Scio grad becomes Ecuadorian businessman

Like his classmates, Ryan Hood Taylor, Class of 2007, was very active during his years at Scio High School. He was a three sport athlete and one of the valedictorians for his class. Also, like his classmates, he wasn't exactly sure where his future would take him. Once he became a student at Willamette University in Salem, his path became clearer. “I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur,” Hood Taylor said last week.

Hood Taylor is in Scio for the holidays, actually surprising his mother, who did not know he was coming. Keeping his visit a surprise was not easy for the exuberant Hood Taylor, but he was determined. “I just walked into the room after Mom sat down and said, 'Hi, I'm home.' She was thrilled!” He said she was extremely surprised and happy to have him home. He returns to Ecuador in late January where he will continue to build his vision of creating long lasting businesses in the South American country.

Three of his Willamette classmates had similar goals. Hood Taylor, or HT as he was commonly known in Scio, had majored in Latin American Development and minored in economics. He also became proficient in Spanish. One of his WU classmates was a Ecuadorian citizen, leading the small group to consider starting a business there. Hood Taylor didn't hesitate to take the plunge. “I bought a one way ticket,” Hood Taylor said of his original trek to Columbia.

Once in Ecuador, the foursome set to work. It was not long before they had started what quickly became a three business company. First, they opened a hostel in the capital city of Quito. “It was really successful,” HT said. So successful in fact, that the group recently received a grant from the Ecuadorian government to open a second one.

Next up came the business that HT has a more direct hand in- Academic Adventures. Thanks to a partnership with North Salem High School, the company is able to offer high school students the chance to visit Ecuador and learn more about the country while also lending a helping hand in working with children there. HT hopes to eventually expand the business to include students from Scio High School.

The group has also just recently started a microbrewery called Benito Brewing. HT said while microbreweries are extremely popular and becoming much more common in the United States, they remain more of a novelty in Ecuador. He hopes their brewery will change that and help create another business for Ecuadorians to form to better support themselves.

Hood Taylor originally considered graduate school. Instead, he decided the two years spent in academia would be better spent creating his own business. It was a decision he is very happy with. “I'm really happy with what I'm doing.” Just hearing him talk about his endeavors, it becomes very obvious that Hood Taylor is doing what he loves.

With his partners, Hood Taylor eventually plans to open the second hostel. They are also considering several other ventures. “We want to create our own environment,” he said of the company's vision. “We are surrounded by incredibly competent people,” he said, adding that these two components are making their goal of adding ventures become a reality. The group's company is setting up a foundation to better fund their future ventures and retain funding for their current ones.

One thing HT would like to do is add more outreach work. He explained that the group's private sector work will allow them to “sustain ourselves then sustain our outreach.” To that goal, the group has included permaculture in their business model. Permacultural endeavors allows them to take care of the earth, take care of the people and share the surplus food they grow.

Eventually, he hopes to obtain Ecuadorian citizenship. That's not to say that Scio will not remain his home. “The people here,” he said, “are irreplaceable.” While he plans to become a dual citizen, one thing will always remain the same for Hood Taylor. “I love it here.” Ultimately, Hood Taylor intends to split his time between Ecuador and Scio. One thing he says will not change. “Scio will definitely be home.”