There’s one word to describe my conversation with Taylor Harrington: intentional.

If you don’t know Taylor yet: she’s the Head of Community at Dreamers & Doers, a community for women entrepreneurs and leaders. Before this, she led community at Groove as the first full‑time hire, and she got her start right out of college on Seth Godin’s team at altMBA/Akimbo. She’s spent some first‑hand time inside the early creator economy, seeing the power of posting online and building a personal brand up close.

At every stage of her career, Taylor has gone back to the power of her personal brand as the through line to her work. And I’d say it’s more of a mission than a traditional personal brand and that is precisely why it works so well.

I’ve noticed that she has this way of raising her hand publicly and saying “I want this” - whether that’s speaking gigs, teaching opportunities, or podcasts. This goes back, she says, to Seth Godin’s advice early in her career: don’t wait to be chosen.

Her story is the perfect example of how I think about building in public and what I call the serendipity engine (aka attracting good opportunities your way by posting online)

We also got into her definition of community, something she’s been thinking about longgg before it became the cliche line slapped onto every mission statement. I know “authenticity” and “community” are two of the most overused words in the startup and creator world. Everyone wants to claim them. Very few actually pull it off. Taylor does.

Taylor also talked about doing an “inventory” of things she can’t shut up about, the topics she could talk about for hours. This exercise helped her find her voice on LinkedIn and build a brand that feels like her (and one you can try out for yourself!). It’s such a good reminder to talk about the things that light you up.

Her energy was so contagious in this conversation and it made me think about the questions we should all be asking ourselves:

And she shared some very tactical tips for managing time, handling LinkedIn without burnout, and keeping the focus on what matters.

Here’s our full transcript of our conversation, edited lightly for clarity:

Q: I feel like you’ve done such a good job putting yourself out there—getting into events, speaking opportunities, podcasts. How did you even get started with that? It feels like such a big climb. Where do you even begin?

A: That’s a really good question. I don’t remember the exact origin, but I’ve definitely done this several times, putting myself out there and saying, “I’m doing this thing.”

One example: last summer I wrote a post on LinkedIn about how I’d been hosting monthly goal-planning parties for my last company, Groove, for over three years. I realized the power of saying something out loud, not “I’m going to try,” but “This is happening.”

So I put it out there on LinkedIn: “I’m going to be a professor one day.” Not like, “I’ve been hired by Columbia,” but more of an intention. And then this guy I’d met at a retreat, who was teaching at Stanford, reached out and said, “If you ever want to come speak to my class, let me know.”

At first I thought, wow, that’s amazing but not easy to pull off - no one’s covering my flight or anything. But a few months later he told me he was moving to New York to teach at NYU and building a new initiative around purpose and flourishing. He invited me to be part of it.

So that one LinkedIn post — just me saying, “This is what I want to do” — led to a real opportunity. I’ve had so many examples like that, where I put something out there and someone was watching, listening, or reading.

Q: I treat LinkedIn the same way: if I tell other people, then I’ll actually do something toward it. Otherwise it just gets stuck in your head and you never act on it.

A: Exactly. And part of it is having the right people on LinkedIn who are receptive to that. I’ve nurtured that audience over years; they embrace that kind of thing and want to do it themselves.

With this recent podcast tour idea, I was blown away by how many people reached out afterward. They told me they’d never thought about framing it in such a positive way. A lot of people get trapped in “no one’s asking me, so I must not be good enough.” But putting it out there as, “I’m going on a tour,” shifts the energy.

Now I’ve even been tagged in posts from others who are doing their own “podcast tours,” which is lovely.

Q: It’s so interesting because the more people I speak to, the more I realize so much of getting partnerships or the next opportunity comes down to putting yourself out there instead of waiting. I sometimes call it the “opportunity economy.” If you want something to happen, you can go make it happen. How do you think about that ambition — about making things happen for yourself?

A: My mom always joked I must have more hours in the day than anyone else, because I’ve always managed to get so much done. I like to soak up every day like a sponge, figuring out how to squeeze every last drop out of it.

Of course, that comes with challenges, like learning when to rest and when not to always be go-go-go. But I’ve always been interested in using my time that way. Back in college, I spent free time watching TED Talks, getting inspired by what other people were building.

When I started my career, I worked with Seth Godin, and he had a big influence on me. He always said, “Don’t raise your hand waiting to be picked—you have to pick yourself.” That framing gave me permission to act on ideas instead of waiting for approval. He didn’t want me to wait for him to say, “That’s a great idea, you should do it.” He wanted me to come to him and say, “This is something we should do, and here’s why.”

