# Jeffrey Nicholson

> Jeffrey Nicholson is the CEO and co-founder of Tracer, a New York-based data intelligence platform that turns fragmented, siloed marketing and business data into unified real-time insight. He built Tracer with CTO Leighton Welch inside VaynerMedia, where he served as the agency's first Chief Media Officer and grew the media department to roughly 250 people worldwide alongside Gary Vaynerchuk. A Babson-trained entrepreneur with more than 15 years across advertising, media, and technology, Nicholson went full-time as Tracer's CEO in January 2020 and has since raised a Series A round. He also founded the education venture NicholNotes and advises Roku, Pinterest, and Nextdoor.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Tracer
- **Organizations:** Tracer, NicholNotes, VaynerMedia (former), SocialCode (former), LeadKarma (former)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S., Business Administration (Finance), Babson College
- **Known for:** Co-founded Tracer, a data intelligence platform that unifies fragmented marketing and business data into real-time insight., Served as VaynerMedia's first-ever Chief Media Officer and grew the media department to nearly 250 people worldwide., Ran the first-ever advertisement through Snapchat's global API.

## Career timeline

- **2001-2005** — Studied business administration with a finance focus at Babson College.
- **2005** — Started in finance, then left the field in under a year to work on Google advertising.
- **2010s** — VP of Ads at LeadKarma, which sold to Bankrate for a reported $30M.
- **2010s** — Head of Ads at SocialCode, working alongside future Tracer CTO Leighton Welch.
- **2015** — Joined VaynerMedia and began incubating Tracer inside the agency; became its first Chief Media Officer, partnering with Gary Vaynerchuk.
- **2015-2020** — Grew VaynerMedia's media department to roughly 250 people globally, serving brands like Chase, Tapestry, WeWork, and PepsiCo, and expanding into Asia.
- **2020** — Transitioned to full-time CEO of Tracer in January; adapted the company to fully remote, global operations during the pandemic.
- **2023** — Tracer raised a Series A round of $18.1M.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Tracer, a data intelligence platform that unifies fragmented marketing and business data into real-time insight.
- Served as VaynerMedia's first-ever Chief Media Officer and grew the media department to nearly 250 people worldwide.
- Ran the first-ever advertisement through Snapchat's global API.
- Helped drive media performance for major brands including Chase, Tapestry, WeWork, and PepsiCo.
- As VP of Ads at LeadKarma, part of the team behind its sale to Bankrate for a reported $30M.
- Raised a $18.1M Series A round for Tracer.
- Founded NicholNotes, an education venture focused on developing entrepreneurs and future leaders.
- Advises Roku, Pinterest, and Nextdoor.
- Teaches and guest lectures at Babson College, NYU Stern, University of Virginia, and Miami Ad School.

## Latest updates

- **2023-06** — Tracer raised a $18.1M Series A round to accelerate its data intelligence platform.
- **2024** — Tracer expanded enterprise partnerships and appointed a Chief Commercial Officer, Sarah Martinez, to strengthen its market position.

## Links

- Website: https://tracer.tech
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreynicholson/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jeffrey-nicholson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-16