January 22nd was the day after a huge snowstorm that brought freezing temperatures to NYC. Nonetheless, a fired up crowd of founders came to Google HQ for Startup Grind NYC’s fireside chat with salesman extraordinaire and entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk. Google Entrepreneurs provided the space and Startup Grind’s Brian Park conducted an amazingly candid interview. Gary’s no-holds barred approach kept the audience laughing while teaching the finer points of social media and investment.
Gary Vaynerchuk is co-founder and CEO of social media brand consulting agency VaynerMedia, co-owner and director of operations of a retail wine business, and a social media and e-commerce author and public speaker. Gary is the author of two bestsellers and has a new book titled, “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy World.” He is also an investor in Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter.
Gary became an entrepreneur at the tender age of five when he opened a lemonade stand conglomerate in his neighborhood. Later on he grew his family’s business from $2 million in sales to $60 million in seven years. Twice! That takes some serious hustle. Gary’s talk focused on business development, branding, and innovation.
“Innovation Does Not Care About You, Me, or Anybody in this Room!”
That memorable one-liner above was more colorful in person and was Gary’s response to questions about trends and innovating. Gary laid out some social media basics for gaining traction, including buying Facebook ads, using the Twitter search feature to find your audience, and fully utilizing Google Analytics. Gary noted that utilizing Twitter when it was emerging is what changed his career trajectory and he regretted not using YouTube as a marketing platform sooner. Moreover, as social media and technology continue to converge, Gary believes consumers will place less value on privacy in favor of convenience. But in the end, according to Gary, “If you do not bring value, you will not succeed.” Plain and simple.
The full video of Gary’s interview is available here: http://youtu.be/sAFfu_VqL3Q
Special thanks to Google for always providing an amazing space and our sponsors Gett, Elance, On the Spot Wines, and Handybook!