Jeffrey Nicholson of Tracer: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company

An Interview With Jerome Knyszewski

While this offers a great foundation, it doesn’t take into account something I like to call “executional excellence.” Grinding it out every day is what makes a good idea into something great — success happens to those who work for it.

As part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company” I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeffrey Nicholson.

Jeffrey Nicholson is the co-founder and CEO of Tracer, a data intelligence platform built to solve complex data equations.

Prior to co-founding Tracer, Jeffrey was the first-ever Chief Media Officer at VaynerMedia, partnering with Gary Vaynerchuk to help grow one of the most respected advertising agencies on the planet. In his role as Chief Media Officer, he was responsible for the growth of the media department from a few people to nearly 250 globally, while helping drive performance for some of the most respected brands like Chase Bank, Tapestry, WeWork, and PepsiCo, along with sponsoring the office expansion to Asia.

Jeffrey is a serial entrepreneur with a 15-year track record of building and scaling businesses across multiple fields including advertising, media, and technology. He holds the unique privilege of running the first ever ad via the global API on Snapchat, along with serving on advisory boards for Roku, Pinterest, and Nextdoor.

In addition to his work with Tracer, Jeffrey works to elevate other entrepreneurs and marketing professionals by creating NicholNotes, an education startup with a mission to improve the education ecosystem and shape future leaders.

Jeffrey currently resides in New York with his wife and two children.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I started off doing what many would call the “normal path.” I went to college, majored in finance and got a job in my field right after college. After less than a year I decided to quit, unsure of my next steps and was lucky enough to fall into a company that was running ads on Google. I was absolutely fascinated by it and became completely consumed, learning everything I could. Fast forward 15 years, I joined VaynerMedia as their CMO and founded Tracer.

What was the “Ah-ha Moment” that led to the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?

Tracer was born out of an idea I had ahead of starting at VaynerMedia. Dealing with a variety of hard-to-combine data sets is a major business problem, and it was something that I was running into every day. Leighton Welch, Tracer’s co-founder, and I, decided to build our own platform to solve it, and partnered with Gary Vaynerchuck, who trusted our experience and vision and allowed us to strategically incubate Tracer inside the media department at VaynerMedia.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

One of the toughest things I had to conquer was balancing my roles. When I started Tracer I was still the Chief Media Officer at VaynerMedia, so I was in the c-suite of one company while trying to start another. I felt like I didn’t have enough time to do it all and it was incredibly frustrating.

On the other hand, my co-founder Leighton was able to spend all of his time focusing on the growth of Tracer — I was jealous. I wasn’t able to do as much as I wanted to as the business got started, especially since I am a person who loves to dig deep and get in the trenches of their work. It made me realize how important it is to surround myself with an excellent team. I switched to full time CEO of Tracer in January 2020.

So, how are things going today? How did your grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

I believe that grit, resilience and perseverance are the keys to success — without a doubt. The harder you work, the more you learn, and the further you push yourself. At the end of the day, I like to feel confident that I worked the hardest and learned the most, since I pride myself on outworking other people in order to be the best that I can possibly be.

The best part is that it works. Tracer is going incredibly well and I am so proud of what we’ve built. Going from graduating college as a finance major and feeling lost, uninspired and bored to powering some of the world’s most prominent and influential companies has made it all worth it.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Tracer stands out from the pack because we provide both the data-driven software to help you capture and analyze data as well as consultants that teach you how to make the data actionable. Most of our competitors tend to specialize in one or the other, but we give you both and won’t stop until we provide the answers you’re looking for.

Think about this like a pilot and a plane. In most cases, companies buy the plane (the technology) and the pilot (the consultant) from two different companies and become dependent on both. Tracer not only provides both the pilot and the plane, but also teaches you how to fly it yourself.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
The funniest mistake I made was thinking that we could predict the future. I honestly believed that 2020 was going to be the year I had been waiting for — I was starting as full time CEO of Tracer and was ready to tackle it all head on for the very first time. It is still unbelievable that my 1-year, 5-year and even 10-year plan could be shaken up overnight.

At the end of the day, 2020 taught me to be more flexible and how to roll with the punches. Surviving in this new normal is uncharted territory, but adaptability will be key moving forward.

Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. Can you share a story about advice you’ve received that you now wish you never followed?

Not necessarily bad advice, but the idea of following a career path you think you are “supposed to” was the worst mistake I ever made. I am an entrepreneurial spirit, but took the path that everyone said I should follow, instead of following my heart. I am skilled at math and a good student, so people in my life assumed that I’d go to college, major in finance and get a job on Wall Street or at a bank. I lasted less than a year in finance as a recent college graduate in a traditional corporate setting and am thankful I had the courage to break out when I did. I still wonder what would have happened if I started off on my own path earlier and can’t help feeling like I wasted time. Only you know what is best for your own life and I wish I realized that sooner.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

The first is perseverance. I grew up playing basketball, which instilled in me the values of hard work and “grinding it out.” The attributes that helped me hone in on my skill in basketball are the same as I use to build mental strength today. Both require you to take the harder path, make sacrifices and challenge your capabilities.

