Keynote speaker · Author · Founder
Design the life first.
Then build the business.
Eleven companies, three Inc. 5000 years and one overnight loss taught me that founders build backwards. I help audiences, teams and brands do it the other way around.
hi, I’m Tay
From burnout to by design.
At 20, I started my first business. In three years it was a million-dollar brand. I built company after company, earned three consecutive Inc. 5000 recognitions, and was flown around the world to teach.
I also worked 90 hours a week for six years and traveled 265 nights a year. Then I lost all of it, overnight. Sitting on my parents’ couch, putting together puzzles with my family, I was the happiest I had ever been.
That’s when I realized we build businesses backwards. Now I help founders design the life first and build the business to fund it.
- Founded 11 companies, starting at 20
- Inc. 5000, three years running
- Co-founder and VP of Sales, Shutter Magazine
- Signed six-figure sponsorship deals
- Directed marketing at a $7B Fortune 500
- Top-selling CreativeLive instructor
- Classically trained first soprano
- Performed at Carnegie Hall with Lauren Daigle
speaking
Talks that tell the truth.
Warm, direct and practical talks from someone who has built it, lost it and designed it again. Every talk is tailored to your audience and your event.
signature keynote
Stop Building a Business. Build a Life First.
A practical framework for founders who are tired of hustle and want their life back.
- Your audience will
- Design their perfect day and use it as the business plan
- Reverse engineer revenue and pricing from the life they want
- Know their floor: the numbers their life actually needs
For founder, small business and entrepreneurship events
signature keynote
Would You Still Call Me Successful?
A million-dollar brand at 23, 90-hour weeks, then losing everything overnight. What success really costs.
- Your audience will
- Define success before their business defines it for them
- Spot the hidden costs of hustle before they add up
- Separate who they are from what they build
For keynotes, leadership and corporate audiences
from the memoir
Stay Golden: The Gold Is in the Mending
Like kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, our breaks become part of our beauty.
- Your audience will
- See setbacks as part of the story, not the end of it
- Find practical ways to rebuild after loss
- Leave knowing their worth
For women’s conferences, wellness and community events
interactive workshop
Find Your BFF: Your Best Founder Friend
We’re meant to build together. A hands-on session on why real change happens in real rooms.
- Your audience will
- Stop building alone
- Leave with real connections from the room
- Know how to build their own founder circle
For workshops, retreats and networking events
Recent stages
- Tech + Tequila TalkThe Ion, Houston · September 2026
- Business Design WorkshopThe Ion, Houston · June 2026
- CreativeLiveTop-selling business instructor
press play
See Taylor in action.
kind words
What people say after the room.
Within two weeks after meeting with her and going through her Business Design Workshop methodology, I was able to launch my company. I had my brand, I had my financial strategy, I knew my floor, I knew my ideal client. And most importantly, I knew the life that I was designing this business around.
“Working with Taylor transformed my photography business… I increased my annual revenue by 25% in my first year of working with Taylor, as well as landing my first six-figure contract.”
“She has been there, done that on probably any scenario that you have. And that just gets you to your end goal quicker. And if you don’t know what the end goal is, she can help you find it.”
Powerful, insightful and empowering!
Dana ZambonInvigorating and a major brain tickler.
Twenty-Nine ElevenGreat energy, and I felt the sincerity in the offerings.
Evelyn Cayetano, BGO Creative ServicesInspiringly positive.
Jordan, J. Alexandra Designs
books
Stories worth putting in writing.
STAY
GOLDEN
a memoir
Stay GoldenA true story of love, loss and redemption
From first love to the slow unraveling of everything I believed, and the long road back to myself. In kintsugi, the cracks become part of the beauty. Your past doesn’t define you. It refines you.
How to Get the D!A Girl’s Guide to Getting Divorced
Three divorces made me a low-key professional at the D game. When friends kept calling for help, I couldn’t find a book that helped a woman actually get through it. So I wrote one: attorneys, finances, self-care, kids, dating again and starting over.
Buy on AmazonBulk orders and signed copies are available for your attendees, on their own or bundled with a keynote and book signing.
Ask about bulk ordersmy company
Life first. Then business.
The Founder Life helps founders design the life first, then build the business that pays for it. Our membership, the Founder Friends Club, is where that happens all year.
Build your business with friends who get it.
- The Architect app, to build your Founder Blueprint
- The Business Design Course, at your own pace
- Pods of founders at your stage, plus a map to find your BFF nearby
- Live virtual meetups every month, and local member-led meetups
$997 / yearDoors open Black Friday, November 27
media & podcasts
Have a show? Let’s talk.
I love a real conversation about building a business, losing it, and designing a life worth funding.
Stories your listeners will love
- A million-dollar brand by 23, and what 90-hour weeks really cost
- Losing everything overnight, and finding happiness on my parents’ couch
- Why founders build backwards: life first, then business
- How to land six-figure sponsorships
- Three divorces, and the book I wish I’d had
- Founder by day, first soprano by night
Short bio for show notes
Taylor Golden is a serial entrepreneur, speaker and author based in Houston. She has founded 11 companies, starting at age 20, earned three consecutive Inc. 5000 recognitions, co-founded Shutter Magazine and directed marketing at a Fortune 500 company. Today she runs The Founder Life, helping founders design the life they want first and build the business that pays for it. She is the author of How to Get the D! A Girl’s Guide to Getting Divorced, and her memoir, Stay Golden, is coming in 2027.
partners & sponsors
Put your brand in the room.
I’ve spent years on both sides of sponsorship deals, so I build partnerships that work for the brand and feel genuine to the audience.
- Keynotes & talksPresent a keynote or talk series and be named on stage, in promotion and in the room.
- Stay Golden launchPartner on the 2027 memoir launch, tour stops and signed editions.
- The Founder LifeReach founders at the Business Design Workshop, Founder Circles and the Founder Life Retreat.
- Content seriesSponsor a letter, video or social series on a topic your brand cares about.
Track record: six-figure sponsorship deals signed, VP of Sales at Shutter Magazine, and partnership agreements across 11 companies.
let’s make it golden
Bring Taylor to your stage.
Tell us about your event, show or partnership idea. Every inquiry gets a personal reply.
- Keynotes, workshops, panels and virtual events
- Podcasts, interviews and media requests
- Bulk book orders and signings
- Sponsorships and brand partnerships