Gary Vaynerchuk
Washington, DC USA
"Once you embrace adversity and make it your foundation, it is absolutely the framework of success."
Career Roadmap
Gary's work combines: Entrepreneurship, Business, and Accomplishing Goals
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
People tend to freak out when they get to 18-20 years old because they think they have to have everything figured out. You don't. You have plenty of time to get it together. Take this time to explore and find the things you like and are good at. You can focus and double down on those things later in life.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Business/Commerce, General
Mount Ida College
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I was born in the Soviet Union, in what today is Belarus, and immigrated to the U.S. when I was three years old.
2.
Grew up in a studio apartment in Queens, New York alongside eight other family members and later moved to Edison, New Jersey.
3.
I started being entrepreneurial at six years old—I operated a lemonade stand franchise, shoveled snow, traded baseball cards, and more.
4.
Attended the Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst where I received my bachelor’s degree.
5.
After graduating college, I took over my family’s retail wine business, re-named it the Wine Library, and began selling their products online—grew the business from $3 million to $60 million a year.
6.
In 2006, I started Wine Library TV, a daily video blog on YouTube covering all things wine—its success helped launch my massive online following.
7.
I left the family business in 2009 and with my brother started VaynerMedia, a social media–focused digital agency, that is now a multi-million dollar company.
8.
As a serial entrepreneur, I own multiple media and lifestyle companies but I am also a speaker, author, and vlogger/podcaster for the #Dailyvee and #AskGaryVee shows.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You're a failure.
How I responded:
For the first 25 years of my life, by the standards of the time, I was considered a failure. I was failing school and wanted to focus more on my businesses and making money. People just didn't get me. However, facing that doubt was the best thing that ever happened to me. Embracing that adversity and making it my foundation has made me who I am.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was born in the Soviet Union and immigrated to the U.S. when I was very young. We initially lived in a studio apartment with 8 other family members.
Growing up we didn't have a lot. I definitely come from humble beginnings. I've been starting businesses from the age of six, but I've never been motivated by money. I'm more motivated by the end result.
When I was in middle school and high school, I got pretty bad grades because I was more focused on my businesses. I was looked down on because I didn't take school seriously.