Today we’d like to introduce you to Everette Taylor.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Everette. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Southside Richmond, VA and the first “entrepreneurs” I saw were hustlers on the street. Like many young kids/teenagers in my hood, I was recruited to start selling drugs at an early age. When I was 12-13 I was on the street doing things I wasn’t supposed to. My mom realized that and forced me to get a real job at the age of 14 which was a marketing job and I discovered my true talent. Unfortunately got laid off a few years later and due to other family issues, ended up homeless during my senior year of high school. During that time being homeless, I would go to the local library to seek shelter and use the computers there. There is where I discovered Mark Zuckerberg which introduced a new way to get out of the hood that didn’t include sports or music but tech entrepreneurship. I overcame being homeless and went to college at Virginia Tech but after my first year, I had to drop out of college. Going home, I found it difficult to find solid paying jobs and I grew frustrated. I decided to strike out on my own and start my first company throwing events. That company eventually evolved into an event technology company which I sold at the age of 21.
I tried going back to college but realized I wanted to chase my tech dreams. I was offered a Head of Marketing job for a tech company called Qualaroo based in Silicon Valley and Orange County, I moved to California a week later. Shortly after I moved, I co-founded GrowthHackers.com – a website community and software company in SoCal. Qualaroo was successfully acquired by Xenon Ventures and GrowthHackers grew into a successful company. My success helped me grow a strong reputation as one of the top marketers in tech. This allowed me to start my third company MilliSense, a digital marketing firm aimed at helping companies scale. In 2015 I moved to LA. I had recently become the youngest executive (25) at Sticker Mule, a largely successful e-commerce company based in NY but with a small office in LA at the time. I also decided to move my marketing firm MilliSense to downtown LA.
In 2016, I fully became integrated in LA and the LA tech scene by becoming the CMO of on-demand rental car app Skurt based in Culver City. Shortly thereafter, I started my 4th company – the social media software company PopSocial. I helped successfully lead Skurt to a successful acquisition by Fair.com (Santa Monica based company) and PopSocial became largely successful along with MilliSense and GrowthHackers in Southern California.
The success I achieved as an entrepreneur and marketing executive has helped me grow a large audience on social media (over 750k across all platforms) and become an influencer in the world of entrepreneurship, marketing and tech. Currently serve as a national brand ambassador for brands like NASA, Toyota, American Express, Starwood Hotels, etc. I speak all over the world, telling my story and helping people in their life journeys and entrepreneurial aspirations.
Most recently, I helped Zoe Saldana launch BESE in LA – a media company that highlights the stories of LatinX people in the US and Hayver – an app to fight drug and alcohol addiction in which I’m part-owner. Just a few weeks ago I launched Art Noire – a media and technology company with the mission to elevate black visual art by highlight emerging black artists, providing creatives with business software tools, and hosting inclusive events around black artistry.
All of the brands I’ve started have now been consolidated under the umbrella of ET Enterprises in which I’m now CEO of.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road.
I already spoke previously about my experience being homeless. But when I was trying to break into the world of tech after dropping out of college, I found it extremely difficult to get an opportunity. 1. Due to the diversity issues that permeate the world of tech 2. Due to natural biases of people outside of Silicon Valley.
I remember looking for my first opportunity in tech, applying for jobs on LinkedIn and no one giving me a shot. I decided to A/B test things and created a fake LinkedIn with a white guy as the photo. I sent it to 10 companies that did not respond to me with essentially the same resume. 7 of those companies responded.
Starting my first company was tough, I had to figure out how to raise the money on my own. I knew nothing about investors or venture capital. Years down the line when I had some success and was working on my second and third companies simultaneously I went through severe depression. I wasn’t practicing self care, making time for friends and loved ones, getting sleep or taking care of myself. It really affected my work. Finding that balance between the grind and self care was a journey for me.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about ET Enterprises – what should we know?
I’m Founder/CEO of ET Enterprises, a holding company with assortment of different brands. What I’m most proud of is that I’m building something that is constantly changing and growing. All the companies are vastly different but all somehow fit together and share the common theme of helping people in one way or another. Building something that will hopefully be here long after I’m gone that will contain brands that affect the lives of millions.
PopSocial is a social media software company that helps thousands of brands and individuals grow their presence on social media. PopSocial prides itself in being affordable solution that provides users a stress-free experience. Our proven methods will help your brand expand into new markets and reach new audiences and grow your content engagement through increased exposure. Let us help you take your brand to the next level on social media and gain more users, customers, fans, and website traffic. PopSocial.com
Art Noire is a media and technology company with the mission to elevate black visual art. Art Noire provides a media platform to highlight emerging black artists, business software tools for creatives, inclusive events centered around black artistry, exclusive merchandise and scholarships to help up-and-coming artists. ArtNoire.com
MilliSense is a transformational marketing firm dedicated to growing companies and building brands through data-driven digital marketing. MilliSense provides performance-focused solutions to marketing to help scale companies and optimize marketing campaigns. MilliSense.com
Southside Fund is a nonprofit with the mission to uplift the community of Southside Richmond, VA by focusing on the youth empowerment. Southside Fund provides scholarships centered around collegiate education, creativity, entrepreneurship, and making positive contributions to the community. SouthsideFund.org (launching in 2 weeks)
GrowthHackers is an online community and software company with the mission to help companies ignite sustainable growth. The software platform helps companies maintain a growth culture for driving sustainable results and stay aligned around strategic growth opportunities. The site runs the largest online community of growth and marketing professionals where members share insights and the best content around driving growth. GrowthHackers.com
Hayver harnesses advanced technology to help people overcome alcohol and drug addiction. Hayver uses affordable, data-driven methods to improve recovery outcomes, reduce relapse and save lives. Hayver provides real-time, digitized visibility to support and monitor recovery success. Hayver.io
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
First and foremost, my mother. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her sacrifices before I even thought about being an entrepreneur. I didn’t really have mentors coming up but I think my two best friends, Alfred and Reco have been integral to my success. They constantly push me, we have healthy competition and they’re constantly inspiring me to push to greater heights. They’ve been there through the good and the bad, the consistency has been a blessing. Also Jared, who’s my right hand on the engineering side. We’ve worked on multiple companies together.
Pricing:
- Created PopSocial to help individuals and brands grow on social media affordably, plans start at $50 a month.
Contact Info:
- Website: everettetaylor.com
- Email: contact@everettetaylor.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/everette
- Twitter: twitter.com/everette
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
