Interview With Gary Vaynerchuk – Founder of Wine Library TV
Last week, I had the honor to interview social media superstar, Gary Vaynerchuk. A man who really needs no introduction, he’s one of the most influential internet celebrities out there with over 800,000 followers on Twitter!
He’s also the star behind Wine Library TV, an online video blog about wine that attracts over 90,000 views a day, as well as the author of the forthcoming book, Crush It: Why Now is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion.
While the interview was pretty short, Gary was able to deliver some one-line golden nuggets (which he’s known for). So check it out
You can either listen to the audio version below or read the transcript. Enjoy 
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(some mild profanity)
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Stanley: Gary, start off by telling us a bit about yourself. Have you always been invovled with entrepreneurship/business/marketing from a young age?
Gary: Absolutely. At the end of the day, it’s a DNA play, right? You are who you are. I was selling lemonade in seven different lemonade-stand locations before I understood what business was. I was always selling baseball cards and other things of that nature.
So I’ve been on this kick from day one. It’s who I am, it’s in my blood. I’m a story teller. I love to tell stories about brands. I love to tell stories, period. I like painting pictures through the words, and that’s what I do.
Stanley: Do you think entrepreneurship is in the blood?
Gary: I do in a lot of ways. I definitely feel that people are born with some level of entrepreneurial skills, some more than others. For me, it’s definitely a big part of who I am and part of the way I interact and view the world.
Stanley: How did you first get involved with your father’s business with Wine Library?
Gary: He dragged my ass to the store! I had no choice! I was made to work at the store, and that was fine. I didn’t love it at first, I cried a lot. But at the end of the day it was what it was and I started getting passionate about wine. So even though it started off a little rough, because I wanted to run my baseball card business instead, it definitely ended up being a good thing.
Stanley: What did you initially do at Wine Library before the whole Internet thing?
Gary: I basically stocked shelves, then eventually became a cashier. Then I made signs and finally started selling wine on the floor to every customer that walked in, so I was a sales person.
Stanley: What was the experience like and how do you think it would eventually help you when you came to create Wine Library TV and get involved with e-commerce and social media?
Gary: Retail is hard—12 to 15 hours a day, seven days a week. This helped made all of this work much easier. It made me tougher and created a thick skin for business. It’s given me a work ethic and is definitely a foundation of my skill.
Stanley: How did you first get involved with e-commerce online?
Gary: I was in my friend’s dorm room, sophomore year of college. They dialed up the Internet [makes sounds of a dial-up connection] and the next thing I know is I see this shit. In an hour, I’m trying to sell baseball cards while all of my friends were trying to hook up with girls on the Internet.
Once again, entrepreneur glasses, right? You see something and you view it as a business. That’s what I did, it’s part of who I am, it’s how I roll, and it’s what I ended up doing. Immediately, I started pitching my dad for a year to build WineLibrary.com as a retail Internet website.
Stanley: What was the site like in its early stages?
Gary: A piece of shit. It was classic HTML garbage. I couldn’t ship yet to different states, so it was more informational. Slowly, but surely, we started getting into e-commerce and 1999 was when we started really pushing the envelope.
Stanley: Before there was social media, what marketing and promotional strategies did you use to help grow the business?
Gary: Traditional media—newspapers, magazines, radio—all of the things that have people’s attention. Now that’s all changed and all the eyeballs are heading in one direction, and that platform is the Internet, whether it’s mobile, streaming, video or written words. It’s the playing platform for the brand building business.
Stanley: How did you first get into social media?
Gary: I feel like, in a lot of ways, YouTube and Flickr were two of the early sites that made me realize how people communicated. In 2002-03, I started to see that blogging was very fascinating. I just started seeing different opportunities and things going on.
Obviously, for myself, Twitter in late 2006 was a huge opportunity. Facebook was out and I knew about it, but it was more for college kids and I didn’t want to be the creepy old guy selling wine. I feel like probably in 2004-05 I started dabbling with Flickr/MySpace and things of that nature.
Stanley: Did that prompt you to start your video blog, Wine Library TV?
Gary: My developer started watching ZeFrank, the show, and that was a big early video blog hit and I realized that it was really cool. I thought what he was doing was really neat and it gave me the idea to do a wine version with my own style.
Stanley: How did you start? Did you just get a camera and start talking?
Gary: Yes. That’s basically it. I just knew that it was what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be involved in the trenches, I wanted to create engagement and that’s what I did.
Stanley: What do you think was the key that got Wine Library TV to take off and go viral?
Gary: I think it was good content and a massive amount of market hustle on the back end. That combo is the combo for success. That’s what I did.
Stanley: Content is king, but sooner or later, no matter how much effort you put into creating the content, there’s got to be some promotion to get it out. What was your promotion?
