SOUTH ORANGE — A few years ago, Victor Ricci was a pretty normal kid from Rhode Island. He maintained his own personal social media accounts, had a summer job, and was getting ready to move to New Jersey for college.
Victor Ricci. (Courtesy TrendPie)
That all changed the summer after his senior year of high school, when he posted a six second “life hack” video to his Vine account.
The video of Ricci using a water bottle to separate the white and yolk of an egg, went viral. His Vine account, @QuickLifeHacks, which he described as videos that showed small tips to make everyday tasks easier, grew everyday, eventually reaching more than 1.4 million followers and becoming one of the most followed accounts in the world.
“It definitely wasn’t something I was trying to do,” Ricci said of his sudden Internet fame. “I’m not even an avid social media user. Now, I don’t even have the Facebook app on my phone.”
But, there was a monetary incentive to being a social media influencer. Ricci, now 22 and a senior at Seton Hall University, said he was contacted by companies offering him between $3,000 and $5,000 to feature their products in his short videos. Though the offers came at an inconsistent pace, Ricci said they helped support him during his first few years of college. More importantly, Ricci said, the offers gave him an idea.
He transitioned away from social media stardom, and in April 2015 launched TrendPie, an Internet marketing company that connects brands to his network of non-celebrity online influencers.
Instead of sporadic, high-cost campaigns, Ricci said his company offers regular, lower cost placements on the accounts of multiple organic social media influencers. The result is more successful for his clients, and a more regular revenue stream for the influencers, he said.
“I think of it kind of as the Wal-Mart approach” Ricci said. “We charge less, but we do it everyday.”
$8M gift is one of largest ever to Seton Hall
Almost two years later, as Ricci is finishing up his degree at Seton Hall, the plan seems to be working.
He has four employees who all work remotely to keep the business running. TrendPie’s influencers have a collective reach of 250 million followers. Its client roster has included apps like Drunk Mode and Sworkit, and companies like Yahoo and Aol. TrendPie said it has earned almost $1 million in sales since launching.
Ricci runs TrendPie while pursuing a marketing degree, and running on Seton Hall’s cross country team, which he has been a part of since his freshman year.
“It’s amazing to watch Vic do what he does,” said Tony Testa, who heads Seton Hall’s athletic training department.
“He’ll come in for a treatment or something, and stop in the middle to take a conference call. Then, he comes back ready to work.”
After graduation, Ricci said he hopes to open a TrendPie office, expand the company, and keep learning as he goes.
“When I started, I didn’t know how to run a company,” he said. “Everyone has an idea, but most people don’t act on them because they are too busy with other things. Sometimes you just need to take that first step.”
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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