Penny reign: CEO of super fast-growing startup shares leadership insights

He doesn’t dress in jeans, sneakers and a hoodie like Mark Zuckerberg, but Kyle Taylor, founder and CEO of St. Petersburg-based Taylor Media — and its popular website, ThePennyHoarder.com — might be more of a man of the people.

Take one recent afternoon, when he was at work at a regular desk in the company’s fastidiously curated, open-plan space, forgoing his corner office with its sweeping views of downtown St. Pete. Why? The rapidly growing firm is in danger of running out of desk space, even after moving into its new 23,000-square-foot headquarters last fall. So Taylor often lets desk-less employees use his office.

Eschewing the trappings of his position also serves Taylor, 31, as a reminder of how far he has come since starting the Penny Hoarder in 2010, when he was drowning in more than $50,000 of student loan and credit card debt.