Gary: I always say content is king and marketing is the queen, and she runs the household. My plan was to just get in the trenches, answer every e-mail, live in forums, leave blog posts. One step at a time. It’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint. That was it.
Stanley: What are some obstacles you faced when you first got started with the video blog?
Gary: I have no idea. It’s not how my brain works. I’m sure there were plenty. Maybe the wine industry wasn’t ready for that kind of style, but I just kept plugging along and hustling and never really looked back.
I didn’t pay attention to the obstacles. I just kept my eye on the prize and that was it. I’m building something here, a lot of people won’t get it, that’s fine. I’m very hungry to succeed, build a viewership, a culture, a movement. That’s what I try to do.
Stanley: You talked about hustle and I’ve heard you mention that before in your keynote speeches etc but what do you really mean when you say “hustle”?
Gary: I mean that most people underestimate work and I think that’s a huge mistake. It blows me away that people don’t realize how much of the overall success is based on working extremely hard. That, to me, is a huge missed opportunity for a lot of people and I continue to try to talk about it, to open up people’s minds to: “It’s not going to happen in one day. You’re going to have to work really hard and that’s the bottom line.”
Stanley: I think it was Diana Rankin who once said, “It takes 20 years of hard work to become an overnight success.” Would you agree with that?
Gary: I think there’s a lot of truth to those kinds of statements. On some level, it matters on your skill set, but at the end of the day, absolutely.
Stanley: Would you say that the first time being on the Conan O’Brien show was a tipping point for your business?
Gary: I think it definitely didn’t hurt. It built a lot of street cred on the Internet for me. It was almost what happened on the Net that day and the next day that was maybe more important. Because there were so many link backs, so many people watched it and passed it on. That kind of stuff.
Stanley: How did you get on the show in the first place?
Gary: They cold emailed me. They said, “We’re the Conan producers. We’d like to have you on. Are you interested?” I said, “No.” Just kidding! I said, “Absolutely!” and that was it.
Stanley: Do you think traditional, mainstream media is better or do you prefer social media? Which one do you think is more effective?
Gary: Whichever one gets you more eyeballs. I think new media is more cost effective than traditional media, but there are still a lot of eyeballs watching television and that has value. At the end of the day, it’s always going to be eyeballs. We’re all in the eyeball business, and I continue to try to be in places where there are eyeballs and I can get some work.
Stanley: Which would you prefer: Getting on the front page of, let’s say, The New York Times or the front page of Digg or StumbleUpon?
Gary: Probably The New York Times. I used to say Digg or StumbleUpon but the fact of the matter is the traffic is not necessarily relevant or sticky. Maybe StumbleUpon more than Digg, even—and I love Kevin Rose and I love Digg—but my experience has been that The New York Times has such brand equity that it leads to other opportunities.
Stanley: What do you mean by brand equity?
Gary: What I mean by that is, to me, brand is everything, like every single person’s brand, every single consumer products brand. Everything you’re protecting and everything you’re trying to build is “the” brand. Even though The New York Times is not a good business anymore, the brand still has a lot of power. So an endorsement on the front page still means something, even though the business itself is far less exciting than, say, the opportunities that StumbleUpon has in front of it.
Stanley: How instrumental do you think Wine Library TV has been to help grow Wine Library into a $60 million business?
Gary: It’s been a huge factor, especially because, as I phased out of day-to-day retail with Wine Library, it’s become more and more important that the social media aspects have picked up the slack. Before, I was the driving force to the business. Now it’s social media itself, and the show itself. It’s made me scale.
Stanley: Do you see Wine Library TV as a marketing tool to help sell wine or to enhance the brand. Or is it both?
Gary: It was strictly built for one reason: For me to be able to build brand equity that would lead to other entrepreneurial opportunities. It was never about selling more wine. It was always about changing the culture of wine, creating good content and discussion in an industry that needs it.
Stanley: What was the biggest mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?
Gary: I don’t know. There’s something inside me that doesn’t allow the ability to really digest negativity or what I’ve done wrong. I’m sure I’ve done a million things wrong. I don’t really learn necessarily from doing things wrong, or maybe I do and I just don’t dwell on that, even to a point of being aware of it. That’s it. I don’t even know what else to say. It’s the way I’m built; I just don’t know anything different.
Stanley: You have about 700,000 followers on Twitter. What do you think is the right way to interact and engage with your followers?
Gary: I think one of the important things is to be authentic, whatever that means. I use Twitter quite a bit as a messaging tool to people about what I’m doing, how I’m doing it—different things like that. I do a lot of my interaction on email and instant messenger and DM.
I don’t publicly add people a whole lot. Other people do. I just think it’s different for everybody. I think you should work at the rate at which you’re comfortable, instead of the way I do just because I have a lot of followers.
