What The Hand Media does

The Hand Media is a New York-based growth marketing agency founded in 2017 that serves entrepreneurs and mission-driven startups. The firm operates through a partner-network model rather than a large full-time bench, with four named partners covering distinct disciplines: Simon Yi leads growth marketing (with prior tenures at VaynerMedia, R/GA, and acquired startups Reserve and General Assembly); Charlie Hyun leads brand and media (experience at ESPN, NBC Universal, Vice, Revolt TV, and Diplomat Records); Daniel Kim leads talent and deals (an attorney and former CAA agent who worked with Nike, Bose, Red Bull, and multiple NBA franchises); and Doug Bello leads creative (a Cannes Lion award-winning Creative Director who also teaches at Pratt Institute). The firm explicitly positions itself as a "right hand advisor" using a "Hand of the King" metaphor.

The company's core offering is a hypothesis-driven marketing framework that combines A/B testing, landing page optimization, customer surveys, and statistical significance testing to deliver repeatable, scalable marketing programs. Their methodology emphasizes statistical rigor over intuition, distinguishing them from agencies that rely on creative instinct alone. The tech stack is described as a methodology rather than a proprietary platform; no software products, APIs, or AI-native systems are disclosed. Their website serves as the primary marketing and lead-generation surface, supplemented by a downloadable Growth Playbook and case-study portfolio.

The Hand Media makes money through professional services fees on a consultative, partnership-based engagement model—likely a mix of project-based and retainer arrangements, though pricing is not publicly disclosed. They target a hybrid segmentation: persona-based (founders and entrepreneurs building mission-driven businesses) and vertical-based (companies in disruptive industries such as ESports investment, independent fitness, and digital mental health). Named clients include Nerd ETF, O2 Fitness, and Bloom, with the firm noting that its client portfolio has collectively raised $122 million. The firm is privately held, with no disclosed institutional backing, no parent company, and no funding rounds on record.

Name

The Hand Media

Website

https://thehand.media

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Hand Media is a New York-based growth marketing agency that uses a hypothesis-driven, statistically validated methodology to serve entrepreneurs and mission-driven startups across verticals like ESports investing, fitness, and mental health.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Growth Marketing Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital & Programmatic Media Buying (Display, Video, CTV, Audio) (BPAFABAB)

Keywords

• Growth marketing services
• Performance marketing
• Brand strategy
• Influencer marketing
• Digital marketing agency

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Growth Marketing Services: Professional consulting services as a growth marketing partner to entrepreneurs and startups. The engagement model focuses on collaboration with 'partnerships that incentivize behavior that grows your business,' suggesting project-based or retainer arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Hand Media is a New York-based growth marketing agency that delivers hypothesis-driven marketing campaigns for entrepreneurs and startups. The agency deploys statistical significance testing, A/B testing, and landing page optimization to build repeatable, scalable customer acquisition programs. It combines growth marketing, brand strategy, talent/influencer access, and creative production under a single consultative engagement.

Product overview

The Hand Media is a growth marketing agency that operates as a single, unified service offering rather than a product platform. They provide hypothesis-driven marketing campaigns tailored to client needs, focusing on brand experiences, customer acquisition strategies, and influencer marketing programs. The agency deploys statistical significance testing to ensure marketing programs deliver repeatable, scalable, and measurable returns. Their portfolio includes case studies across esports investment (NERD), fitness community building (O2 Performance), and mental health services (Bloom CBT influencer marketing), collectively helping clients raise $122 million in funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Growth Marketing Services Hypothesis-driven growth marketing engagement combining customer acquisition strategy, A/B testing, landing page optimization, and customer survey analysis for entrepreneurs and early-stage startups.
• Performance Marketing Campaigns Performance-based marketing programs that drive measurable customer acquisition outcomes, demonstrated through client engagements such as Nerd ETF (esports investment) and O2 Fitness (gym community building).
• Influencer Marketing Programs Influencer-led marketing programs that pair brands with athletes, personalities, and creators, as demonstrated by the Bloom mental health campaign using digital therapy and influencer marketing.
• Brand Strategy and Creative Production Brand strategy, advertising and content strategy, and Cannes Lion-level creative direction and 3D animation delivered as part of the agency's growth marketing engagements.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• GALE: NYC-based business-focused agency with digital, creative, media, and analytics capabilities. Like The Hand Media, it offers data-driven marketing programs to ambitious consumer and enterprise clients.
• AMP Agency: Boston-based integrated marketing agency spanning brand, media, content, and performance. Comparable to The Hand Media in its full-service, data-driven approach to marketing for ambitious growth-stage clients.
• Giant Spoon: NYC-based full-service marketing agency known for media planning, brand storytelling, and integrated campaigns. Comparable to The Hand Media in its multi-disciplinary partner model and focus on ambitious, often consumer-facing brands.
• Mekanism: Independent creative agency blending brand storytelling, media, and performance marketing. Comparable to The Hand Media in providing integrated growth and brand services to challenger and scaling brands.
• Tombras: Independent, Knoxville-based agency combining creative, media, and data services. Like The Hand Media, it positions itself as a full-service growth partner blending strategy, creative, and performance marketing.
• Dagger: Independent, Brooklyn-based creative and media agency serving challenger brands. Comparable to The Hand Media in catering to entrepreneurial, mission-driven consumer startups with full-service marketing capabilities.
• VaynerMedia: Full-service digital and social media agency founded by Gary Vaynerchuk, headquartered in NYC. The Hand Media's growth partner was trained there, and the firm operates in the same growth marketing and brand-building category for entrepreneur-led clients.
• R/GA: Global digital agency combining marketing, branding, design, and technology services. The Hand Media's growth partner honed his skills at R/GA, and the agency competes in the same intersection of brand strategy and growth marketing for ambitious clients.

Broad incumbents

• Gary Vaynerchuk's VaynerX: Parent ecosystem of VaynerMedia, VaynerSpeakers, and broader media ventures. As a broader incumbent, it touches many of the same talent networks and growth marketing categories as The Hand Media but at significantly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Movéo: Chicago-based brand-building agency with strong B2B and challenger-brand work. Comparable to The Hand Media in its positioning as a strategic, integrated growth partner rather than a traditional media buying shop.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thehandnyc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hand Media