VCU news

By Joan Tupponce

Everette Taylor believes serving as the CEO of Kickstarter is a special calling.

“I am a young Black man from Richmond without a college degree. I am such an anomaly. Being able to take the helm of one of the most influential companies in the world at such a young age – 33 at the time – was a no-brainer for me,” Taylor said.

Despite Taylor’s youth, Kickstarter, a global crowdfunding platform, is only the latest in a string of successful career stops for the entrepreneur. Taylor’s penchant for helping others find success is a consistent thread that weaves through his life, and it helps explains his well-earned reputation as a dynamic and inspirational leader.

Taylor will share lessons he has learned during his rapid rise in business at Virginia Commonwealth University’s spring commencement ceremony on May 10 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. In a recent video interview, Taylor’s casual-but-confident demeanor was on display, as was the diverse collection of art that covers the walls behind him in his California home.

Taylor isn’t your average CEO. Nor does he want to be. While some in his position might be consumed by profits, Taylor said it is meaning that drives his work, whether it’s the feeling that art can evoke or the many lives that a company like Kickstarter can benefit.

“What gets me out of bed is that I can make a positive impact on people,” Taylor said.

From RVA to entrepreneur

Taylor grew up in Richmond’s Southside, an experience that he said has been critical to his success.

“It has a distinctive feel and culture. You had to be tough, be aware. You had to be able to quickly adjust and maneuver,” he said. “It made me who I am today.”

Taylor admired the hardworking families in his neighborhood who persevered through a variety of challenges. In particular, his grandmother, Mable Taylor, was a strong woman devoted to that determined mindset.

“So much of what I am is from her,” he said. “She had a toughness and grit that came from where I came from.”

Even when he was young, Taylor recognized that his creativity was one of his greatest strengths and that technology represented an area where he could flourish. The Broad Rock public library became a constant in his life when he found himself homeless and living out of his car during the latter part of high school. The library provided temporary shelter and access to a computer, and he explored the internet and its vast possibilities – determined, he said, not to become a victim of his circumstances.

“With technology I felt like anybody can do it, that it’s something for regular guys and girls. I loved that. I loved the democratization of success that technology offered,” Taylor said. “It’s both innate and cultivated.”

Following high school, Taylor attended Virginia Tech for a year before dropping out after starting his first company, EZ Events, an event planning and management business, at the age of 19. He sold that company two years later and moved to California.

Taylor soon would establish ET Enterprises, a diverse portfolio of companies, including PopSocial, MilliSense and ArtX, that led him to being recognized by “Forbes 30 Under 30” in 2018 for his innovation in the social media marketing space. He also co-founded GrowthHackers.com, an online community for growth marketers. In the case of each company that he started, Taylor said he identified a problem and then developed a solution that could help people who were facing that problem.

Meanwhile, as a marketing executive, Taylor helped lead on-demand rental car company Skurt and marketing software company Qualaroo to successful acquisitions, served as CMO for the e-commerce company Sticker Mule, and oversaw growth strategy for new social products for Microsoft. Immediately prior to joining Kickstarter as CEO, Taylor worked as CMO for Artsy, an online marketplace for buying and selling fine art. While at Artsy, Taylor was named one of the world’s most innovative CMOs by Business Insider and one of the world’s most influential CMOs by Forbes. Meanwhile, under Taylor’s leadership, Kickstarter has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential companies.

Still, he said earning his mother’s approval for his career path outranks any accolades he has received both professionally and personally.

“Mom thought I was a crazy person for dropping out of college and moving to California to pursue my dream,” he said. “A few years ago, she told me I made the right decision. I feel like I made my mom proud, and that means a lot.”

Forging new ties with VCU

Taylor’s acute business instincts are equaled by his wide-ranging interest in arts and culture.

“It’s a huge part of my life,” he said.

VCU’s “extraordinary” arts program is part of what inspired Taylor to begin to work with his hometown university, as is its commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit that is so close to his heart. Taylor is currently working with Garret Westlake, Ph.D., vice provost for innovation and strategic design, to see firsthand how VCU is giving people with unorthodox backgrounds the chance to explore business opportunities. 

“The work they are doing is so inspiring,” Taylor said. “I feel like VCU and I have some beautiful synergy.”

That synergy will grow stronger. Taylor has been appointed as an affiliate faculty fellow at VCU for the 2025-26 academic year. As part of a collaboration between the VCU School of Business and the Office of the Provost, “Everette will engage in student mentoring, guest lecturing and help shape the future of higher education by sharing his insights as one of the world's leading technology executives,” Westlake said. 

Taylor “is one of the most authentic and human-centered leaders I have encountered,” Westlake said. “I believe his success at Kickstarter is due in part to his empathy and ability to design products and services that truly meet the needs of users.”

Taylor said humility and avoiding an inflated view of himself are critical to his approach to leadership. And while his public image as a CEO might paint him as an extrovert, Taylor is introverted and impatient, he said.

“Somebody told me the best CEOs are impatient because they value time,” he said.

Taylor also sees himself as passionate, empathetic, goofy at times, quiet, loving, kind as a leader and very direct.

“Not everyone loves that,” he said of his direct nature. “I don’t think people are honest and direct in life. My word really matters to me – honestly, that really matters to me. It’s so important.”

Taylor values the opportunity to speak at VCU’s commencement, especially at a university that he believes is involved in innovative work. Of VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., Taylor said, he “sees the humanity in people, and I appreciate that.”

A sought-after public speaker, Taylor said he can promise his speech at commencement will be authentic, and he hopes grads “walk away with some good gems.”

“I have no idea yet what I will speak about,” he confessed. “I don’t write anything down at all. It comes off the top of my head. It’s very casual. I want to feel like we are sitting in a cafe in Paris, and we are speaking to each other. I want it to be human and real.”