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'Feedback Is a Gift: Go Get It, Ask for It, and Listen to It'

'Feedback Is a Gift: Go Get It, Ask for It, and Listen to It'

We spoke with Tim Murphy, Co-Founder and President of Media at Youth Inc. about the the gift of feedback, the transformative power of mentorship, and his approach to thoughtful year-end assessments.

December 07, 2024

There’s something undeniably engaging about a person fully immersed in a purpose that transcends themselves. Whether you’ve known them for years or only moments, their passion for a mission shines through, inspiring those around them.

This is immediately evident when Tim Murphy, Co-Founder and President of Media at Youth Inc., speaks about the innovative vision he shares with his co-founders: NFL Pro Bowl alum and award-winning Fox Sports broadcaster Greg Olsen, and former Fanatics executive Ryan Baise. Together, they’ve embarked on a mission that far exceeds their already impressive and decorated careers.

Harnessing decades of excellence and high performance in their respective fields, these leaders have found a higher calling: to build Youth Inc., the first-ever digital media network devoted entirely to youth sports. Their work is redefining the landscape, offering parents, coaches, and young athletes expert-driven guidance and resources to navigate the complexities of youth sports with greater confidence and clarity.

“Leadership isn’t about knowing everything,” Murphy reflects, drawing on more than 20 years of executive leadership experience. “It’s about acknowledging what you don’t know, being curious, and staying humble.”

The Daily Coach spoke with Murphy about the founding of Youth Inc., the gift of feedback, the transformative power of mentorship, and his approach to thoughtful year-end assessments.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

…

Tim, we're grateful for you doing this. Tell us about your childhood and some key lessons from it.

Growing up as one of nine children, with only ten years separating all of us, was a defining part of my childhood. Being the seventh in such a large, busy, and often chaotic household shaped me in profound ways. When you’re in an environment with so many siblings, you quickly learn how to be self-sustaining. There simply isn’t enough attention to go around, so independence becomes second nature.

At the same time, you also figure out how to be part of a team—how to fill a role, contribute to the bigger picture, and avoid being selfish. You learn not to detract from the team but to add to it. Everyone needs help in that kind of environment, and there’s no room to wait for others to step in. You have to be scrappy, get things done on your own, and contribute to the whole.

I really came to appreciate collaboration and the importance of functioning as a team. I’ve never been in a setting where I was entirely alone, and that experience taught me how to navigate stress and high-pressure situations. With so many people in one household, you figure out how to handle those moments productively rather than destructively.

And then there’s humor—it’s essential. Humor was how we defused tension, kept things moving, and got along as a group. Ultimately, I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up in that environment. My parents cared deeply about our well-being. I wouldn’t change that experience for the world—though I will admit, having just two kids 17 and 14 feels about right for me!

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Can you share the origin story of Youth Inc. and what inspired its creation?

So the origin of Youth Inc. really has two parts to it. Greg Olsen is definitely the founding father from a content perspective. He saw a real need in the market, and it came from a very authentic, organic place. The need was for content to help kids, parents, and coaches navigate what’s become this really complex youth sports landscape. Greg grew up immersed in sports—his dad was a high school football coach, and his mom was a physical education teacher.

But after Greg was done playing and started coaching his own kids, who were 11 and 8 at the time, he was surprised by how much more complicated youth sports had become. Things like, “Should my 8-year-old play travel ball? If so, which of the 30 clubs in my area should we pick? Who can I trust?” He was constantly hearing these conversations at every cocktail party or social event. It was like, “Are your kids playing travel? Which team? Which club?” And he thought, “Wow, if I’m having a hard time figuring this out, I can’t be the only one.”

Greg realized he could use his access and background to bring experts to the table—people who could offer sound advice and perspective to help kids, parents, and coaches get the best out of youth sports. His whole mission was to preserve the good stuff—the value youth sports bring to kids, families, and communities. Youth sports are becoming more professionalized or industrialized, depending on how you look at it, but Greg’s point was: when it’s done right, youth sports are awesome. They’re so good for kids—physically, mentally—and they bring families together. They build communities and give people something positive to rally around, especially in a world where there’s so much division. Sports, and youth sports in particular, are one of the few things that can unify people.

So Greg kicked things off with Youth Inc., recording 44 episodes of a video podcast. That’s when I came into the picture. I’ve been in media for over 20 years, working at companies like The New York Times and Audacy (formerly CBS Radio). I’ve always loved media and sports, but I’d been at traditional media companies, and those models are struggling in today’s world. I was looking for a way to take all my experience and build something digital and modern.

Greg and his partner asked me, “Do you think there’s a real business here?” And I thought about it as both a media executive and a dad who’s been involved in coaching and youth sports. I told Greg, “Yeah, I think there’s a huge opportunity here.” I shared his passion for the mission, and I said, “Let’s scale this. Let’s take what you’ve started and find the Greg Olsen of every sport—tennis, softball, track, basketball, you name it. Let’s build a network of trusted, credible experts and use that to create content that’s both specific to each sport and valuable across the board.”

The idea was to bring it all together on one platform, creating a network effect so people can discover, share, and rely on it as a resource. I told Greg, “If you’re willing to be the center of that network and help recruit other talent like you, I can build the business and publishing framework to make it happen.” He was all in. So in 2023, we joined forces, and that’s how we started building Youth Inc. together.

Youth Inc.

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What are some qualities you admire most about your Greg Olsen?

You know, what I really like about Greg is that he's not afraid of being vulnerable. Even though he's a Pro Bowl NFL tight end and now a two-time Emmy award-winning broadcaster, he has no problem admitting when he doesn't know something or feels like he could improve.

