Taylor Huang

Texas Christian University, Neeley School of Business

“I will have a more detailed bio on Forbes someday.”

Fun fact about yourself: When I was little, I had hair on both sides of my head but not on the top.

Hometown: Hong Kong

High School: Donelson Christian Academy

Major: Entrepreneurial Management + Marketing          

Favorite Business Course: Leading in a Complex World

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

• TCU Club Golf
• BNSF Neeley Leadership Program (TCU Neeley)
• Fort Worth Boys and Girls Club
• Cowtown Angels Group

Where have you interned during your college career?

• Company: Mayfair Manufacturing

Location: Shenzhen, China

Role: Sales Representative

• Company: TroyPlus

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Role: Marketing and Sales Representative

• Company: Huang & Thompson Investments

Location: Austin, TX

Role: Founder

• Company/Organization: Cowtown Angels

Location: Fort Worth, TX

Role: Member

Where will you be working after graduation? I have not made a commitment yet.

What did you enjoy most about your business school? I really enjoyed how many of our professors are retired business professionals. They not only teach us the knowledge in the textbooks, but they also incorporated many of their personal stories and experiences in the real world. With that said, I feel like my professors sharing their personal stories and experiences allowed me to understand all of the information from our textbooks on a much deeper level, equipping me to utilize everything I learned in a practical manner. Being in the business school has also allowed me the opportunity to build a rich professional network through my professors, which widens my perspectives in different industries.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Do not be afraid to fail. Nobody likes to fail; however, failure isn’t something that can be avoided. Failures are necessary for growth. An individual cannot be resilient if he/she never experiences failure, resilience is part of what it takes to succeed.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? Before I majored in business, I pictured business students to be entrepreneurs. However, after majoring in Entrepreneurial Management, I was surprised to find out that many business students do not make the best entrepreneurs because they tend to focus more on profit rather than the product itself. Such mindsets can cause business students to be more focused on the opportunities to establish a successful business rather than solving a problem.

“If I didn’t major in business, I would be majoring in or studying…agriculture. According to studies, the world will likely run into a food shortage problem by 2050. However, with the fast development of telecommunicating technology, the internet is actually the leading industry, not agriculture. That said, the basic need for food actually proposes a much bigger problem to human race, yet it is not gaining enough attention. Therefore, I would have chosen to learn about agriculture to solve the problem of food shortage in the future if I did not major in business.”

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? My mother. After my father passed away, my mother had to take a risk to start a business in order to have enough financial capability to raise me. My mother has always been a great business operator and manager. However, she was lacking in negotiation skills, which may be a result of her personality. She is the one who inspired me to be a better businessman so I can help her and ultimately exceed her success in the business field.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? In October of 2017, I set up my own investment company to invest in different projects in order to build a well-balanced portfolio. Since then, I have recruited 3 more investors/partners to pool a greater capital in order to give us the freedom to better diversify our investments.

Which classmate do you most admire? The classmate I admire the most is Mavis Tang, who is also a member of the program I am in called the BNSF Neeley Leadership Program. Mavis is one of the most selfless people I know. In the leadership program, everyone demonstrates a very unique leadership style and approach. Mavis is the perfect example of servant leadership. She is always the fastest person to respond when there is a need within the program.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? There are many people I need to be thankful for growing up. However, as I have mentioned before, my mother fought through some hardships in order to provide me with the best opportunity she could possibly afford. There is not one bit of my personal success that did not come from my mother. Therefore, given that I can only choose one person, I am most thankful for my mother.

What are the top two items on your bucket list?

• Watch Tiger Woods play in the masters before he retires
• Build an agricultural business that will solve the food insecurity problem

What are your hobbies? I love to golf and travel. Golf has always been a gentlemen’s sport. It is amazing how many business deals are done on the green. In addition, golf is a game of commitment, focus, and patience, which are some of the most important traits to success. I believe my golf game is more than just a hobby, it helps me succeed professionally and be a better person. My other hobby is traveling. I believe travel widens my perspectives. Mark Twain once said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” With the world coming together in the way that it has never seen, there is no room for judgments and prejudice. Understanding different cultures and personalities can help us better work together with people from other backgrounds. Therefore, travel is a big part of my life and it is something I will never stop doing.

What made Taylor Huang such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2019?

“Taylor Huang was a noticeable figure from the moment he arrived on campus. He brought with him a refreshing sense of honest curiosity. He wanted to know everything he could about the majors offered in the business school, what he could learn in each one and the potential career impact. His enthusiasm, curiosity, and can-do attitude have been fueled by the extensive resources offered at TCU.

Taylor is continually inspired while also inspiring others. He conducted a two-semester impact project in partnership with a prison rehabilitation non-profit to offer professional development skills to inmates upon release. He took the training offered through his business degree and passed it on. He is the same in the classroom.  He takes the principles learned from professors and puts them to practice immediately in his own entrepreneurial ventures. It doesn’t seem there is an incubation time with Taylor! He turns knowledge gained into knowledge shared almost immediately.

Taylor’s personal story is laced with hardships that could temper a person’s enthusiasm and a quest for life, but very few people know his full story which is a testament to his perseverance and choice of positivity. For those of us who have worked closely with Taylor during his undergraduate journey, we have had the privilege of witnessing his tenacious pursuit of all this American collegiate experience had to offer, and know that he navigated the ups and downs with grace.”

Susan Sledge
Director, BNSF Neeley Leadership Program
Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University