Matt Crews is the CEO of Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, a three-day international festival featuring an NTT INDYCAR SERIES event. He has over 25 years of experience in the sports marketing, event management, and entertainment industries. Before Music City Grand Prix, Matt was the President of Fullcircle, where he played an integral role in acquiring key event sponsors and produced signature events for the 2016 Republican National Convention.

In this episode…

Executing an entrepreneurial vision requires passion, determination, and strategy, as it's never straightforward and doesn't always transpire the way we hope. One sporting and events industry entrepreneur proves his perseverance in bringing world-class events to the Nashville area.

After a mentor encouraged him to discover his passion, Matt Crews activated a career in the racing industry. He recognized an opportunity to position Nashville as a community-centric, vibrant city through the emergence of INDY racing events. He overcame reluctance from city officials, the obstacles of sourcing venues, selling tickets, and acquiring sponsors, and the pressure of being the primary decision-maker. As an entrepreneur with an ambitious dream, you must be willing to perform even the most mundane tasks because following your passion is an upward trajectory yielding worthwhile results.

In today's episode of EO Nashville's The Decision, Eric Jackson and Robert Hartline chat with Matt Crews, the CEO of Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, about his storied career in the events industry. Matt explains how he analyzes performance data from events, his trials and tribulations as an entrepreneur in a competitive industry, and his hiring criteria for event leaders.