With social media platforms driving rapid industry changes, Greenlight Group has established itself as a leading boutique management firm by taking an unconventional approach: signing the person, not the following. Over four years, 200 million followers, and 70 billion views later, their plan is working, as they have developed a star-studded roster of clientele. 

The Origins of Strategic Management

Greenlight Group founders Doug Landers and Michael Berkowitz began their partnership at Landon School in Washington, D.C., where they formed a friendship that would shape their business future. After pursuing separate paths—Michael at Berklee College of Music and Doug at Duke University—they reunited to create a management company focused on quality over quantity.

“We’ve taken a bespoke and personal approach to talent management,” Michael explains. “I think it comes from my background as a musician and artist. We try to focus on solving creators’ problems and taking them one step at a time. We have close relationships with all our folks and quarterback their careers across digital and traditional opportunities.”

This philosophy differs markedly from standard industry practices. “Many agencies are signing as many creators as possible in a land grab strategy, whereas we have gone deeper with the creators we work with to help them grow their careers and grow as entrepreneurs,” Doug points out. “Instead of just doing deals, we view ourselves as thought partners who serve to help our clients tell a larger story to their fans over the course of years and through multiple mediums.” ”

Success Through Strategic Partnerships

To prove the effectiveness of their selective strategy, Greenlight Group’s founders refer to the creators they work with and the results they have achieved. 

“Jordan Howlett (Forbes Top Creator and Shorty Impact Creator of the Year) has been a friend and client for years, and that relationship is one that was started before Jordan had hit the stratospheric growth he’s seen now,” Doug shares. “Landen Purifoy, the #1 music technology creator, has 20 million followers, and we started working together when he had just hit 1 million followers.”

Their early investment in promising talent has yielded significant results. “A prominent YouTuber named Hafu Go, who we started representing when he had around 500,000 subscribers. He’s about to hit 10 million,” Doug notes. 

“Investing in someone early on may seem like a gamble from the eyes of some managers, but if you understand how to help a creator scale their business, put the infrastructure they need in place to succeed, and how to work with them as humans to prepare themselves mentally for the challenges, it becomes pretty straightforward,” he adds.

Standing: Doug and Michael; Sitting (Hafu Go, Landen Purifoy, Jordan Howlett)

The Growth of Relatable Content Creators

Michael highlights Greenlight’s focus on genuine connections: “We focus on working with authentic and relatable creators, which you are now seeing across platforms as a general trend in culture. Traditionally, influencers have showcased amazing lifestyles, the glitz, and the glam, but there’s been a huge push and need for authentic, relatable content recently.”

This approach aligns with current viewer preferences. Doug shares a compelling example: “When we started working with Jordan [Howlett], he was flipping pizza at a restaurant. His content started by sharing personal stories about his experience there, adding little tips and tricks about food, secrets, or discounts. Over time, he became known as the president of the Fast Food Secrets Club. And it blew up into this massive audience that he now has 35 million. But it came from somewhere really organic and sharing a personal experience in a job.”

He adds: “The audience on TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube wants something real. They’re  tired of overproduced, glamorized content that doesn’t feel relatable because they’ll never be an influencer with a million-dollar budget per video, red carpets, or $10k outfits.”

Comprehensive Management Strategy

Greenlight Group’s approach extends beyond basic deal-making. “Creators should consider getting a manager when the need goes from just money to including strategy,” Doug explains. “If all you’re looking for is someone to answer emails, you’d be better off hiring a personal assistant or asking for help from a friend or family member.”

Unless the creator and manager are working on larger career goals, Doug warns that the partnership between them becomes transactional. “If your whole relationship with your manager is based on deals, you’re going to become very frustrated with that person when there is a lull in deals or where there are more sophisticated problems you need to solve as a team,” he says.

Their comprehensive approach includes creating support networks for creators. Michael elaborates: “In working with Greenlight Group, you are becoming part of a community filled with other creatives in the same space as you. You gain access to professional colleagues who you can not only bounce ideas off of but who can help connect you with resources to find personnel and build strong teams.”