Stanley: Do you think listening is important?
Gary: Listening is the whole game—that’s business. It’s all about listening and then giving. Nothing else matters. Your point of view is irrelevant. You need to have the pulse of society and what they want, and then you have to basically execute what they’re looking for.
Stanley: Do you ever monitor your brand by typing your own name on Google or Twitter search?
Gary: Every single day! It’s absolutely what I do. It’s the game.
Stanley: Wouldn’t some people call that egoistic or narcissistic?
Gary: I’m sure, at some level. I just think it’s more about paying attention to and caring about what other people are saying. To me, it just comes down to: If you’re listening, you have the ability to execute and give people what they want.
I think way too many people don’t listen, and if they think I’m looking up my name for vanity, they’re just not aware of what’s actually going on here.
Stanley: Do you think social media tools have been effective for corporate brands, like Dell? Do you think they’re using Twitter correctly?
Gary: They’ve sold $2 million worth of stuff, right? The funny thing, and I think it’s very fascinating is that I don’t understand, in any shape or form, Stanley, how people don’t understand that the game is changing. Platforms and media consumption have fundamentally changed and eyeballs are shifting. Everything has changed.
When television fall in the next three years, everybody will understand. It’s just laughable to me to even think that people would debate that social media is not good for everybody, from the lowest point of the individual to the highest point of the biggest company in the world.
Stanley: Do you ever plan on taking Wine Library TV to mainstream media?
Gary: It’s conceivable, but it’s going to have to be a really, really sweet deal and I’m not sure if anybody is ready to go there.
Stanley: What trends do you see in social media in the future?
Gary: More transparency, more interaction, more connection between users.
Stanley: What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs who are getting started in business, Internet marketing and social media?
Gary: Passion! It’s all about passion. Find the stuff you like the most and execute.
Stanley: Speaking of passion, why don’t you tell us about your upcoming book, Crush It?
Gary: I basically wrote, in my opinion, the blueprint of how to go about finding your passion, thinking about why your passion could be monetized, and the details of how to do it. I think I looked it at a very high level and I brought it to the very low level.
So I was at 50,000 feet swirling in the air and then ground level. I think that’s the important thing. Never be caught in the middle – never. I think you’ve got to look at it from the biggest level and then find out how to do it and execute in the trenches.
Stanley: I’ve got a question from Twitter: “What would you do instead of online video were to vanish or be banned today?”
Gary: I would be doing exactly what I’m doing right now, which is building VaynerMedia, building out other Internet properties. I’d leverage the written word if that communication was available. I would just adjust.
At the end of the day, I’m not emotional about anything. It comes down to one thing: Whatever the platform it is that’s executed and whatever is working, I’m going to figure out how to use it.
Stanley: A new platform which is really hot right now is mobile. Do you plan on going mobile any time soon, like with an iPhone application?
Gary: It’s the new playing field – the end. I’ve got to be a part of it and we’re looking at it very heavily. We’ve been slow to the game. I had an iPhone app that’s 90% done. I bullshitted and I haven’t executed. I deserve to lose if I do lose, but we’re looking at it very heavily.
Stanley: What are some future projects you have with regards to going mobile?
Gary: Corkd.com is my social wine network. We’re looking at mobile and we continue to view every single thing that’s going on in the world as a mobile play. Mobile has to be part of every strategy. If it’s not, it’s not a basic, smart decision, in my opinion. Mobile is a must – a requirement.
Stanley: You’re obviously a very passionate and confident person. Where do you get the confidence that one day, all of this will pay off? What drives you to succeed?
Gary: I come from a humble beginning as an immigrant. I’ve got a great family life, amazing parents. I’m massively competitive DNA-wise. I want to achieve big things. I feel a huge sense of responsibility for all the luckiness I have.
Stanley: Gary, thank you very much for taking the time out to do this interview. Do you have any final comments or let people know where they can find you online?
Gary: My final comment is I appreciate your hustle to get me on this interview, Stanley, and I wish you nothing but the best.
Stanley: Where can people find you?
Gary: No I’m good. I’m sure they can find it. I’m promoting myself plenty. I’m sure you’ll link it up and mention it. The bottom line is if I’m putting out good shit, they’ll find me and that’s what I’m focused on.
Stanley: I also want to plug your book Crush It: Why Now is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion. When is that coming out?
Gary: October 13, 2009.
Stanley: All right. People can preorder the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, I believe?
Gary: IndieBound, lots of different places, absolutely.
Stanley: Thanks again, Gary, for taking the time to do this interview. We really appreciate it.
Gary: Stay well.
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You can check out Gary’s blog over at http://www.garyvaynerchuk.com and follow him on Twitter @garyvee
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