The second is self assurance. People often falter on their inner voice, I double down on mine. I put an emphasis on those “gut instincts’’ that others tend to write off and it makes all the difference. Usually, when something does or does not feel good, you are right. Stepping down from Vayner as CMO, to move into a full time CEO position for a startup was one of those moments. Leaving a well established agency with a media practice I had worked so hard to build in order to focus on a startup was not an easy decision — but it was one I was confident about.

The third, and possibly most important, is a thirst for knowledge and lived experiences. I wouldn’t be in the position I am today if it wasn’t for my willingness to dive into tasks head first. I love to challenge myself to understand new things to feed my insatiable curiosity.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Family is the most important thing to me — my wife and children keep me going and, above all else, are my number one priority. In fact, I am teaching my kids that their most important rule is “Family First,” since I want to instill those same values that drive me every day into them.

Even though the pandemic has placed a strain on families across the country, I’m so grateful for the extra time it allowed me to spend with mine. Especially while my two boys are so young, I wouldn’t trade anything for the time I was able to spend watching them grow up. They’ve been the silver lining over the last year for me.

What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen from other leaders in my industry is that they’re not creating win-win solutions. We prioritize building relationships with our clients so that we can understand exactly what they need from us and how we can help. We are different because we are not a one size fits all type of agency, and we know that no two companies have the same data challenges or require the same solution.

Clients believe in us and trust us because we completely tailor their experience and that makes all the difference. That’s what makes the ultimate difference in this line of work, and in fact, is why Tracer is invite-only and grows primarily through referrals. Others can’t say the same.

In your experience, which aspect of running a company tends to be most underestimated? Can you explain or give an example?

Usually, people tend to think that they can win based on their ideas and concepts alone. While this offers a great foundation, it doesn’t take into account something I like to call “executional excellence.” Grinding it out every day is what makes a good idea into something great — success happens to those who work for it.

The hard work of founding a successful company is never a part of the flashy “highlight reel.” Bystanders are often unaware of just how much happens behind the scenes. It’s those who learn as much as they can, read everything in sight, ask the right questions and listen intently who will win in the end. These are the people who sharpen their instincts, hone in on their intuition and grow into a successful entrepreneur. There is no substitute for hard work.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company”? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. It’s worth it. Running my own business is even better than I thought it would be, and I wish I did it sooner. Especially in a year as trying as the last, working with a team of people that I respect and love has given me more enjoyment than I could have imagined. And that extends to our clients, we have incredible partners that I enjoy speaking with every day. Getting to do all this with my co-founder Leighton — someone I consider family — makes even the stressful moments ones that I would never trade.
2. Trust your intuition. No two businesses will have the same journey. Unique circumstances will challenge each entrepreneur differently. While it is helpful to get advice from those who are successful in order to inform your decisions, at the end of the day, you must be able to follow your gut — instincts are your biggest differentiator. Build up your intuition, trust it and don’t get distracted by what others are doing. Leighton and I decided to run full speed at Tracer before it was even born. I knew that this was the problem we were going to solve and started building the path from early on.
3. Stay curious. The world is constantly changing around us and if you’re not learning something new every day, you’re doing it wrong. There is so much to explore that can inform not only your business, but life itself, and taking advantage of that will put you miles ahead. Some of my best partnerships at Tracer came out of saying yes to meeting someone new, even when there was not always the most obvious objective, and asking lots of questions. Getting to know our partners, and their problems, well comes from asking lots of questions and taking great care in the problems that they face in their business.
4. Don’t settle in on your vision for the future. Thoughtful execution and planning goes a long way, but the world changes every minute of every day — especially as we’ve seen this year! To be successful, you must be able to think on your feet, be adaptable and roll with the punches. Transitioning to a fully remote team and recruiting new hires from not only across the country but across the globe was an adjustment I didn’t expect to make so quickly, if ever. Now, I couldn’t imagine doing business any other way.
5. Always create win-win solutions. My business is built on referrals because people trust me and know that I am working to deliver the best outcome on both sides, not just to make a profit and churn through projects. Considering the wants, needs and goals of your clients in addition to your own proves that you’re in business for the right reasons. People respect that and it will pay off in the long run. I build relationships with my clients because I want to work with them for the long haul, not just for the short term return.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I am an incredibly passionate believer in the power of education and recognized that I had the opportunity to share my skills. That’s why I started NicholNotes — a platform for companies, schools, and students alike to engage with the most current business practices and entrepreneurial tactics so that they’re better able to succeed in tomorrow’s workplace. I wanted to work on projects that I could bring into the classroom to help students learn from the business world around them TODAY.

Everyone who is successful today has learned from someone else. I hope that others see the importance of inspiring and empowering the next generation through education, and look for ways to give back. Taking the time to answer one person’s question could make a world of a difference.

How can our readers further follow you online?

You can follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram at @jnicholson, and I hope you do! I’m excited to connect, learn and grow. You can also visit us at https://tracer.tech.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!