Garrett Gillin — CV

Two national agencies, graduate teaching at Brandeis since 2018, and board service in Philadelphia. The short version of what I do and where I do it.

Garrett Gillin is co-founder and partner of two national award-winning agencies: Units, a franchise marketing agency supporting 100+ brands and 1,200+ locations, and 215 Marketing, a growth marketing agency founded in Philadelphia in 2013. He has taught graduate-level digital marketing at Brandeis University since 2018, serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Sharing Excess — one of the fastest-growing food-insecurity nonprofits in the world — and holds a B.S. in Biotechnology from East Stroudsburg University and an MBA from Drexel University.

Agencies

215 Marketing

Co-Founder & Partner

National growth marketing agency · Philadelphia · 2013 – present

The agency I co-founded in Philadelphia in 2013. 215 Marketing works with multi-location operators, service businesses, and growth-stage brands that need measurable pipeline rather than activity. I grew it from a two-person shop into a national team and built the leadership group that runs it.

Demand generation and lead acquisition
Multi-location and local SEO
Paid media across search and social
Marketing operations, CRM, and attribution
Content and production

Inc. 5000 (2020 & 2026) · Inc. Regionals Northeast (2026) · Philadelphia100® · Philly's Fast 50 · Google Premier Partner · HubSpot Platinum Partner

Visit 215marketing.com →

Units

Co-Founder & Partner

National franchise marketing agency

A national, franchise-only agency built around the full franchise lifecycle — from selling the first unit to supporting the thousandth location. I co-founded Units with Jon Vogel because franchise brands kept hiring generalist agencies for a problem that isn't general. Today it supports 100+ franchise brands and 1,200+ locations.

Franchise development and unit sales marketing
National brand marketing and marketing fund management
Grand opening and new location launch
Local store marketing across the network
Franchisee education and marketing adoption

Adweek Fastest Growing Agencies (2025) · Entrepreneur Top Franchise Supplier (2024 & 2025)

Visit units.marketing →

Both agencies are national and both run as one practice. Franchise work goes through Units; everything else goes through 215 Marketing. Same partners, same standards, different market.

Teaching

Brandeis University

Adjunct Graduate Faculty and Advisory Council Member

Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies · 2018 – present

I teach graduate courses in conversion rate optimization, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization, to students who mostly already have jobs and want to know why methods work rather than which button to press. I also serve on the Faculty and Advisory Council for the M.S. in Digital Marketing and Design, which shapes the curriculum. Brandeis is an R1 research university and a member of the Association of American Universities.

Formal bulletin title: Instructor, Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies.

Brandeis faculty and advisory council →

Board service

Sharing Excess, Inc.

Treasurer, Board of Directors

Food-rescue nonprofit · Philadelphia

I joined the board early in the organization's life, when it was still proving out the model, and serve as Treasurer. Sharing Excess moves surplus food from wholesalers, markets, and farms to communities that need it, and has since grown into one of the fastest-growing food-insecurity nonprofits in the world.

Visit sharingexcess.com →

Writing

Two Castles

Author

Children's book about chess

A simple children's book I wrote as a passion project after teaching my daughter chess when she was a toddler. It's an introduction to the pieces and the board, not a strategy manual.

Visit twocastles.com →

More about the book →

Education

MBA, Marketing and Entrepreneurship — Drexel University, 2014.
B.S., Biotechnology — East Stroudsburg University, 2011.

Recognition

Personal

Titan 100 Philadelphia — 2026
Drexel Magazine 40 Under 40 — 2026, with Jon Vogel
Adjunct Graduate Faculty, Brandeis University — since 2018
MBA, Marketing & Entrepreneurship — Drexel University
Author — Two Castles

215 Marketing & Units

Inc. 5000 — 2020 & 2026
Inc. Regionals Northeast — 2026
Adweek Fastest Growing Agencies — 2025
Entrepreneur Top Franchise Supplier — 2024 & 2025
Philadelphia100® — 2025
Philadelphia Business Journal Philly's Fast 50 — 2025
Google Premier Partner
HubSpot Platinum Partner

How I work with operators lives on Expertise, and the full recognition record is on the press page.

Questions about Garrett's roles

What companies did Garrett Gillin co-found?

He is co-founder and partner of 215 Marketing, a national growth marketing agency founded in Philadelphia in 2013, and of Units, a national franchise marketing agency. Both are national; Units is franchise-specific. They run as one practice with two market-facing brands.

Where does Garrett Gillin teach?

At Brandeis University, since 2018. He is adjunct graduate faculty in the Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies, and serves on the Faculty and Advisory Council for the M.S. in Digital Marketing and Design. He teaches graduate courses in conversion rate optimization, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization.

What board does Garrett Gillin serve on?

He serves on the Board of Directors of Sharing Excess, Inc. as Treasurer. Sharing Excess is a Philadelphia-born food-rescue nonprofit that has grown into one of the fastest-growing food-insecurity nonprofits in the world, moving surplus food from wholesalers, markets, and farms to communities that need it.

Which of Garrett's agencies should I contact?

If you are a franchisor, franchise developer, or multi-unit franchisee, start with Units. If you are a multi-location or growth-stage operator outside of franchising, start with 215 Marketing. Either way, a note through this site reaches Garrett directly.

Not sure where to start?

Send one note describing the business you're growing. I'll point you at the right team, mine or someone else's.

Get in Touch