The firm emphasizes the value of overcoming challenges together. “No relationship you have will be 100% perfect and awesome for years and years,” Doug notes. “If there’s a serious problem with the people you’re working with, you should reconsider that relationship. But it is good to go through those periods when things aren’t going perfectly together as the client and manager to solve problems actively. That’s when you learn who you’re working with and how they deal with adversity as a human being.”

Michael adds: “If there is a lull in opportunities and a creator isn’t garnering inbound interest from brands, this is usually a symptom of one or two problems. The first would be that no outreach is happening, and the second would be an issue with content strategy.  We constantly send outbound emails, calls, texts, DMs, LinkedIn messages, etc. So, if we see a lull in opportunities for a creator, the focus switches to content strategy.”

The two founders take a “scientific approach” to solving these scenarios, pointing out that if a manager doesn’t have a solid understanding of the creator’s content or is only interested in short-term wins, those “tough problem-solving conversations” won’t happen. “A manager should be a strategic partner and someone who will approach adversity with a solution-focused mindset,” says Michael.

This strategic mindset becomes crucial as creators expand their reach. Doug emphasizes: “If you start to succeed at the highest level as a creator, you’ll still have problems. Some are difficult to solve. You may run into legal issues. You’ll have to protect your name, image, and likeness. You’ll have to battle with brands to ensure you’re treated fairly. If you’re a creator who has reached or is reaching that highest level and haven’t formed a relationship with your manager that allows you to see each other through those hard times, you’ll crumble when they come.”

The company views creators through an entrepreneurial lens. “We still view creators as startup media businesses and take that entrepreneurial approach,” Michael says. “I think it will always be important and get continually more important as platforms evolve and the ecosystem continues diversifying.”

This business-focused perspective helps creators avoid common mistakes. “Many creators will hire a manager based on just the deals component, become dissatisfied with that person when things aren’t perfect, then jump from manager to manager,” Doug observes. “Making sure the relationship is framed in the right way is what’s critical.”

Platform Adaptation and Growth

As social media platforms introduce new features monthly, Greenlight helps creators adapt their strategies. 

“The platforms change regularly, and the algorithms change even more frequently than the platforms themselves,” Michael notes. “We focus on where consumer attention is going and how we can position our creators to feed that need.”

He describes their multi-platform approach as follows: “When it comes to short-form content, it’s essential to post it across platforms. Sometimes, no editing or repackaging is needed, especially if the content style is a monologue, storytelling, or value-added DIY.” 

However, Michael notes that “things can get complicated” if a video is doing well on one platform but not on another, in which case, “a strategy to optimize based on platforms is needed.” 

“We always take a data-driven approach to solving platform-specific content issues and use our understanding of what metrics each platform prioritizes to increase reach and engagement to inform a solution. As things change, we adapt.”

Michael reveals that Greenlight Group continues adapting to the rising e-commerce sector in the creator economy, “which has been huge with shopping on YouTube and TikTok.”

Strategic Brand Partnerships

Greenlight Group prioritizes trust in brand collaborations. “Being an influencer who is very professional, aware of a brand’s safety needs, and maintains trust with their consumers at all times does you a lot of favors in closing brand sophisticated brand partnerships,” Doug explains.

Michael discusses their revenue strategy: “Whether you’re working with partners who are focused on top-of-funnel exposure or bottom-of-funnel conversion, having an audience across platforms is going to increase your rates for brand deals. This is why multi-content strategy is such a focus for us. Outside of the traditional brand deals and platform revenue, we are very focused on retail distribution and licensing opportunities.”

The company maintains its commitment to selective partnerships. “We’re very excited about where we’ve come from, the clients we represent, and their trajectory,” Doug shares. “But we’re also working very hard to ensure that two years from now, we’re pulling away from the pack and far and away the top company in this space.”

“Creators are going to define the way that consumers interact with products. Creators are also those trusted voices that influence culture and public perspective on a wider range of topics. We have seen this front and center during the 2024 election cycle, and the trend isn’t slowing down,” Doug concludes. “Creators have the opportunity to define culture, and Greenlight clients are leading the charge in an authentic and relatable way.”