That mindset really shaped me in ways I probably didn’t even realize at the time.

Q: I came across something you’ve said before about the “opposite of loneliness” being at the heart of community. Can you expand on what that means to you, and how it connects to the mission guiding your work?

A: Back in high school, I read a speech by Marina Keegan, who was editor-in-chief of the Yale Daily News. In her Yale commencement address, she described the “opposite of loneliness.”

She said it’s not quite love, not quite community, but this feeling that there’s an abundance of people on your team, all in it together. She gave these vivid examples —nights with guitars, dinners where someone picks up the bill — concrete little moments of belonging.

That language gave me words for something I was already obsessed with: how do I help people feel that way?

My favorite word is “sonder” — the realization that every random passerby has a life as vivid and complex as your own. Put together with the “opposite of loneliness,” it became a guiding principle for me. If I can help someone, even briefly, like at the grocery store or holding the door, feel that opposite of loneliness, that brings me joy.

In college, I took this workshop with Dana Ray called the “Ground Truth Workshop.” It was about naming who you are inside and outside of work in a single sentence. I created a version of that sentence that included the opposite of loneliness, and it’s guided me ever since.

Years later, I even reconnected with Dana, thanked her, and ended up writing the foreword to her book. So this idea of the opposite of loneliness isn’t just a phrase I love, it’s become a real mission that shapes how I move through the world.

Q: Building off that, I talk a lot about creating a narrative around your work. It’s not enough to just have a bio that says, “I help with X.” You need a story about what you do and why. You’ve woven in personal pieces and unique elements of yourself—how has building that narrative been helpful for you?

A: I’ve been reflecting on that a lot. The “opposite of loneliness” was such a big part of my framing for years, but recently I realized what I actually do best is creating short bursts of connection. I love those magical moments like chatting with a stranger in the grocery store or cheering someone on in the comments on LinkedIn. That’s where I shine.

So I’ve started reframing my mission around being an encourager and a cheerleader. When I hear someone’s dream, I love saying, “Yes, go do that!” Helping people feel seen and supported in that moment is powerful.

Writing has always come naturally for me (I thought I was going to be a journalist), so sharing those reflections on LinkedIn feels like an extension of who I am. And that “ground truth” sentence I created in Dana Ray’s workshop became like a compass. It’s helped me make decisions and connect the dots, even when I don’t know the exact next step.

Part of building a narrative is also deciding what not to share. In community work, people sometimes think we’re closer than we really are, because making people feel connected is my job. I genuinely care about everyone, but I also keep some things for myself and my close friends. That balance, what to share publicly, what to keep private, is part of building an authentic personal brand.

Q: Everyone’s talking about community now—authenticity, connection—it’s become the big buzzword. But you’ve been in this space for years. From your perspective, why are people just now realizing its value?

A: From a business standpoint, one thing I saw work really well in my last role at Groove was finding ways to take the energy of community and make it visible outside the community walls.

Inside a group, cheering people on is powerful. But when you do that publicly — on LinkedIn, for example — it amplifies the impact.

I built a whole strategy around that: how do we take what’s happening inside and showcase it outside? It made LinkedIn fun for me, because I could create conversations in the comments that were genuinely enjoyable for me and for others.

Now at Dreamers & Doers, I’ve leaned into that even more. So many of our members, women founders and entrepreneurs, want to be more visible. Helping them level up their presence, celebrate each other’s wins, and shine a light on their work is a huge part of what we do.

We even get tactical with it. [For example] I’m hosting a LinkedIn workshop for our community. We’ll cover how to set up custom feeds, use notifications, and make the most of LinkedIn’s native features.

I think with community, if you don’t have a clear answer to why you’re doing it, it’s not going to work. Seth always repeats those two questions: Who is it for? What is it for? Every time you start a project, you should have a clear, specific answer to both. That’s something I lean on a lot when I think about why we interact on LinkedIn the way we do.

I think people are realizing it’s become much more accepted in the last few years to show up as your full human self, especially for founders. That’s who Dreamers & Doers is: primarily female founders and women entrepreneurs. When you’re passionate about what you’re building, it’s hard to separate that from the personal side of things. You should have that personal brand attached to it.

Q: How do you think about building your personal brand separate from your job title? Do you see yourself eventually doing something fully tied to your own name?

A: Definitely. Going through the process of leaving Groove was a big reminder of that. The company was pivoting, and I realized it wasn’t the right fit anymore. Saying that out loud to the team was hard, but also clarifying. It made me sit with the question: why doesn’t this feel right anymore?

