Everette Taylor is Kickstarter’s new CEO.
Everette has a track record of building successful businesses as a founder, as well as experience overseeing product and marketing as a chief marketing officer, according to a release.
Everette is passionate about art, supporting creators, and making creativity accessible to all; and brings strong leadership and experience building a diverse, mission-driven, and highly effective team.
“I am humbled to take on the role of CEO of Kickstarter at a very transformative time for the company. Kickstarter has made such a positive impact on the world, and I’m honored to continue the mission of bringing creative projects to life and support amazing creators across the globe,” said Everette.
Everette most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for Artsy, the world’s leading marketplace for buying and
selling fine art. During his time at Artsy, he was recognized on The Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO List, an annual list that highlights chief marketing officers whose entrepreneurial spirit and actions are transforming their brands and culture itself, and was named by Forbes as one of the World’s Most Influential CMOs.A respected business executive and creative marketing entrepreneur, Everette founded ET Enterprises in 2013 overseeing a diverse portfolio of companies that includes PopSocial, MilliSense, ArtX, and GrowthHackers.
While serving as CEO of PopSocial, a social media software company, he was recognized as a Forbes 30 under 30 in 2018 and an All-Star Alumni the following year due to substantial growth of the company. Everette has also served as CMO for Skurt and Head of Marketing at Qualaroo, companies he helped lead to successful acquisitions. Everette
has also overseen growth for new mobile apps for a division of Microsoft China, as Interim Head of Marketing, and as CMO for e-commerce company StickerMule where he led substantial growth for the company as their youngest-ever executive.“Everette brings so many exciting qualities to the table that will help take Kickstarter to the next level, from his deep passion for our mission and his natural-born leadership to his proven track record of delivering first-class product and brand experiences,” said Sean Leow, COO, who served as Interim CEO for Kickstarter since April 2022.
Everette has been called “an innovator who’s changing the consumer marketing game” by Black Enterprise, and “a millennial entrepreneur who built a marketing and tech empire” by Business Insider. In 2018, he was named one of the “100 Most Influential African-Americans” by
The Root and Forbes 30 Under 30 for Marketing/Advertising.“I love Everette’s passion for creating great experiences, and I’m excited for the impact his leadership and creativity will have on the experiences of creators and backers, longstanding and new. The Kickstarter board and I are thrilled to support Everette as he works to build an ever-better Kickstarter,” said Perry Chen, board chair and Kickstarter co-founder.
“Kickstarter pioneered a people-powered model for supporting creative work and I believe we have barely scratched the surface of what’s possible with this approach. I believe Everette’s energy and creativity will help the Company massively expand the market in the coming years,” said Fred Wilson, Kickstarter board member and chair of the CEO search committee.
Aligned with Kickstarter’s values as a Public Benefit Corporation, Everette is also deeply passionate
about his philanthropic work and giving back to the community. He serves on the Chisenhale Council for Chisenhale Gallery, a non-profit that helps artists commission and produce contemporary art, supporting international and UK-based artists to make their most ambitious work to date by pursuing new directions in their practices.He also sits on the advisory board for Art at a Time Like This, which works with artists and curators to create art that responds to current social and political events, and presents it in public spaces. In 2013, he launched the clothing line Unity Over Self with NFL athlete Brandon Ross to raise money for children with autism. And in 2019, Everette received an honorary doctorate degree from Shaw University upon recognition of his “meritorious contributions to human society and welfare for humanity.”