Tom McGowan On Successfully Running All Things Good & Inspiring Positive Change In The Media Space

Surabhi Verma
Nov 6 · 5 min read

Our audience is keen to read about the stories of entrepreneurs creating a difference in the world. Tell us about yourself and your area of work.

I’ve wanted to be in business since I was a little kid, but as I grew older I also realized I wanted to make a difference through business. There’s just something rewarding about building a business from the ground up that impacts more people than just yourself. That’s how I ended up starting ATG. I realized there was a hole in the media market for good news. It seemed like every time I watched the news it was only bad news, politics, people dying, etc. I wanted to create a media company that could have a positive impact on people's lives. I think we as humans can get caught up in the content our brains process on an everyday basis… so it’s good to filter some of the bad news out with the good news.

Your brand is known as All Things Good. What does it stand for?

Yes — All Things Good is the name of the media company I started. I came up with the name because of the simple catchy phrase that it represents. We only share the good news, good stories, and so forth… hence the name All Things Good. We have stories that we share every week on social media, our website, podcasts, sports news, and so much more. Our logo is the letters ATG with a circle around the G, which is meant to emphasize the G (Good).

Your story is inspiring in many ways. Walk us through your journey behind creating All Things Good.

I first started ATG a couple of years back during my senior year in college. I was searching for an industry to build a business in and came across the media industry. At first, I analyzed the industry as a whole and calculated that the online media industry would grow by more than 200% within the next 10 years. I knew it was an industry to be in, so when I further analyzed the industry I noticed there weren’t any news stations that focused on ONLY good news. I thought this was odd because every time I watched good news stories with people it would light their day up. It seemed to be the best content, but rarely ever made the mainstream media. As I officially got started with ATG I actually started to see how important my work was. People continue to reach out every day saying how ATG has positively impacted their life and in some cases saved their life. It had become more than just a media company, but something people could turn to when they’ve been having a bad day, and I thought that was pretty awesome.

As an entrepreneur, how do you plan to take your business to the next level?

When it comes to taking ATG to the next level I feel confident in where we’re going. I’ve been fortunate to have some of my best friends (Tyler, Jeff, Caleb, and more)be part of it. I think surrounding your business with great people is very important. We’re also working on some big projects for the next coming year. We plan on developing an app at some point where people can scroll finding the best good news articles from a variety of media outlets. We plan on adding more podcasts as our two current ones have gained traction with interviewing people such as pro athletes, hall of famers, musicians, entrepreneurs. We will also be designing more merchandise, which we plan on donating some of the profits to good causes. I’m really excited for 2020 and the projects we’ve been working on.

How do you keep up with the growing competition about creating content online especially when there are so many huge platforms already in the niche.

For me, competition is a good thing. If there are more people starting good news companies then awesome, that means there will be more positivity and good news in the world. I’m also someone that competes with myself more than anything. I know where ATG is going and the path that we need to take. People can often get caught up in what others are doing and actually derail their own work instead of progressing. I like where we’re going.

Has creating positive content brought any significant positive changes in your life?

I always try to be a positive and optimistic person regardless, but it can definitely help. I’m a true believer you create the energy you receive. If you try to be a positive person every day, then you’ll probably end up being just that. It can sometimes be hard filtering out all the bad news in the search for a good article, but I enjoy the process. It’s also just nice to see how much positive impact it brings to ATG followers. I’ve even had some people tell me they were battling depression, but once they found ATG it made them think differently about their life and other people. It’s also been a cool experience through ATG to talk with and interview people that I grew up watching on tv or in movies. I never thought I’d be talking with some of the people I do, but it just goes to show how far we’ve come and the impact we have.

For someone who is just starting out as an entrepreneur, what would be your best piece of advice?

Try to learn as much as possible. You should never stop learning more about your craft. I try to learn something new about business every day, that’s why I feel so confident with it. On top of that, never let someone convince you otherwise. If you believe in your idea, then go for it. So many people will try to tell you your wrong, it’s a dumb idea, or how “they would do it”. Don’t let them. Trust yourself and what you truly believe. The number of people along this process that have tried telling me how to do things, or that I’m too young, blah blah. Be confident and believe in yourself… that’s the biggest thing.

Where all can our audience find you?

Our podcasts are on Itunes Podcast, Spotify, Anchor and more. They are:

ATG Sports Podcast

All Things Good Podcast

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Website: theatgco.com

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Surabhi Verma

Written by

Author: And She Quit Her Job, Founding Editor ‘The Inception’ on Medium, Entertainment Journalist (The Times Group), Former Copy Editor (Hindustan Times).

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