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Kyle Taylor started The Penny Hoarder in 2010 as a blog to hold himself accountable for saving money when he was more than $50,000 in debt while going to college.
“I didn’t even know about blogs,” he says.
Today, the 29-year-old’s site is regarded as one of the top personal finance websites, with more than 12 million monthly readers.
Most personal finance sites cater to people who already have money, Taylor says. But 50% of people don’t hold any stock. That’s the audience that The Penny Hoarder targets.
The website started as a way for Taylor to share the weird ways he would save money. Now, while it continues to do that, it also features a lot of multimedia ways to explain personal finance in a funny and dry way.
“We’re extremely focused on video content,” Taylor says.
The Penny Hoarder’s other media channels include written stories, Snapchat and Instagram.
Last year, the company more than doubled readership and revenue, growing from $7.5 million in revenue in 2015 to $18 million to $20 million expected revenue this year. The company is now 45 employees.
Inc. 5,000 recently listed The Penny Hoarder as the 32nd fastest growing private company and No. 1 fastest growing private media company in the U.S.
Despite this recognition and a following similar to Gawker or Vox Media, Taylor says the company remains bootstrapped.
With 45 employees and a quickly growing business, Taylor says the best business lesson he’s learned is how to say “no” to a meeting request. Once his team grew bigger than a few people around a kitchen table, he had to learn that he didn’t need to be part of every meeting.
(This story was updated to reflect the correct name of The Penny Hoarder and its parent entity.)
— Traci McMillan Beach
Name: Kyle Taylor
Age: 29
City of residence: St. Petersburg, Florida
Twitter handle: @thepennyhoarder
Employer: The Penny Hoarder/Taylor Media
Title: CEO
Birthplace: Riverside, CA
Years on the Gulf Coast: 10 years
Marital status/children: Single
Alma mater: I only went for one semester, but I’ll always be a USF Bull!
Best place to network: St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce
Coolest business experience: The Penny Hoarder was recently ranked the fastest-growing media company by Inc. Magazine. It was a huge honor and it’s opened a lot of doors, plus I think it finally helped my parents understand what I do for a living.
Messy desk or clean workspace: I actually don’t have a desk or an office. I’m shuffling around all day to different conference rooms, so I like to say mobile.
Best business lesson ever learned: How to say “no” to a meeting request.
A website that makes your job easier: Slack
Community group you’re most involved with: Working America
Favorite off-hours activity: Games. I love escape rooms, board games, and college football.
Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Nancy Pelosi and Arianna Huffington
What you would be doing if you could pick another career: As a teenager my dream job was to be Josh from The West Wing. I worked on campaigns for six years before starting a company, so I think there will always be a part of me that misses that line of work.
Top item on your bucket list: To play Burr in “Hamilton.” I can dream, right?
Skill you’d like to learn: French
Who would play you in a movie about your life: A young Sam Waterston
If I had a magic wand I’d: Wingardium Leviosa!
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