Luke McElroy | Choosing Optimism

Optimism is a vital ingredient for entrepreneurs. As Luke McElroy, founder and president of Orange Thread Media, says, if you can’t believe in your own crazy idea, who else will?

Luke has been an optimist and an entrepreneur since he was a teenager. And with a company built around live events, he’s needed that hopeful attitude more than ever recently.

After building five businesses before the age of 18, Luke landed in the industry he came to love — live events — while studying at Nashville’s Belmont University.

Every year the college funded a series of arena shows run entirely by the students. Luke’s niche was video design, which no one else was doing at the time.

In his junior year, he was the video designer for every single show in the series. “Now they have rules against this, because they want to give everybody an opportunity,” he laughs. 

Despite his earlier entrepreneurial efforts, Luke wasn’t looking at video design as a business opportunity: just a fun college experience.

But when a friend who managed a band asked him to do video production on their tour — for actual money — Luke realized he’d accidentally stumbled on his next business venture.

Twelve years later, Luke and his team at Orange Thread have carved out another niche in Nashville’s crowded live event space. 

Most live event companies focus on touring acts while also taking on corporate gigs, but Orange Thread only does the latter — and does it well.

Of course, when Luke spoke to us in August 2020, no one was doing in-person live events of any kind. 

In March 2020, states across the country started to mandate stay-in-place orders. Orange Thread lost most of its bookings almost overnight.

Luke readily admits that he experienced what he describes as “borderline depression” in those early days of lockdown. But he also realized that shutting people out wasn’t the answer. 

Instead, Luke has tried to work with his team to figure out solutions. He values loyalty above everything, and that works both ways.

“I had a principle I had to play into. When a crisis happens, that's the greatest opportunity for a leader to shine.”
 

🧑 Name: Luke McElroy

⚙️ What he does: Entrepreneur, speaker and founder and president of live event video production company Orange Thread Media.

🎤 Organization: Orange Thread

💎 Words of wisdom: “Fear is trying to use past actions to affect your present or future outcomes: it's a looking-backward mentality. But curiosity is saying, ‘What can we do to pivot, to find new opportunities? How can we quickly adapt into virtual events? Let's just try some things and explore together.’”

🔍 Where to find Orange Thread: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Website

🔍 Where to find Luke: Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
 

💡 Lights, camera, action: After working as the video designer for a student showcase, Luke was hired to tour with a real band, for real money, and turned it into a real live events business.

💡 What’s in a name: Luke explains how the name Orange Thread encapsulates the company’s four core values: teamwork, innovation, excellence and simplicity.

💡 Optimism required: If you want to work for Luke, talent is great, but nothing is as valuable as loyalty and a can-do attitude.

💡 Hustling is a bust: Unlike some entrepreneurs, Luke believes that supporting your team is more rewarding than an any-means-necessary hustler mentality.

💡 Crisis point: Watching COVID-19 measures wipe out Orange Thread’s 2020 bookings overnight was terrifying — but Luke was determined to step up for his team.

💡 Think outside the box office: Instead of letting fear overtake him, Luke focused on cultivating curiosity and ideas that could help the company pivot to virtual events.

💡 Support acts: Luke credits his parents, his wife, his band of mentors, and his team by providing him with the advice and support that keep him going.
 

“When you do something you love, you don't allow yourself to get caught up in all the systems and infrastructure: You build the product rather than focusing on, ‘I'm an entrepreneur.’”

“There are a lot of very skilled people that are very cynical and difficult to deal with. We would rather hire someone who may not be as excellent at their craft, but has a fantastic attitude.”

“I realized this was an opportunity for me to be the leader I've always wanted to be — to stand before my team and say, ‘I'm not going to reduce anyone's pay. I'm not going to lay anybody off. Let's figure this out together. Let's pivot together. Let's find the new way forward.’”

“I think the concept of hustling is a self-centered idea: ‘I'm going to get whatever I want at the cost of everyone else.’”

“Some of my best team members are some of the most loyal and steadfast. Sometimes I get frustrated that they don't see the urgency of what we're trying to build. But when I'm exhausted, they're like, ‘No, let's go!’ Their rhythm is predictable and that has complimented my leadership style really well.”