Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk was born in Babruysk in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union and now Belarus.⁠[1]

He moved to the United States with his family, initially living in Queens, New York, before growing up in Edison, New Jersey. His childhood ventures included lemonade stands, washing cars and trading baseball cards.⁠[2]

At 14 he began working in the family’s Shopper’s Discount Liquors, stocking shelves and learning retailing.⁠[3][2]

Vaynerchuk attended Mount Ida College in Massachusetts. His Roadtrip Nation interview profile lists a bachelor’s degree in business. In a 2019 essay, he also confirmed attending the college and discussed how aspiring entrepreneurs might assess the value of higher education.⁠[4][5]

According to his official timeline, he and his father Sasha renamed the store Wine Library and launched its online sales website.⁠[3]

He started Wine Library TV, using online video to discuss and review wine. The project brought together his retail experience and public-facing video work.⁠[4]

Rodale Books published Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines, a guide to selecting and evaluating wine that encourages readers to develop their own preferences. The publisher’s ebook listing gives a length of 256 pages.⁠[6]

He co-founded advertising agency VaynerMedia with his younger brother AJ Vaynerchuk, working with brands and social media.⁠[3][7]

He published Crush It!, about turning personal interests and online communication into a business. In a later first-person account, Vaynerchuk described it as his second book.⁠[7][8]

His subsequent business books include The Thank You Economy (2011), Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook (2013), #AskGaryVee (2016) and Crushing It! (2018), addressing customer relationships, social content and personal brands.⁠[9][8]

He launched the entrepreneurship Q&A show #AskGaryVee and co-founded restaurant-booking platform Resy with Ben Leventhal and Michael Montero.⁠[3]

He began documenting his working life, business travel and public appearances in the DailyVee video series. His later retrospective dates the first episode to December 4.⁠[10]

He co-founded VaynerSports. The agency began with American football representation and subsequently expanded into baseball, esports and combat sports.⁠[11][12]

Vaynerchuk announced the acquisition of lifestyle publisher PureWow, placing it within the newly created The Gallery. He explained at the time that The Gallery and VaynerMedia both sat under VaynerX.⁠[13]

American Express acquired Resy, adding the restaurant-booking business to its services.⁠[14]

He co-founded direct-to-consumer brand Empathy Wines with Jon Troutman and Nate Scherotter; its products launched in 2019. Constellation Brands announced the acquisition on July 1, 2020, with Vaynerchuk continuing as a consultant. Transaction terms were not disclosed.⁠[15]

He launched VeeFriends, whose first collection contained 10,255 NFTs based on his hand-drawn characters. The project linked digital collectibles with event access, including admission rights to VeeCon in 2022–2024 for Series 1 holders.⁠[16]

Twelve and a Half was released in the United States and Canada, examining emotional and interpersonal skills in business. He also narrated the audiobook.⁠[17][8]

The first VeeCon took place May 19–22 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. It used NFT tickets and featured talks, discussions and performances involving entrepreneurship, creators and culture.⁠[18]

VeeFriends announced a seed investment from a16z crypto, intended to support its character intellectual property and creative, technical and experiential operations.⁠[19]

He co-founded production company VaynerWatt with Eric Wattenberg and Matt Higgins, combining screen production with marketing.⁠[20]

Moonbug Entertainment and VaynerWatt announced a VeeFriends animated series for children aged 6–11 and families, with Vaynerchuk serving as executive producer.⁠[20]

In its April 11 newsletter, School of Hard Knocks described a New York interview video featuring Vaynerchuk and Ryan Serhant, covering their careers, factors behind their success and advice on life and business.⁠[21]

Harper Business released Day Trading Attention, examining how brands can understand audience attention, create social-platform content and adapt to distribution based on users’ interests.⁠[9]

He released Meet Me in the Middle with illustrator Steve Lambe. Featuring VeeFriends characters Eager Eagle and Patient Pig, the book explores cooperation and different perspectives in a format that can be read from either end.⁠[22][8]

The VeeFriends animated series made with Moonbug debuted on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry, extending the collectible characters into children’s entertainment.⁠[23][24]

His official profile identifies him as chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia, and creator and CEO of VeeFriends. He also distributes interviews, speeches and business content through the GaryVee channel and The GaryVee Audio Experience.⁠[11][25]

His official biography lists early investments in Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase and Uber.⁠[11]

In a 2019 New York Times article, Erin Griffith discussed Vaynerchuk and associated outlet ONE37pm in a critique of hustle culture, questioning the presentation of ambition as a lifestyle. A 2018 Team GaryVee explanation stated that his message about hard work did not require sacrificing sleep or family life.⁠[26][27]

Kirkus Reviews gave Meet Me in the Middle a negative assessment, criticizing its stiff dialogue and didactic approach and finding its appeal to young readers limited.⁠[22]

Personal website: https://garyvaynerchuk.com/ (opens in a new window). X: Personal account: https://x.com/garyvee (opens in a new window). YouTube: Personal channel: https://www.youtube.com/@garyvee (opens in a new window).⁠[28][29][25]