- Zack Isaacs became an associate product marketing manager at Google UK at age 19.
- He gained experience through mentorships and a Google apprenticeship instead of going to university.
- Isaacs now runs OnSocial, which focuses on performance-driven advertising and is expanding to the UAE.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Zack Isaacs, the 23-year-old founder of a paid media and creative agency and former Google employee in London. It has been edited for length and clarity.
In England, we decide what subjects to pursue during secondary school GCSEs. I've always been entrepreneurial and loved tech, so I studied computer science but hated it because I couldn't code.
I enjoyed self-taught graphic design platforms like Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, so I started designing logos for friends, family, and local businesses during secondary school and built a portfolio.
Brands began to request social media help. I fell into marketing and a successful freelance career at age 17.
I chose not to go to university
I wasn't the most academic person and thrived more by actually doing than sitting in lectures. I decided to skip university and join the ORT Jump mentorship program I heard about during a school assembly. This unpaid program matches students with working professionals for an academic year of mentorship.
They paired me with Andrew Scrase, the head of digital marketing at Meta. I met with him about four times over the year. Spending time with Andrew gave me a real look at how social media worked from a business and advertising perspective.
I learned how media budgets are managed, how ad creative impacts performance, and what it takes to run campaigns at scale. That exposure at a young age helped me figure out what I wanted to do before I turned 18.
It was my dream to work at Google
After the mentorship program ended, I applied to Google's digital marketing apprenticeship and passed the first screening stage. Then, I progressed to Google's internal interview stage.
I designed and submitted a bespoke CV with a QR code linking to my online portfolio to stand out. In December, I got a call from someone at Google. They jumped into an impromptu interview, asking, "What does SEO stand for? What social media campaign have you worked on?" and more.
I must've answered well because I got into the program at 18, making me one of the youngest members and employees at Google in the UK overall.
I started in B2B ads marketing in a 15-month program. My job was to run events and talk about AI product adoption. Later, I worked on the YouTube Social Team to help launch YouTube Shorts with creators across the UK.
I wanted to stay at Google full-time
After the apprenticeship, I applied for the associate product marketing manager program. It's essentially Google's entry-level marketing department program, but it was a pretty senior role.
The process involved a five-stage interview process, including case-based and strategy interviews and behavioral assessments focused on "Googleyness."
Even though I had no degree, I got in. I was hired as an associate product marketing manager at age 19.
Within that role, I was the influencer and talent partnerships lead for the UK marketing team. This was a direct-to-consumer role, working on content for the Google UK social handle. I was given a budget to find and work with the most culturally relevant creators across campaigns for Pixel, Chrome, and Google Lens.
Eventually, my role pivoted to talent-focused, managing influencer relationships and partnerships and building community.
I quit my job at Google in 2023
After almost four years at Google, I left in March 2024, mainly because I felt stuck. My role was fun, but the progression was hard to see.
I wanted to do more on the social side, but there were budget restrictions and layoffs. It got complicated, and social wasn't as much of a priority as it was when I started. If I couldn't work at optimal budgets, I preferred to do my own thing.
I started my own business
I founded OnSocial, a specialist paid social media and creative agency focused on driving measurable growth through performance-driven advertising, in April 2024. I funded it through my savings. Now, just over a year in, we've grown to a team of four.
We combine high-quality creative production and advanced paid media strategies led by ex-Google and Meta specialists.
The most significant change from working at Google is moving from a buzzing office environment to being in a room alone as a founder. I'm currently working from home and coworking spaces in London and am in the process of relocating to the UAE. We've already built a great client base there, and expanding OnSocial in that region is a natural next step.
I don't regret any of my decisions
I've always dreamed of running my own agency, and now I have total freedom. For some people, university is the right path, but I knew early on that I learned better through doing.
Mentorship, apprenticeships, and self-education gave me the skills and clarity I needed faster than any classroom ever could. If anything, I gained more time and experience that helped me build something of my own.
