'Almost No One Would Take Me Seriously': How Everette Taylor Turned His Art-Buying Experience Into A Platform

By Michell C. Clark


Everette Taylor was purchasing paintings by the likes of Hebru Brantley, Lina Iris Viktor, and Miles Regis for his own collection. Throughout the process, the entrepreneur couldn’t help yet identify a frustrating set of rules and customs that made the fine art industry is notoriously complicated to navigate — even for artists of color.


A 2012 study noticed that 77.6 percent of people who make a living from art are white, a statistic that is only perpetuated by economic barriers to entry, like the steep price tag on several art schools and the high likelihood that young people pursuing art and design-related jobs receive financial assistance from their parents. And while the advantage of having access to financial capital any time seeking to begin a career in any industry is significant, it’s even more pronounced in the fine art industry.


Would-be consumers of fine art reckon with similar barriers — the fine art market often outperforms the stock market, nevertheless unspoken rules dictate who can take part and who can profit. Given that an artist often needs representation from either a gallery, agent, or some sort of manager group in attempt to truly break into the art world, it may some days feel impossible to connect with clientele and pursue your dreams.


Taylor’s personal experiences visiting galleries and buying art allowed him to be able to see inequities and inaccessibility in the industry that hurt artists and prevent potential clientele from finding excellent artwork. So the Richmond, Virginia, native determined to launch ArtX, a new platform that will issue visual artists with resources, equipment, and software to aid them to elevate their careers. The agency is now damaged into three different parts: a media platform to help artists get discovered; a technology platform to help artists and creatives with agency structure; plus a community platform to allocate scholarships for artists in need and inclusive events in the art space.


Taylor says he uses the lessons he’s learned from his other corporations to better inform his new ones. Under a umbrella referred to as ET Enterprises, he’s launched PopSocial, a social media automation tool called that grossed more than $2 million in income in its first year; Millisense, a marketing firm with customers like NASA, Microsoft, and Miller Lite; the Southside Fund, a charitable foundation serious about supplying possibility to youth in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia; and also because the agencies Hayver and GrowthHackers. Right now, he’s focused on channeling his expertise and resources into ArtX with the ambition of assisting artists connect with clientele and thrive.


MTV News discussed with Taylor about how ArtX will effect the world, the benefits and downsides of having an enormous social media following, and the principles that guide him as an entrepreneur.


MTV News: Your newest organization, ArtX, is a departure from your concentrate on tech and marketing. What led you to launching the company?


Everette Taylor: For my whole life, I’ve had to kick down doors that were closed in my face. I'd like to kick down more doors with ArtX. I find the art industry to be very unfair — it has some deep rooted traditions that hurt or allowance the people who actually create art. The people who own multi-million dollar art collections off of the backs of Black artists aren’t Black. There really are a lot of gatekeepers that hoard art for themselves, and the industry has congregated a global in which people who don't fit into a certain mold don't have access or possibility. That’s an allocate to me. ArtX will break down barriers limiting access inside the art world.


MTV News: How does ArtX work? What do you desire to achieve with the company?


Taylor: ArtX cooperates with the people without access discover artists. A lot of people don’t know how to find good quality artwork that they can buy for themselves. You may go to a museum and visualize a Kehinde Wiley painting that’s selling for half a million dollars. Most of us can’t afford that. A lot of us own street art, or artwork from people we know or run into — although there really is no place to with little effort discover artists. ArtX is filling that void.


I believe that being able to prepare a living off of artwork that you create is a magnificent possibility. It’s also one of the most hard ways to prepare a living, because there really is no roadmap to success. You could go to college, get your accounting degree, and stand a good chance of getting a job with a solid salary. Artists usually have to take a different path. I'd like to supply equipment that artists can use to more efficiently allocate themselves and bloom their businesses.


MTV News: What are a few of the hugest challenges you’ve faced in this new space?


Taylor: I’m a young Black man who doesn’t look like the people in these spaces. I would walk into galleries and people wouldn’t even speak to me. Almost no one would take me seriously, based on my appearance. It’s tough to find mentorship, because there aren’t several people who look like me. I’m also dealing with the learning curve that comes with being in such a unfamiliar space. There’s a lot to learn. I’m keeping a humble heart and mind and staying devoted agreed to the process.