That reflection boosted my confidence. I could see how much I’d grown in four years and what I was good at now that I wasn’t back then. Writing it all down while applying for new roles reminded me of the skills and experiences that were uniquely mine.

At Dreamers & Doers, I’m in a contract role, which has been freeing. I started my own LLC, and it’s pushed me to take things like paid speaking gigs more seriously, something I’d been wanting to dial up for a while.

I’ve always dreamed of being a business owner. I intentionally built a career surrounded by entrepreneurs so I could learn from them. I’m not itching to leave teams behind anytime soon, but technically I am running my own business while being part of a team. For now, that feels like a good balance.

Q: Could you share a blurb on Dreamers & Doers—who it’s for and what my audience should know?

A: Totally. Dreamers & Doers is a curated community for ambitious, impressive women entrepreneurs and leaders from around the world. It actually started 11 years ago, which is wild because formal communities weren’t really being built like that back then.

It began with our founder, Gesche Haas, inviting another female founder to brunch to talk honestly about the realities of being a founder. They started bringing laptops, using it for accountability, and soon more women wanted to join. It grew from there—first in New York, then into a Facebook group, and now it lives on Circle.

Today we have over 600 members. About half are based in New York, but there are members everywhere, people host meetups in Portugal, London, and other cities.

Two things really stand out. First, how heart-led these entrepreneurs are and how willing they are to be vulnerable about the challenges of building businesses. And second, what we call our “visibility pixie dust”, the PR side of the community. We connect members with opportunities to get featured in the press. One member was just in Fast Company, and her story became the #3 article on their site.

That’s the kind of impact we love: helping women shine a little brighter in the world.

Q: Earlier you mentioned you have a system for capturing ideas for LinkedIn. Can you walk me through it?

A: Sure. I use a Notion board. One thing I’ve learned is that I can’t be in idea mode and writing mode at the same time, so I separate them.

I have a section just for ideas, sometimes it’s a single word, sometimes a screenshot, sometimes something someone said in a DM or a comment. I drop it all there.

Then, when it’s time to write, usually on Tuesdays, I’ll draft several posts in one sitting to have ready for the next few weeks. Sometimes I start with an audio note where I just talk through the idea, then I’ll use ChatGPT to turn that into a rough draft I can edit.

On the Notion board, I also have categories like “needs a picture” or “ready to schedule,” so it flows like a content calendar. And if I’m feeling stuck, I’ll scroll through my camera roll. A photo will remind me of a story, even if I don’t post the picture itself.

That combination — ideas dumped quickly, batch writing, and using prompts from photos — keeps the process flowing for me.

Q: How do you decide what to say on LinkedIn and what your primary goal is when posting?

A: Once you know who you’re talking to, writing becomes much easier.

If I get stuck, I’ll sometimes imagine a specific friend in my audience and start the post as if I’m writing directly to them — “Dear Kate” or “Dear David.” I write the post as though it’s for that one person, then remove their name before publishing. It helps the tone feel natural, like I’m talking to a friend.

I also have three content pillars I’ve written out, though by now they’re so ingrained I don’t consciously reference them. They guide the themes I post about.

Another practice: when I left Groove and joined Dreamers & Doers, I gave myself time to reset. I asked, what do I want to dial up or dial down in this new season? I even thought about vocabulary and emojis, what felt like part of the old chapter versus the new. That intentional reset helped me shape how I wanted to show up in this role.

Q: I’m fascinated by your approach to posting on LinkedIn without letting it take over your life. How do you balance showing up consistently without LinkedIn overruling everything?

A: I’ve been thinking about this a lot, especially since I’m hosting a LinkedIn workshop. For me, it comes down to creating a compass, reminding myself why I’m on LinkedIn in the first place. One of my biggest reasons is to genuinely keep in touch with the incredible people I’ve met around the world.

To do that, I set up systems. I turn on notifications for people I most want to hear from, so I don’t have to scroll my feed. I also use the Chrome extension News Feed Eradicator, so right now I literally don’t have a LinkedIn feed. Instead, I see a quote when I log in, which keeps me focused. If I really want to turn the feed back on, I can, but it takes a few steps, so it forces me to be intentional.

I also create custom feeds. For example, I have a list of about 27 people I especially want to learn from, and I can filter to see just their posts from the past day or week. I’ve done the same for Dreamers & Doers members, which makes it easy to engage directly with our community.

The downside is that you might miss discovering new voices, but the upside is huge: you show up with intention, engage with the people who matter most, and don’t let the algorithm dictate your focus.