Tyler Campbell | Greenroom
Owner of Greenroom
Tyler Campbell, owner of Greenroom, shares his journey of building an entertainment booking agency in Nashville, Tennessee, amidst the challenges of launching during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched Into Uncertainty
Tyler Campbell came to Nashville to play baseball at Vanderbilt, but after college, he found himself drawn to the entertainment industry. He built Green Room to help clients book headline talent for events—but just as he finished the logistics of launching, COVID shut everything down. A business built on live performances had no clear path forward.
Making It Work Anyway
Instead of pausing, Tyler shifted gears. He booked virtual speakers and adapted to the limits of online events. It wasn’t ideal, but it bought him time—to build relationships, refine his process, and figure out what clients actually needed beyond just talent on a stage.
Building With Longevity in Mind
Now years into running Green Room, Tyler’s business serves corporate teams, nonprofits, and private clients. He’s more comfortable in high-level meetings than he ever expected to be. The goal was never a fast exit—it was a long-term business that could grow alongside his family and keep adapting as the industry shifts.
“ 99% of what you’re gonna do is going to fail. Entrepreneurship is built on failure—and your ability to keep going anyway. ”
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All right. My name is Tyler Campbell, and I own Green Room here in Nashville, Tennessee. We are an entertainment booking agency, and we book headline entertainment for private events. That could be corporate events, large fundraising galas, or high-net-worth individuals who want a celebrity to perform at their wedding or anniversary.
Those are the three main types of clients we work with.
Our target audience includes corporate event planners and event teams at large corporations. They’re often great at building an event, scheduling, and handling design and production—but the entertainment side can feel intimidating. It helps to have someone in the industry who can navigate both sides and offer the support they need.
The same goes for nonprofit groups hosting large galas. We build relationships with those event teams as well and help in the same way.
I moved to Nashville in 2012 from Portland, Oregon, where I was born and raised. I came to Nashville to play baseball at Vanderbilt. I played four years at Vandy—we had a lot of success, making it to national championship games. We won one and lost one.
My first job out of college was with another entertainment group, doing much of what I do now. But I always knew I wanted to start my own company. Once I learned just enough to get going, I did.
I spent four or five months getting everything in order—setting up my LLC, bank accounts, website—all the bare-bones structure of the business.
And just when it was ready to launch, it was week one of COVID.
So here I was, starting a live entertainment business the same week everything shut down. I thought, Is this going to last a month? Two? Of course, it lasted closer to two years.
I had to pivot to virtual entertainment. We booked virtual keynote speakers and even comedy shows—which were a bit of a nightmare. But we learned a lot. Honestly, it was a blessing. I probably wasn’t ready for full-scale live entertainment yet.
For any entrepreneur, regardless of industry, relationship skills are crucial. You have to present yourself as educated, trustworthy, and capable. You also have to learn how to figure out what people truly want.
People spend years building startups with good products, but if they’re not solving a real problem, they keep hitting a wall. They wonder, Why aren’t people buying this?—and often it’s because they’ve missed the pain point.
On a bigger picture level, I’ve had to think about my own goals. For some entrepreneurs, the dream is to build a great business and sell it in ten years, walk away with a check, retire, and buy a boat. That’s valid.
But for me, this business is more about lifestyle. It provides a good life for me and my family. I have my first child on the way, so I’m starting to think less selfishly about the future.
When I started, I thought I was too introverted for sales and outreach. I didn’t want to walk into meetings with massive corporate groups on the 40th floor and pitch my services to 15 people. It was completely out of my comfort zone.
But my motivation to build the business was strong enough to pull me through that. Now, years later, I’m much more comfortable in those situations—and that confidence shows up in other areas of my life too.
For any entrepreneur, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in it for years, the most important lesson is this: 99% of what you're gonna do is going to fail.
Your marketing ideas? Most won’t land. Outreach? You’ll send a hundred emails and hear back from two. It’s a game of rejection. You have to be resilient. Entrepreneurship is built on failure—and your ability to keep going anyway.
Why We Share These Stories
We believe that celebrating Tennessee’s entrepreneurs will inspire the next generation of bold thinkers, risk-takers, and community builders. Entrepreneurs don’t forget where they come from—and they carry the power to transform not just their businesses, but entire neighborhoods, towns, and local economies. See more entrepreneur stories from the Patton Foundation.
