We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Clay Taylor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Clay, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I have worked in video production and filmmaking for close to 20 years. I started working in the industry as a student at Texas A&M University. I got a job as a student shooter and editor for the athletic department. I spent over a decade working with the Texas A&M Athletic department, and about 7 years total for a commercial video production company located in college station. About a year ago, I started investigating the viability of starting my own business. I have a wife (who also just stepped into the entrepreneur world as a real estate agent) and 3 young kids, so stepping out on my own to start ‘Video Lab’ was a massive risk… we moved from a predictable salaried position to variable income. I’m going on month #3 of being a business owner and it has been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my career so far. I thought I knew all about the “hustle” before, but this takes it to a whole new level.

Clay, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

At ‘Video Lab’, we are a full-service video production company based in Bryan-College Station, TX that is wired to boost a company’s brand, product, or service by telling stories that move. Storytelling is a timeless way of connecting people, communicating complex ideas and transcending the modern world we live in. It is the fuel to our fire and the backbone of our business. I believe we are uniquely positioned to create authentic stories that will resonate richly with your audience.

These stories we create can and do vary in scope, but our sweet spot is producing short 3-5 minute documentary-style short films for clients. We also create derivative content from that 3-5 minute piece. I.e. Instagram reels, abbreviated versions for social media posts, etc.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

My video production dream began when I was a freshman at Texas A&M University. That same year my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Doctors said he would live maybe six months, but he proved them wrong and ended up living on about three more years. My dad was a very responsible man, and so as his health was declining he made sure that my mother was going to be taken care of financially. He made arrangements to have all of their debt paid off via the life insurance policy that he had through his employer. So when he eventually passed away my mom could live on debt-free and continue working towards retirement. A few years ago my mother got remarried to a great man in a different city and ended up selling the house I grew up in. When I approached my mom with the idea of starting Video Lab she knew right away that she wanted to help me get this thing off the ground, so it’s a very special feeling for me to know that my dad’s foresight and planning is the main reason my dream is taking flight.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The majority of my career was spent creating content for and about the Texas A&M Football team. At A&M, we truly love our football team, and as such the fanbase is super engaged with content relating to our team. There are millions of eye balls that have seen my work, not necessarily because it was award-winning (although we did collect some hardware along the way) but because Aggies are a loyal bunch. I’m forever grateful to all current and former students of my university for always having my back and being a source of encouragement for me throughout my journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.videolabtx.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/videolab.tx
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clay-taylor-9a728a14