalists and bankers to invest, and for Outbound Engine keeping their 300 employees happy and focused all play into maintaining the culture of the company and the leadership within.
"I attribute so much of my off the field business success to football," Goodwin said. "You learn so much about how to lead in a locker room. There's so many different styles of leadership but I had the great fortune of coming to A&M at a time where there was tremendous accountability from within, tremendous leadership from the players and really an expectation of excellence that emulated throughout everything we did." Terrence Murphy
Striving to embody a killer work ethic from a young age, Murphy worked two jobs going through high school and followed the strenuous schedule of 5:45 a.m. to 10 o'clock at night as an Aggie football player. He continues to use what he learned to this day.
"It's not where you start, it's where you're going," Murphy said. "I was a two-star recruit from east Texas that played quarterback. No one ever gave me a chance to play at Kyle Field, and they were actually mad and talking negative when Coach (R.C.) Slocum signed me. Then I left as the most decorated receiver in the history of A&M. Honestly, I'm doing the same thing in real estate right now, keeping my head down and working my butt off."
While Murphy was catching footballs, yell leader John Magruder was inspiring Aggie spirit by giving fans energy at all sports through animated yells. Now the two both work in real estate and even established a partnership between Magruder Homes and TM5 Properties.
Magruder was very involved during his tenure as a student in a multitude of organizations including Fish Camp, Traditions Council, Parson's Mounted Calvary, Ol' Ags and the Corps of Cadets.
"Accountability to get things done, organization, and close friendships are what I took away the most from my time at A&M," Magruder said.
Balancing his time, going for big goals and clinching Aggie 100 recognition for the third time in four years has certainly paid off for Magruder, who co-owns the business with his wife, Tyan. The award means a lot to him.
"One of the best things about the Aggie 100 is it is a form of payoff for the effort and time we devote to our work, our team members and our community," Magruder said. "To receive recognition from the university that we love gives us a sense of pride that is a little hard to describe."
With a father who played for University of Texas, Goodwin grew up a Longhorn fan. However, his most memorable moment as student at A&M was the highly-anticipated rivalry game against Texas. He said the greatest thing about the game of football is that it is not an individual sport.
"No matter how good the individuals are, if the sum of the whole do not function uniformly, together then no individual part will work," Goodwin said. "Football is one of my favorite games because it demands teamwork, it demands that every guy on the field do his job and execute on his job or the play doesn't work. That is just a great test bed for teaching you how to be a teammate and teaching you that even in the moment when the TV camera is not on you and even in the moment when you're not going to get credit for the big explosive play down the field, you have to execute or that play won't occur."
He encourages all of his children to play sports because of the many parallels sports have to life.
"It really teaches you how to be not a glory hound but an unselfish person that understands your contribution. While maybe it goes unnoticed, it is an absolute necessity for the overall success of the team," Goodwin said.
Murphy gave a message to all athletes aspiring for greatness.
"We have the tools put inside of us through sports to transition into business and life and be great business owners and be great husbands or great fathers or mothers, but sometimes we struggle making that transition," Murphy said. "I see so many athletes at A&M go through depression or be down on themselves when they try to make that transition because it's tough. I just want to be a beacon of light to let them know that yes, you can do it."
