As a homeless teenager, Taylor found refuge in a local library, where he discovered a computer for the first time. Through the internet, he came across stories of individuals like Mark Zuckerberg, who, despite being just a few years older, were already leading prosperous companies.

Taylor stated that the discovery ignited his passion for Technology. After high school, he said he did different menial jobs from washing windows to playing drums on buckets, to gather the money he needed for college.

He enrolled at Virginia Tech, United States, and worked at the same time to help pay for his classes. While at Virginia Tech, Taylor said he launched a company that used social media to promote parties and sell pictures, an idea he considered as being risky that year.

“I think it was survival. I’m working, I’m making minimum wage. It was this feeling of, like, it could be taken all away. That’s how we ended up being homeless in the first place. For me, entrepreneurship provided me this kind of safety net,” he said.

Taylor mentioned that he eventually sold the company, left school, and relocated to another state. He then moved around to various startups and even started a couple of his own, getting experience in PR, email marketing, SEO, and more in the process.

Later, he joined Artsy, the biggest online place for buying and selling fine arts. At Artsy, he said he noticed a lack of diversity and knew he needed to make a change. 

Being the Chief Marketing Officer who works closely with the CEO, Taylor said he learned the skills to run a large, consumer-facing organization and turned things around until 70 percent of the company’s most successful artists were people of color.

With time, news spread within the business community about Taylor’s activities at Artsy, leading to his getting recognition. Not wanting to stay on one spot at the top he decided to apply for the CEO position at Kickstarter.

Taylor said he applied despite knowing it was risky as he did not have a college degree but he took the risk. After his appointment, he ensures the company prioritizes people over profit with unionized workers and a four-day work week.  And under Taylor’s leadership, Kickstarter was named one of Time100’s Most Influential Companies of 2023.

Sharing his best career advice, Taylor urges people to remember that your job should not be the only thing that defines you. He added that it’s important to have a good balance between work and personal life and to remember that you’re more than just your job.

As a homeless teenager, Taylor found refuge in a local library, where he discovered a computer for the first time. Through the internet, he came across stories of individuals like Mark Zuckerberg, who, despite being just a few years older, were already leading prosperous companies.

Taylor stated that the discovery ignited his passion for Technology. After high school, he said he did different menial jobs from washing windows to playing drums on buckets, to gather the money he needed for college.

He enrolled at Virginia Tech, United States, and worked at the same time to help pay for his classes. While at Virginia Tech, Taylor said he launched a company that used social media to promote parties and sell pictures, an idea he considered as being risky that year.

“I think it was survival. I’m working, I’m making minimum wage. It was this feeling of, like, it could be taken all away. That’s how we ended up being homeless in the first place. For me, entrepreneurship provided me this kind of safety net,” he said.

Taylor mentioned that he eventually sold the company, left school, and relocated to another state. He then moved around to various startups and even started a couple of his own, getting experience in PR, email marketing, SEO, and more in the process.

Later, he joined Artsy, the biggest online place for buying and selling fine arts. At Artsy, he said he noticed a lack of diversity and knew he needed to make a change. 

Being the Chief Marketing Officer who works closely with the CEO, Taylor said he learned the skills to run a large, consumer-facing organization and turned things around until 70 percent of the company’s most successful artists were people of color.

With time, news spread within the business community about Taylor’s activities at Artsy, leading to his getting recognition. Not wanting to stay on one spot at the top he decided to apply for the CEO position at Kickstarter.

Taylor said he applied despite knowing it was risky as he did not have a college degree but he took the risk. After his appointment, he ensures the company prioritizes people over profit with unionized workers and a four-day work week.  And under Taylor’s leadership, Kickstarter was named one of Time100’s Most Influential Companies of 2023.

Sharing his best career advice, Taylor urges people to remember that your job should not be the only thing that defines you. He added that it’s important to have a good balance between work and personal life and to remember that you’re more than just your job.