Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Burner.
Hi Taylor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story, like most, has been full of twists and turns. At a young age, I started playing basketball because my sister played, and well, I was taller than everyone I knew. What started as a way to hang out with my dad and sister turned into a full commitment and a passion that couldn’t be matched. I moved to New York City when I was 15 to play for a perennial powerhouse basketball high school, earned myself a 4-year full scholarship to Stony Brook University to play on their Women’s Basketball Team, continued to win a Gold Medal for Team USA at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, and then decided to stay in Israel to play the game professionally.
I didn’t stay because I loved it – I stayed because I had no idea what I would do if I went home. After two years of playing overseas, I decided I had had enough. So like any 22 year old with no direction, I started Googling – “jobs in sports.” My Google search led me to a position with Fit 4 Life NYC, which was a company dedicated to providing underfunded schools and organizations with health and fitness programming for their kids, teens, and adults. Everyday I got to go to schools and work with kids and instructors on creative ways to be more active – it was fun! But unfortunately, the company slowing started declining and after 1.5 years, I was laid off. I felt like the world had ended – so I naturally watched Grey’s Anatomy for two days and cried until I had no tears left.
Then my athlete instincts kicked in – I had to figure it out. So I did what I knew how to do – Google and talk with my family. I went on probably a dozen job interviews met with countless people for “informationals”, but nothing stuck. Then my sister did me a solid and contacted a friend at Nike and basically told him her sister was desperate for a job, internship, whatever! He was kind enough to forward me along to his agency, Game 7. And that is what started my career in the marketing space.
I worked with Game 7 that summer as part of their internship program. I learned from some of the best in the game – people (mainly women) that taught me a good amount of what I know today. After the internship, I was asked to stay in a full-time position, which I did for another year and a half. Through that time, my past athletic experiences naturally made me a fit to work on the Nike business, which I was stoked about! I spent a summer in Chicago to free Nike basketball camps for kids, the last ever Chi-League, and to my surprise, find myself a new home.
In my second summer of living in Chicago, my dear friend and mentor, Jen Cunningham, asked me if I was happy, to which I replied “no”. Then she asked me if I want to move to Chicago, to which I immediately replied, “YES!”. She mentioned they needed help with this little “church thing” they were doing. Within days I had a position at Momentum Worldwide and moved to Chicago full time.
And that “little church thing”, was a transformative project for the community that went on to win A Grand Prix at Cannes the next summer.
I spent the next two years working at Momentum Worldwide in Chicago, building, leading, and executing all of the agencies Nike business across all territories, building myself a pretty inspiring network along the way.
Then COVID hit. No one knew what would happen in 2021, so Momentum was cutting back, and I was laid off. I was terrified and had not prepared for it at all, but what was different this time was that I had spent my career making connections and doing some kick ass work. I had my network to guide me into what would be the next phase of my career.
Whenever I would connect with talent (artists, musicians, media personalities, etc.), several would ask me to manage them and their brands. I always said “one day”, but in that moment, I knew the day had come. So in January 2021, I decided to create Agency 3-2. I would start small and scale as I could – let’s see what happens. It was my “side hustle”.
In the meantime, a very good friend of mine helped me get a position at another agency leading Global Social Media for the Champion brand. Business at Agency 3-2 was building, but I was still under the radar. Six months go by, I’m approached with the opportunity to work for a Cannabis brand as their Marketing Director, which I jumped on.
Fast forward three months to September 2021, I knew that position was not for me anymore, so I decided to go full-time with Agency 3-2. I took the leap, and even as scary as it was, I could feel that it was the right thing to do. I had prepared for it and I was ready.
Present day – Agency 3-2 has been officially open for three months and my life has completely changed. Being an entrepreneur is the new challenge I needed to ignite that fire that I had when I was a basketball player. I am proud to say that I am a woman-owned business with a core team of all bad ass women who get it done!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. One of my biggest challenges to this day and throughout my story was deciding who I am going to be when the ball stops bouncing. My whole life, I was “elite” at what I did. I was on the best teams, won awards, etc. And when I couldn’t step on the court anymore, I had no idea who I was or which direction to go. Lucky for me, I have a family of successful people who set the bar very high and were great examples of figuring it out.
I realized that once I stopped playing, that desire to be the best doesn’t go away and I had to figure out how to light that fire but in new ways. And though I haven’t played basketball in about six years, the game is still a part of me and who I am – but what does that look like now? What about the game excited me and how does that translate to my work now? How can I use my experiences as an athlete to shape my future experiences?
My other major challenge was figuring out how to use Quickbooks! This is an ongoing process, but shoutout to my amazing Bookkeeper for being my guiding light!
We’ve been impressed with Agency 3-2, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Agency 3-2 is multi-faceted, specializing in Influencer Marketing + Talent Management and Brand Marketing across omni-channels. We do everything from managing people’s personal brands to creative development of campaigns and events for brands. In additional, a lot of our work is centered around content production – photoshoots, video shoots, editing, storytelling, etc.
Current brand clients include Nike, Hibbett Sports, Recess TV, Secret Walls, Gymshark, Champion, and more. Current personal brands we manage include Chloe Pavlech (aka Overtime Chloe), Jaden Owens, DiJonai Carrington, Alexis Lete, and a variety of other influencers and athletes in the rolodex.
What’s next?
The most exciting thing about the future is the growth I am planning to see across the business and personally. I am very excited to continue building my amazing team as the workload grows as well as the stories we are going to have the opportunity to tell and the people that we meet along the way. And at the same time, I can’t wait to see how I grow as a CEO, a woman, a leader, and a business-person in this new phase.
There are some very exciting things coming up, but I unfortunately can’t brag about them yet! 🙂
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Www.agency3-2.com
- Instagram: @agency3_2
Image Credits
Zoe Baxter David “Odiwams” Wright Brooklyn Wheeler Freako Vazquez
