Members of the band Live hang out in the Kansas City Startup Village. 

Multi-platinum rock band Live took a pit stop Sunday, July 28 in the Kansas City Startup Village on its way to the Summerland Tour show at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater. Turns out a few of the band members are entrepreneurs themselves, running Think Loud Holdings, and are especially interested in fiber Internet—they have ownerships in United Fiber & Data.

Local Ruckus reached out to lead guitarist Chad Taylor about a BBQ lunch and tour, so Silicon Prairie News caught up with Matthew Marcus (right), Local Ruckus CTO and co-founder, to hear about the experience.

Silicon Prairie News: How did you get hooked up with Live for the tour of the KCSV?

Marcus: Yet another moment of serendipity for the KCSV. While attending the interactive portion of South by Southwest this year, we randomly connected with Donnie Graves, former mainstream music manager in L.A., while walking around the Rainey Street historic district in Austin. He was managing the BlackBerry house, and we inquired about renting the same house during SXSW 2014. While talking with Donnie about the great things happening in Kansas City, including the KCSV, he suggested we get in touch with Live since they were pursuing similar entrepreneurial ventures around fiber optics in the Northeast. He introduced us via email to Chad Taylor, and after a series of exchanges, it ultimately led to the band touring the KCSV.

SPN: What are they pursuing in their business?

Marcus: First of all, I must dispel a myth, at least for Chad and the rest of Live. These guys are not just rock stars. They are true entrepreneurs in every sense of the word. From an early age, these guys hustled to get it done, learning how to build, market and expand their brand. They even financially supported their music venture by selling bonds to family and friends. Awesome! Listening to Chad speak on behalf of the band’s entrepreneurial pursuits literally makes your jaw drop and leaves you scrambling for paper and pen to take notes. Well spoken and well educated.

Since starting the band in high school, they have continued to build and invest in many business ventures, which in turn support their music careers or what Chad likes to refer to as their “habit.” They are involved with Think Loud Holdings, which is the parent brand for their family of multi-national companies that has generated more than $1.3 billion in top-line revenue. Their latest venture, United Fiber & Data, is a billion-dollar-plus venture making waves in both the fiber optic communication and data storage industries.

SPN: What did you get to show off? Where did you take them?

Marcus: We started off the event by greeting the visitors at the LocalLeapZapper house in the Village and treating them to some fine Smokehouse Bar-B-Que. Attendees included the band, execs of United Fiber & Data, village entrepreneurs and special guests like Cameron Cushman of Kauffman Foundation and Deanna Michaud of Workforce Partnerships.

General chit-chat ensued, which eventually lead to everyone introducing themselves and hearing stories of the KCSV, Homes for Hackers and the band’s entrepreneurial background and current ventures. And since they’re in the business of fiber optics, we of course shared with them and proudly showcased the power of Google Fiber.

After lunch, we toured some the KCSV offices and homes, telling them the story of how each individual space came to be. The lunch and tour was originally supposed to last 1.5 hours, but the band and crew were enjoying themselves, so it actually lasted 2.5-plus hours.

SPN: What did they have to say about the community?

Marcus: They loved hearing about what’s happening in Kansas City, and seeing for themselves what is going on in the Village. As fellow entrepreneurs, the band quickly understood the power of the Village and the benefits it offers residing startups. In fact, Chad Taylor liked it so much that he wants to continue discussions with Village co-leaders to learn how the band can replicate the movement in their hometown of York, Pa. He even mentioned flying some KCSV co-leaders to York to visit their digs and keep the ball rolling. Sweet!

SPN: Is there anything they may get involved with in KC down the road?

Marcus: I think there are many opportunities for the band to stay connected to the KCSV. These guys are not just entrepreneurs and musicians, but investors as well. Chad mentioned he reads through hundreds of business plans each year as a representative of Think Loud Advisors. They might invest as angels in some of the Village companies. Also, the KCSV has been entertaining the thought of “sister” startup villages. In much the same way as 1 Million Cups has grown organically across the nation, why not let other entrepreneurs follow the concepts of the KCSV and create startup villages in their proverbial neck of the woods? A network of startup villages, including the York Startup Village. Sounds awesome to me.

Live guitarist Chad Taylor talks to a crowd at KCSV:

Credits: Photo by Jason Adell. Marcus head shot courtesy Local Ruckus. Video from KCSV on YouTube.