He Pitched His First Business at 12 and Sold a Company for 8 Figures When He Was 23. Here’s This Gen Z Marketing Expert’s Next Big Move.

Griffin Haddrill pitched his first business plan at just 12 years old. Complete with hand-drawn sketches outlining distribution models for his hypothetical earbud company, his approach may have been rough, but his passion was undeniable. He even called a company in Venezuela to inquire about sourcing wiring for his product. Though he now describes the plan as “pre-pubescent,” it undeniably set the stage for what would come.

At 16, Haddrill began his music management career, working with artists like Gregory Lake and 100Tribn. In 2019, he co-founded and was the CEO of VRTCL, a marketing agency acquired by Create Music Group in 2022 for eight figures. Having worked with artists like Justin Bieber and Lil Nas X, he built a reputation for creating Gen Z-focused campaigns. Today, he is the co-founder of LV8, a full-service digital marketing agency focused on social media strategy. “I enjoy business and social media, and I’m passionate about using social media to fuel business growth,” Haddrill says.

From the Basement to the Billboard

When the pandemic came around and the world ground to a halt, people began to realize what Haddrill had known for years: there’s money to be made in marketing brands on Musical.ly and TikTok. Recognition of his success would’ve been sweeter for Haddrill if he hadn’t been down to his last dollars with only enough to make one month’s mortgage. He was alone in a house while his then-girlfriend dealt with COVID-19.

“It was a very dark moment,” Haddrill recalls. “I was celebrating my birthday alone in Montana, having not seen anyone for months.” Isolated and overwhelmed, he returned to the same source of inspiration that fueled his childhood earbuds pitch: a pen and paper. “I created a little bi-fold book and wrote down every name I could think of in entertainment—people I knew would answer, and another list of those I wasn’t sure about,” Haddrill says. The lists grew long, totaling around 120 to 130 names. Seeking advice with no agenda, Haddrill reached out to contacts, saying, “Hey, I’m starting a marketing agency on TikTok. Have you thought about TikTok? Do you have any advice for me?” To his surprise, most responded warmly, offering guidance and introductions. “It was a dark time for me,” he admits. “I felt so alone, but that was the first time in my career where I felt a sense of camaraderie.” This vulnerability paid off—by August, VRTCL had completed 20 campaigns, generating hundreds of thousands in sales. What began as a personal plea turned into a pivotal career moment in his career.

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“That experience completely changed my sales approach,” Haddrill reflects. “I realized that people value collaboration, and I don’t need to sell myself. It was all about offering value.” Instead of pitching himself or his product, Haddrill approaches conversations by identifying a problem and seeing if he can solve it. He asks questions like, “Do you have any advice for me?” or for his specific idea, “Have you thought about using TikTok for your business?” He says it all comes down to this simple formula: “Understanding if someone has a need and then seeing if I can help.”

Same Song, New Audience

While Haddrill begrudgingly accepts the Gen Z marketing expert title, he believes that age-based audience segmentation is reductive. While some marketers toil away sorting people into generational pools, he prefers to put them in “buckets of interest.”

Haddrill points out that both 15- and 40-year-olds now use their phones similarly for social media, shopping, and communication. “Their habits have shifted to a more utilitarian use,” he says, noting the key difference now lies in their interests. This shift also affects how he measures campaign success, focusing on consumer sentiment and the conversation around a product rather than traditional metrics like likes or comments. “I’m more interested in building awareness in everyday life than in conversion rates,” he explains.

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Imagine scrolling through TikTok and seeing a product that catches your attention. You don’t buy it right then, but the product comes to mind weeks later when you need something similar. You search for it on Amazon or Google and eventually make the purchase when required. “That’s how I see product purchasing happening now,” Haddrill says.

Hitting the Right Notes

Marketing to an audience constantly inundated with advertising isn’t easy, and companies like LV8 have to find unique ways to cut through the noise. “People are becoming hip to trends,” Haddrill says, which is part of why he now favors the term themes. “The question is whether a ‘trend’ can be adapted and personalized. Can it be mimicked in a way that feels authentic to you, so you don’t just blend in with the crowd but create your own version of something that already exists?”

He uses Glass Animals’s 2020 hit song “Heatwave” as an example of a successful social media promotional campaign. “Heatwave” had already been out for a year when he got involved. It performed well with core audiences, but nobody could’ve predicted its mainstream potential back then. Haddrill felt “Heatwave” cast too broad of a net for just one trend. His approach was to target multiple demographics, encouraging the creation of diverse video content.

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“I started noticing how Twitch streamers were using the song with gaming videos,” Haddrill says. “It felt like the start of something new.” He calls it the “sound generation,” in contrast to the “music generation” we used to know. The “Sound Generation” represents how music has evolved into short, catchy clips that dominate platforms like TikTok. These 30-second snippets, often paired with engaging visuals, stick in people’s minds and replay throughout their days. They’re not just songs anymore—they’re viral moments, leaving a lasting impact and constantly evolving with each new trend. Haddrill sees the “Sound Generation” as music’s growing role in the creator economy.

“We’re living in a creator-driven world,” Haddrill says. “Brands must find the right agency partners, creators, and talent early on and develop a long-term plan for influencer marketing.” In that spirit, Haddrill and his team developed a targeted strategy focusing on influencers across niches, from snowboarders to dancers.

Whether pitching an earbuds company to his parents or managing TikTok campaigns for Justin Bieber, Haddrill’s success stems from his adherence to the core tenets of authenticity and awareness. “Take this coffee mug,” he says. “I could tell you it’s the best in the world, or I could simply sip from it during our conversation. Turns out, sipping converts.”