Reid Hoffman & Kickstarter’s Everette Taylor take your questions
For our latest Strategy Session, Reid Hoffman and Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor answer questions from entrepreneurs about how to build more resilient businesses. They share frameworks for taking smarter risks, finding co-founders, and more.
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The TikTok ban, and what comes next
In five days, TikTok as we know it could be finished in the US. The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins the show to discuss last week's Supreme Court arguments over the ban, why things don't look good for TikTok, and what's likely to happen in the next five days. After that, Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor talks about the state of the gadget inventor, and what it means to be part of the creator economy in 2025. Finally, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline about magic-link logins, and why passwords remain such a disaster.
Further reading:
TikTok’s last stand: Supreme Court weighs ban as deadline looms
TikTok still seems headed for a ban after its Supreme Court arguments
What it will take for TikTok to survive in the US
Kickstarter is adding the ability to collect money indefinitely
Kickstarter’s CEO on why he doesn’t think the company will only do crowdfunding forever
Passkeys might really kill passwords
Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.
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Rapid Response: Kickstart your users from passive to passionate, w/Kickstarter’s Everette Taylor
To breathe fresh life into an established platform, Kickstarter’s new 33-year-old CEO Everette Taylor is shaking things up – and he’s unapologetic if it makes people uncomfortable. From bold new product lines to bold statements, Taylor is working to kickstart Kickstarter’s existing community while aggressively pursuing new users. Marketing is product and product is marketing, he says. “I want to build a juggernaut.”
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Why staying true to yourself is the best path to growth
Today I'm joined by Everette Taylor, a fellow entrepreneur and community builder that I got to know back when he was building GrowthHackers.com five years ago.
But well before this, Everette began his founder journey starting (and then selling) an events business in his teenage years. He later went on to join a few startups to run marketing and growth, including Skurt (a company I regularly used prior to its acquisition) and StickerMule (a company that makes our awesome Product Hunt stickers). Today Everette runs ET Enterprises, a collection of businesses that include PopSocial, Hayver, Millisense, and his newest venture, ArtX.
In this episode we talk about:
Everette's path to entrepreneurship, including dropping out of school
The importance of being authentic in everything you do
Some of his favorite self-care apps
We’ll be back next week so be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Breaker, Overcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Big thanks to Bubble, Spoka, and Dipsea for their support. 😸
Quotes from This Episode
“We get so caught up in portraying an image that isn’t real or isn’t true and I think the best way to grow is just being genuine and true to who you are because people are going to see through it. What’s the point in building a huge brand and then getting exposed later for it not being true?” — Everette
“Don’t get so caught up on the top layer of things, because at the end of the day if you’re able to build a skillset or provide value in some type of way, that’s where the magic really happens.” — Everette
“Even though I started my own company I felt like I wasn’t really experienced in the startup space. I got offered an opportunity and I left literally a week later — dropped out of school and the rest was history.” — Everette
Companies and Products Mentioned in This Episode
Apple Music— All the ways you love music, all in one place.
Cash App — Send money instantly.
ChowNow — Online ordering built just for your restaurant.
GOAT — The most trusted way to buy and sell sneakers on mobile.
Headspace — Learn to meditate and live mindfully.
Philz — Order your coffee ahead.
PopSocial — Grow your social media brand.
Roadtrip — A music listening app where you and your friends jam out together.
Slack — Be less busy. Real-time messaging, archiving and search.
Soothe — Massage delivered to you.
Spotify — Music for everyone.
Stripe — Payment integration and management.
Tidal — Lossless music streaming service, backed by JAY-Z.
Venmo — Make and share payments with friends.