Ephren W. Taylor

Ephren W. Taylor, the youngest African-American CEO of a publicly traded company

Ephren Taylor II has appeared on “20/20” and “Montel,” managed money for Snoop Dogg, and when he throws his Kentucky Derby party, Ludacris shows up.

At only 25, Taylor is the youngest Africa- American CEO of a publicly traded company and has been called “a walking piece of history,” by many.
To him, more important than any accolade is where he came from and how he made it to the top.  

The Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs brought Taylor to John Carroll University for black history month because his story of success at such a young age gives hope and awe to those who hear it. Taylor did not come from a wealthy background.  He said, “Every single one of you probably started out with more advantages than I have probably ever had in my life.”

This was a difficult statement to believe coming from a multi-millionaire. His life began in Carlyle, Miss. He lived in the small town with no stop light or stop sign, and in a house with no hot water.  

His family moved almost every 18 months.  Finally, his father announced that he would be taking a permanent job in Kansas City, Kan.  
This is when Taylor picked up the hobby of playing video games, a hobby that would start his first business.

His family was very frugal, so when he and his two younger brothers made their Christmas list, he thought there was no way he’d be getting a game system.  That year, to their surprise, they received the Nintendo.  The old systems came with two free games, but only one controller.  With three boys sharing one controller  Taylor had a plan.  He said, “I was smart.  I let my younger brothers fight over the controller and let them get grounded and boom I had the game system all to myself.”

The problem was there were still only two games.  Taylor quickly surpassed the levels and the games were dull.  He pleaded with his parents to buy them more, but the answer was always no.  

“I’m asking my mom one day, ‘Mom can you get me this game?’ and she says no, but then she asked a question that changes the rest of my life. ‘Ephren, why don’t you try to figure out how to make your own game?’” said Taylor.  At first, 12-year-old Taylor didn’t know what to do with this  idea.  Then he did what all children are told to do when they want to learn something, he went to the library. However, the librarian told him they didn’t have any books on video programming.

“But, one Friday night I’m hanging out at the bookstore, which tells you all you need to know about my social life,” said Taylor.  He stumbled upon a book called, “How to Make a Video Game in 21 Days.”

The only problem was it cost $49.95.  With parents who prevented their sons from purchasing shoes over $50, the chances of them shelling out money was slim to none.  

His parents saw it as an investment and bought Ephren the 500-page book.  He started reading it right away.  The book began with “Video game programming is the hardest form of programming that you will ever do.”

Despite personal discouragement, he finally figured it out, and others started to notice.  At only 12 years old, he sold his first video game, thus starting his career.

In 8th grade his teacher asked the students in the class what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Taylor’s dream was to be Michael Jordan because he was rich.  The other kids in his class mentioned Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.  

“I thought they were a country music group. I figured it was Jimmy Buffet’s brother or something.”  It wasn’t until several weeks later that he learned that Bill Gates was the richest man in America.  

Taylor started creating Internet companies. One company paid him $3,800 for a two-week project.  He later learned that the company made $800,000 from his work.  In 9th grade, he created a job service Web site for high school and college students, goferrettgo.com.  On this site, teens could write a press release and be published in the newspaper for six weeks.  

“Who better to know how to market to high school or college students than high school or college students?” said Taylor.  He took his disadvantages and turned it around.  With that he began the business.  

He and his partner now had a  $3.5 million business, which they sold so they could move on. In fact, his high school teacher quit his job and started working for Taylor.

“Many people say ‘wow that was a success,’ but what you forget about is all the failures we had to go through to get there,” said Taylor. Despite any failures, Taylor retired at 19, an undeniable feat.  

However, he said, “I didn’t become successful until I started giving back.”  His father had started a church, so he started buying and selling homes and donating the money to the church. 

He recently launched his Urban Wealth Tour.  According to blacknews.com, “The tour promotes economic empowerment, affordable housing and entrepreneurship in urban communities.”  Taylor remains constantly busy.