Four companies across biotech, technology, and marketing. Two national agencies running as one practice. Eight years teaching at Brandeis. And a board seat at a food-rescue nonprofit in Philadelphia.
Founder · Vitiligo therapeutics · 2012
A combination therapeutic for vitiligo, built on a patented compound derived from black pepper and delivered alongside UV phototherapy. The work covered preclinical data, formulation, and IP filings.
I was in my twenties and had no business starting a biotech company, which is roughly the point. It's the venture that taught me the most about how much you don't know at the start — and about what it costs to find out.
Co-Founder · Technology platform · 2010
My first company: a technology validation platform, co-founded with work connected to Sanofi Pasteur.
Starting it at 20-something taught me the thing every founder eventually learns — that distribution, not the build, is the hard part.
Co-Founder & Partner · National franchise marketing agency
A 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.
Adweek Fastest Growing Agencies · Entrepreneur Top Supplier (2x)
Co-Founder & Partner · National growth agency · Since 2013
A national growth agency started in Philadelphia in 2013, and the most decorated half of the practice. 215 works with multi-location operators, service businesses, and growth-stage brands that need measurable pipeline, not just activity.
Inc. 5000 (2x national, 1x regional) · Philadelphia100® · Philly's Fast 50 · Google Premier Partner · HubSpot Platinum Partner
The two brands run as one practice. The franchise work goes through Units; everything else goes through 215 Marketing. Same partners, same standards, different market.
Adjunct Faculty, Rabb School of Continuing Studies · Since 2018
Faculty and Advisory Board, M.S. in Digital Marketing and Design
Brandeis is an R1 research university and one of 71 members of the Association of American Universities. I teach in the graduate professional studies division and sit on the advisory board that shapes the digital marketing curriculum.
I teach conversion rate optimization, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization — the applied side of digital marketing, to students who mostly already have jobs and want to know why things work rather than which button to press.
Formal university bulletin title: Instructor in the Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies.
Board of Directors · Since 2020
A Philadelphia-born food-rescue nonprofit that moves surplus food from wholesalers, markets, and farms to communities that need it.
Author · Children's book about chess
Garrett Gillin is the author of Two Castles, a children's book that introduces young readers to chess — the pieces, the patience, and the habit of thinking several moves ahead.
I wrote it because chess is the thing that trained how I think about business: a position is worth more than a piece, and most of the game is played before the tactics show up.
How I work across marketing, sales, and operations lives on Focus, and recognition is on the press page.
Four: BigSweetDeal.com in 2010, the vitiligo therapeutics venture Noleuderm in 2012, and two national agencies: Units, a franchise marketing agency, and 215 Marketing, a growth marketing agency founded in Philadelphia in 2013. They operate as one practice with two market-facing brands.
At Brandeis University, since 2018. He is adjunct faculty in the Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies, and sits on the Faculty and Advisory Board for the M.S. in Digital Marketing and Design. He teaches conversion rate optimization, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization.
Both are national agencies co-founded by Garrett Gillin. Units works exclusively with franchise brands across the franchise lifecycle, from franchise development to local store marketing. 215 Marketing works with multi-location operators, service businesses, and growth-stage brands.
If you are a franchisor, franchise developer, or multi-unit franchisee, start with Units. If you are a non-franchise brand or multi-location operator looking for growth marketing, start with 215 Marketing. Either way, a note through this site reaches Garrett directly.
Send one note describing the business you're growing. I'll point you at the right team, mine or someone else's.