A homeless, shivering high school student living in his car by night and attending school during the day would take every lesson endured in these early days to become a leader with grit and grace. As the CEO of Kickstarter, the world’s premiere crowdfunding platform, Everette Taylor is a creative entrepreneur and a marketing maverick known for elevating the work of artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs. In his role at Kickstarter, Taylor is one of the few Black CEOs running a major tech company. Under his leadership, Kickstarter has achieved record growth, expanded its influence across the creator economy, and was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies.

Everette was recognized on the Time 100 Next list for shaping the future of business and leadership and honored in Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 for leading Kickstarter’s brand evolution and growth resurgence.

He also serves on the Board of Directors of 1stDibs (NASDAQ: DIBS) and was named by BoardProspects as one of the “100 Black Board Members Making a Difference.”

Before joining Kickstarter, Everette served as Chief Marketing Officer of Artsy, where he helped drive record revenue growth and global brand awareness, earning recognition from Forbes as one of the World’s Most Influential CMOs.

Over the course of his career, Everette has built and scaled high-growth companies across technology, marketing, media, and culture. He has held leadership roles at companies including Microsoft, Sticker Mule, Qualaroo, and Skurt, and co-founded GrowthHackers, one of the largest communities for growth marketers.

An entrepreneur from an early age, Everette founded his first company at 19 and later launched ET Enterprises, a portfolio spanning technology, social media, and the arts. As CEO of PopSocial, he was recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 for his innovation in social media marketing and work with Fortune 500 brands.

Outside of business, Everette is a passionate supporter of the arts, entrepreneurship, and education. He serves on the board of arts non-profit NXTHVN and supports mentorship and scholarship initiatives for aspiring entrepreneurs and creators. He has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and Shaw University.