Everette Taylor

Last updated
Everette Taylor
Everette Taylor.png
Taylor in 2016
Born (1989-06-23) June 23, 1989 (age 36)
Alma mater Virginia Tech
OccupationBusiness executive
Website www.everettetaylor.com

Everette Taylor (born June 23, 1989) is an American business executive. He has been the CEO of Kickstarter since September 2022, and was previously CMO of Artsy, and founder of ET Enterprises which includes the marketing firm MiliSense, social media software company PopSocial, ArtX, and GrowthHackers. [1] [2] Taylor was named one of Forbes' "30 Under 30" and has been widely recognized for his work at the intersection of technology, marketing, and culture. [3]

Contents

Early life

Taylor was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University after overcoming homelessness in high school. [4] As a teenager, Taylor developed an early interest in entrepreneurship, launching small businesses including a clothing brand and a marketing hustle during high school. [5] His experiences with poverty, dropping out of college, and being a self-taught marketer have shaped much of his focus on accessibility and diversity in tech.

Career

At the age of 19, Taylor started an event marketing software company called Eventuosity, which was sold two years later. After dropping out of college, he became the VP of marketing at Qualaroo, a behavioral insight software company, which was later acquired by Xenon Ventures in 2014. With Sean Ellis, Taylor co-founded GrowthHackers, [6] an online growth hacking community and software as a service (SaaS). He helped build the brand into a central hub for startup growth professionals.

In 2013, Taylor launched the clothing line Unity Over Self with NFL athlete Brandian Ross to raise money for children with autism. [7]

In 2016, he founded PopSocial, a social media marketing software company that served clients such as Microsoft and NASA. [8]

In 2018, he founded ET Enterprises, a holding company that oversees his various business ventures. [9] That same year, he partnered with actress Zoe Saldana [10] to launch the media platform BESE, [11] and he also co-founded Hayver, an app focused on drug and alcohol addiction prevention. [12]

In September 2022, he was appointed as CEO of Kickstarter. [13]

Recognition

Black Enterprise Magazine named Taylor "Social Media Influencer of the Year" in 2016. [14]

The following year, he was included in The Root’s Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans. [15]

In 2017, he was named a brand ambassador for NASA's Technology Transfer Program to advocate for the commercialization of NASA technologies within the startup and marketing communities. [16]

In 2018, he made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his work in marketing and advertising with PopSocial. [17]

That same year, he was also featured in Adweek’s Young Influentials list, which spotlights rising leaders in marketing, media, and tech.

Philanthropy

Taylor supports diversity and gender equality initiatives such as CODE2040, Wonder Women Tech, and Black Girls Code. [18]

References

  1. Frimpong, Kofi (2017-04-26). "Interview With Everette Taylor, VP of Marketing at Skurt and Serial Entrepreneur". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  2. Staff, VoyageLA (18 September 2018). "Meet Everette Taylor of ET Enterprises in Downtown LA - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide" . Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  3. "Everette Taylor". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  4. "Everette Taylor – How a 17-year-old who was homeless in High School rose to become the Chief Marketing Officer at Skurt". Breaking Into Startups. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  5. Meyster, Timur (2017-03-23). "With 17-year-old from homeless in High School toChief Marketing". Breaking Into Startups. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  6. "Marketing Maven Everette Taylor on the Best Strategies for Startups". Fortune Magazine. 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  7. "Failure Is An Option And Other Advice From Millennial Marketing Genius Everette Taylor". Forbes . 2015-09-13. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  8. "Everette Taylor | One Young World". www.oneyoungworld.com. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  9. Staff, VoyageLA (18 September 2018). "Meet Everette Taylor of ET Enterprises in Downtown LA - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide" . Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  10. "Zoe Saldana Is Launching BESE Media Brand to Inspire Generation Z and Latinx Audiences". US Magazine. 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  11. "Everette Taylor". Philly Tech Week. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  12. "Alpha Phi Alpha's Everette Taylor Opens Up About Building Four Million-Dollar Companies Before 28". Watch the Yard. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  13. Spangler, Todd (28 September 2022). "Kickstarter Hires Everette Taylor, Formerly Artsy CMO, as CEO". Yahoo News. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  14. "@Everette Taylor, CMO of SKURT, receives 2016 @blackenterprise Social Influencer of the Year Award. #TECHCNXT". DT Dingle of Black Enterprise. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  15. "The Root 100 2017". The Root. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  16. "NASA's Technology Transfer Program Announces New Brand Ambassador, Everette Taylor". NASA Official Website. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  17. "Everette Taylor, 28". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  18. "Championing Change From Inside Silicon Valley". Huffington Post. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2018-05-29.