From Taco Bell to CEO: Kim Taylor’s 30-Year Journey in Building and Transforming Companies

What does it take to go from managing a struggling Taco Bell as a college freshman to selling three companies and becoming a sought-after turnaround CEO? In a recent episode of the Phoenix Prosperity Podcast, Digital Practice CEO Kim Taylor shared his remarkable journey and the hard-won lessons that shaped his career.

The Unlikely Beginning

Kim’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t start in a boardroom, it started at a Taco Bell near ASU campus. As a freshman at Arizona State University, he saw an opportunity in a struggling restaurant location. With the help of his sister, he wrote a business plan and convinced the owner to give him the reins at just five dollars an hour. There was just one problem: all the employees quit on day one.

“I’m recruiting people out of my dorm and any place I could,” Kim recalls. “I actually hired my mom and family members.” Despite juggling a full course load at ASU and working around the clock (literally sleeping on bags of beans in the restaurant), Kim transformed that location from the worst Taco Bell to the fastest-growing and biggest in the state within three years.

It was during this time that Kim discovered his passion for turnarounds. “That kind of got me into this turnaround mode,” he explains. The experience taught him invaluable lessons about customer service, inventory management, and operations—what he calls “the MBA you can get just by working at a restaurant.”

Building a National Litigation Technology Company

After years of restaurant management and a stint opening training centers for CompUSA, Kim found himself in the litigation technology industry, working on high-profile cases like the Exxon Valdez litigation. In 1995, he took the biggest leap of his career: starting his own litigation technology company, Lexiludio, with two former Taco Bell employees and family members.

The early days were grueling. With no venture capital and limited business knowledge about fundraising, Kim and his team bootstrapped everything. “We were taking loans from our house. We were maxing our credit cards,” he remembers. There were times when they had to take out loans on their home just to make payroll at Christmas.

But the hard work paid off. The company doubled in revenue every year for eight years, expanded to five cities, and eventually became one of the largest litigation technology companies in the United States before being sold to private equity.

The Private Equity Years

That first sale opened the door to a new chapter in Kim’s career. Over the next 30 years, he would go on to sell three companies and acquire six others as a CEO working with private equity firms. He became known as a “fireman”—someone who could go into struggling companies, assess what wasn’t working, and turn them around.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work with private equity in turning companies around, growing companies, starting companies,” Kim shares. His expertise spans everything from operations and technology to revenue generation and preparing companies for sale.

Digital Practice: Bringing It All Together

Now, after more than three decades as a CEO, Kim is launching Digital Practice, a consulting firm focused on helping small to medium-sized companies reach their next level of growth. The ideal client? Companies doing around $1 million in revenue who want to scale to $5, $10, or $20 million.

What makes Digital Practice different is its modern approach. “We’re going to use AI and every bit of automation that we can,” Kim explains. The firm will leverage crowdsourcing and remote work to bring in specialized expertise without the overhead of a traditional consulting firm. “The day of brick and mortar for a lot of these nimble companies, I think those days are over with AI, with crowdsourcing, with remote work.”

The focus areas are clear: revenue generation through sales and marketing, technology implementation, operational improvements, and due diligence readiness for eventual sale to private equity. “It’s all about revenue and it’s all about EBITDA,” Kim emphasizes. “And you can’t get EBITDA without revenue.”

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

When asked what he wishes he’d known sooner, Kim doesn’t hesitate: “I really wish that I knew that there were support groups and people out there.” He points out that today’s ecosystem of venture capital, startup accelerators, and networking groups simply wasn’t as accessible when he started his first company in 1993.

“Not having a big brother or someone to consult with to guide me through that process made it very difficult,” he reflects. This is precisely the gap Digital Practice aims to fill—being that advisor and mentor for growing companies that Kim wishes he’d had.

Kim also learned valuable lessons from his investment mistakes. He tried managing rental properties while running his company and found it to be more of a distraction than an asset. “I wish I would have got a management company instead of trying to do it myself,” he admits. The lesson? Focus on what you do best and get professional help for everything else—exactly what he now preaches to his consulting clients.

A Commitment to Lifelong Learning

Despite his success, Kim remains dedicated to continuous learning. At 62, he holds a bachelor’s degree and MBA from ASU (it took him 26 years to complete that bachelor’s degree after leaving school to focus on business), plus a master’s in business operational excellence from Ohio State. He regularly looks at PhD programs, much to his wife’s dismay.
He’s also deeply involved with ASU, where he teaches classes, mentors MBA students, judges the Venture Devils competition, and serves on the Dean’s Council for the College of Integrated Science and Arts. “I’m a big believer in giving back,” he says.

Currently, Kim is working on a book documenting his journey including stories he wants to preserve for his children and to share the wisdom gained from decades of building and transforming companies. The book will cover everything from those early Taco Bell days to navigating private equity deals.

The AI Revolution and the Future of Work

As someone who got his start programming on a Radio Shack TRS-80 in 1978, Kim has seen multiple waves of technological transformation. He believes AI represents the next major shift, one that will fundamentally change how businesses operate.

“In three years, AI has had a drastic effect,” he notes, pointing to major layoffs at tech giants. “It’s going to affect white collar more so than ever before.” His advice to young professionals? “You better figure out how to really understand AI and be the wizard behind the curtain.”

This philosophy extends to how Digital Practice operates. The firm is designed from the ground up to leverage AI, automation, and modern work practices, making it both a consulting company and a living example of the principles it teaches.

Beyond Business: Health and Balance

When asked what has changed his life this year, Kim doesn’t talk about business deals or consulting contracts. Instead, he discusses his ninth Arizona Diamondbacks Fantasy Camp and his commitment to getting healthy at 62. After years of traveling 300,000 miles annually and eating on the go, he’s focused on longevity.

Ready to Take Your Company to the Next Level?

Kim Taylor’s journey from a college student running a failing Taco Bell to a successful CEO and turnaround specialist offers valuable lessons for any entrepreneur or business owner. His experience building, growing, and selling companies—combined with his work helping private equity firms transform their portfolio companies—has given him unique insights into what it takes to scale a business successfully.

If you’re running a small to medium-sized company and wondering how to break through to the next level of growth, Digital Practice can help. Whether you need guidance on revenue generation, technology implementation, operational improvements, or getting your company ready for sale, Kim and his team bring decades of practical, proven experience.

Don’t make the mistakes Kim made—trying to figure everything out alone. Get the mentor and advisor you need to accelerate your growth.