Every issue, GRAZIA USA highlights Game Changers, who inspire, educate, and celebrate individuality, beauty, and style. Meet Brad Zeifman, the co-founder & Chief Revenue Officer at SHADOW Marketing and Communications whose entrepreneurial spirit led to great opportunities.
I have had an entrepreneurial spirit since I can remember. Being an entrepreneur is not only about starting a business; but also, about seeing opportunities everywhere you go. You have to be creative, proactive, and motivated even when you are not in the mood. I never feared rejection and learned early on that I had the ability to draw people into my world.
I brought that mindset into my own career journey. From the get-go, I had an undeniable drive to succeed and desire to grow in my career and would do everything I could to soak in learnings from those more senior to me. This listening and shadowing of the right minds quickly allowed me to move up the ranks in the agency world.
In 2007, there was an opportunity to create SHADOW, an agency that would have marketers who were going to be dynamic, honest, hungry, and creative. We were always going to strive for more and be better than great. “Persistence breaks resistance” is my motto, and in living those words, I was able to start the business with Lisette Sand-Freedman (who would later become the mother of my children), Michelle Sokoloff, and Liza Suloti (who had each worked with us at our previous agencies).
When we were getting started, we didn’t check for water or temperature and had no plan. This worked for SHADOW. We had the experience, the partners in each other and clients who believed in us. I believe you don’t have success without being surrounded by people who lift you up and believe in you before you even believe in yourself. That is how a spark of an idea led to the leap of SHADOW.
We have evolved so much over the last five years from our roots as a PR agency to a full-service, integrated communications and marketing agency with expanded capabilities across creative strategy, social media, influencer marketing, and experiential. But what has remained true for 15 years and what I personally love to do is to keep supporting the career development and growth of the “Shadows.” It is our hope to continue to build the next generation of leaders and change-makers in marketing. Our new partners Brian Vaughan, Jamie D’Attoma, and Erica Larsen, who have all been with SHADOW for more than a decade, are proof of the idea that if you invest in the right people and you give them the space to be the best versions of themselves, people can dramatically change your business and lives – if you let them.
Our growth helps guide our vision for the future. Together we will continue to serve as true partners to our clients and extensions of their brands, listening to their needs and responding in real time. As the social space evolves, we will create more award-winning TikTok campaigns, build experiences in the Metaverse, and continue to tell our clients’ stories in new and established mediums.
Since the beginning of my career, my decisions have been guided by intuition. While some people confuse relying solely on your gut with impulsivity, my gut is guided by experience and allows me to move things forward freely. As our business further evolves, we still make decisions based on gut, but also take data and feedback into account.
I love the grind. I sometimes love it too much. I love being busy. It motivates and drives me. Spending time with Lisette and our children Dylan and Coco is my ultimate escape. A game of tennis or dinner with friends, watching baseball and basketball games, or simply playing video games helps provide the distraction I need. But let me be clear, the grind is what I live for.
— As told to Casey Brennan