MTV News: Why was it essential to you to play a more mobile role in supporting artists, rather than purchasing a painting or two?


Taylor: I determined that I wanted to directly support artists soon after I began to group up art and didn’t visualize anybody in those spaces who looked like me. I know a lot of people in my peer categorize with discretionary revenue to invest that don’t know about the art world due to its exclusivity. I don’t just aspire to buy paintings for myself — I want to give people access to a space that’s normally unavailable to them.


I also hope to directly support artists on a huge scale. Will we turn every artist into a millionaire? Absolutely not. Yet if we will assist artists thrive and have the ability to take care of themselves financially and have a company side of things and have the ability to get discovered and have the ability to sell their work and get the recognition that they deserve, I'm happy with that.


MTV News: You’ve regularly leveraged your social media following to draw attention to your organizations, although you’ve also been vocally “anti-personal brand” — why is that paradox essential to you?


Taylor: The older I get, the more I’m to be able to see what social media is — to me, it’s a good tool for organization. I use social media to communicate with my audience, push products, and hopefully supply a little bit of inspiration based on what I’ve experienced. Nevertheless I resist to play into this constant required for social validation. I’ve fallen into that trap before. I’ve posted the courtside photos on IG stories, just so people would know where I was at. I determined to stop devoting energy to validating anything online.


I’m anti-personal brand because brand building is rarely vetted or authenticated. Anyone can get online, call themselves an expert, and tell you to register for their e-course. It feels like the loudest voices online are accomplishing the least. I visualize a lot of people that are building brands, while using inspiration because the drug. I'd like to put positive energy out into the world; I want it to be real, though. I don’t aspire to sell dreams.


MTV News: Is there a benefit to having such an enormous social media following? Is there any downside?


Taylor: The biggest benefit to having an enormous social media following is the cash that you could generate by leveraging your audience. Social media influencers get a bad rap yet people don’t understand that influencer marketing is a spectacular way for people to finance their lives and take care of people that they love. I’ve saw a lot of people saying that influencer marketing will perish because of Instagram suggesting that they’ll be hiding likes on people’s posts, although I feel like people who have proper crowds will be fine.


The downside of having a significant social media following is that you begin to feel a constant need to live up to what you believe people expect from you. You routinely have to be “on.” I used to feel comfortable going to the airport wearing anything, although right now I have to plan for the significant possibility that somebody will know who I am, wish to have a conversation, and potentially ask for a picture. It begins to feel like an invasion of privacy.


MTV News: You’ve been an entrepreneur for ten years. What keeps you motivated?


Taylor: Initially, my motivation was strictly financial: I wanted to distribute a higher class of life for myself and my family member. I would launch my own firms while simultaneously working as VP of marketing for one firm and CMO for a different agency. I’ve taken on fewer roles within the past couple of years, and began to prioritize peace of mind more routinely. I know that a certain level of financial security and the ability to do what I love will bring that peace of mind.


ArtX is something that I love. I’m working towards getting ArtX to a point where it’s sustainable and progressing regularly. I want to find peace, and afterward bring that level of peace others. I want to positively influence the world through my work. At the end of the day, as soon as I’m dead and gone, if I can mention that I’ve truly changed 25 people’s lives on a deep level, I’ll perish a happy man.


MTV News: What’s the most crucial failure that you’ve experienced as an entrepreneur, and what did it teach you?


Taylor: In 2014 or 2015, I was juggling two agencies — I was the head of marketing for Qualaroo, and the co-founder of Growth Hackers. I was also running a whole marketing firm. I was doing also much, and I got to the point where my work began to suffer. I began losing customers and users, and my firms weren't growing as fast. I had a breakdown and realized that I wasn't taking care of myself.


I wasn't happy, my agencies weren't doing well. I had be able to trust other people. You're not going have the ability to build any company in case you can't trust people to assist you build.


The thing about creating something successful and then moving on to trying something else is one of the most emotionally, physically, and mentally draining things that you could put for yourself. For me, wanting to leave the world better than I noticed it pushes me to live up to my full potential. I grew up in Southside Richmond, where I was around a lot of people who might don't get the possibility to live up to their potential. As someone who has so much possibility to actually live out his potential I feel like it could be disrespectful to those who do not.