For example, Greg is a coach—he coaches football, baseball, and his daughter's basketball teams. Whenever he meets other coaches, he's the first to say, "I need to get better. Tell me what I could do differently." Whether it’s about listening to players, coaching them, or helping them navigate different aspects of sports, he's incredibly self-aware and humble. He loves to improve.

What stands out is that he approaches every conversation, whether it’s about the content he’s creating or his role as a coach, not from the perspective of a pro athlete who knows it all but as a dad who genuinely wants to do better. That kind of humility is disarming. It makes people feel comfortable opening up, sharing their thoughts, and providing great insights because they see his genuine curiosity and humility.

So, if I had to pick two traits I admire most about Greg, they would be curiosity and humility. In my experience, those are essential qualities for any great leader. You need both to truly lead, and Greg embodies them.

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From your 20+ years as a media executive, what valuable lessons did these experiences teach you about leadership and personal growth?

I was part of teams that were trying to lead these legacy, traditional media brands through a time of great change. With the advent of the internet and the digital age—Google, Craigslist, Monster—all these things started to emerge in the late '90s. I was in the thick of helping organizations navigate these dramatic changes between what had worked in the past and what needed to happen in the future.

What I learned is that there’s a really fine line between being deferential and respectful of the past while also asking people to change—asking them to change their beliefs, their behaviors, and how they see the world. And like any leader who’s developing their skills, you make mistakes. You go too far one way or the other. But for me, I really learned by doing—and by having mentors who gave me feedback. That’s another huge thing: feedback. You need to ask for it, seek it out, and be open to it. ‘How am I doing? Could I have done that differently?’ Those are the kinds of questions that help you grow. If you’re honest with people and you’re curious and humble, you can help others—whether it’s in their career, their life, or the business they’re running.

I also learned that you’ve got to acknowledge what people have accomplished to this point and make them feel good about that. But at the same time, you have to help them understand why they need to change to succeed. Sometimes that meant asking teams to launch a digital business that might actually conflict with their historical business. Like, if you’re a newspaper, TV station, or radio station that’s made a lot of money one way, you’re basically saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to monetize a new way, and it might feel like a threat to what’s always worked.’ You have to balance that transition and make it as smooth as possible.

Ultimately, people have to believe that they need to adapt to stay successful. And as a leader, you have to show them by doing it yourself. You’ve got to be out in the market with them, sitting in their offices, going on sales calls, and even getting hands-on with the work. It’s about showing them you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and make the same changes you’re asking of them. That’s how you inspire people to truly transform.

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December is often a time for reflection and planning. Does the team have a process for conducting organizational year-end assessments? If so, what does that process involve?

Yes, we do. Just recently, we all gathered in Philadelphia for this purpose. Like many startups today, we’re a fairly dispersed team. We felt it was important to come together in person, share meals, and take the time to reflect on our progress.

We started by putting together slides to review what we’ve accomplished so far. It was a moment to celebrate those achievements, which I believe is crucial. Celebrating progress communally makes a difference—it ensures that everyone in the room feels seen and recognized for their contributions.

From there, we shifted gears to look ahead. We asked ourselves, “If we’re successful, what do we look like in 2026?” That future vision helped us outline where we need to be at the end of each quarter in 2025 to stay on track. We then worked backward to determine what needs to be accomplished by December 31, 2024, to set ourselves up for success.

This approach gave us clarity for the next 40 days. We asked, “What do we need to focus on now to be positioned well for our four-quarter plan in 2025?” Having a short-term plan tied directly to a long-term vision is essential. Everyone—including myself—needs to know exactly what we’re focusing on in the immediate term, with clear deliverables, while trusting that this work ladders up to the bigger strategic vision.

At year-end, it’s critical to ensure the entire team sees the big picture and understands how their day-to-day efforts contribute to it. Physically gathering for two dedicated days allowed us to align on the long-term vision and connect our immediate tasks to that broader plan. That alignment is invaluable.

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Sports have a remarkable power to unite and inspire. How can leaders more effectively engage with and empower the next generation—not only as athletes but also as future leaders who can drive positive change?

Mentoring and being mentored is such a gift. Importantly, it doesn't have to be a formal thing and part of an athletic or corporate program. The word 'mentor' itself is powerful because it connotes caring—you want to be a Sherpa, to help someone grow and thrive. Mentorship creates a safe place for honesty, vulnerability, and both giving and receiving feedback.

When I mentor others, I often tell them, 'I want to give you feedback that I wish I had gotten when I was your age.' By framing it this way—as wisdom I wish I'd received at 25 or 30—it creates a constructive environment where feedback isn't received defensively. Being explicit about your mentorship intention is crucial: make it clear that you want to help them grow and provide honest feedback that would have accelerated your own leadership development.

You never stop needing a mentor yourself. I always use this adage: when Tiger Woods was at the height of his game, at his absolute peak, he still had a coach. You're never too good to need one. Personally, I maintain active relationships with at least three mentors who I regularly seek feedback from.

That's why we founded this company with a mission to help youth sports thrive. We want to make sports accessible and ensure they continue being a source of joy for everyone. We're deeply committed to this mission. If you want to make an impact, get involved—volunteer, coach, engage with your kids' schools and teams.

When youth sports are executed properly, it’s fun for kids, parents, and coaches. People learn great life lessons, and they stay healthy—both physically and mentally. Youth sports are something we want to protect and expand. We believe that by providing content as a utility to parents, kids, and coaches, they can have the optimal experience with youth sports and enjoy a lifetime of benefits from that experience.

I’m really excited to have launched this platform with Ryan and Greg!