Gary Vaynerchuck

The Social Media Sommelier

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of USA's most profiled video blogger and social media experts, and has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business.

After primarily utilizing traditional advertising techniques to build his family's local wine business into a national industry leader, Gary rapidly leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine. As his viewership swelled to over 80,000 a day, doors opened to a book deal, several national TV appearances, and a flurry of speaking engagements around the world.

Gary's dual identity as both business guru and wine guy has made him the "Social Media Sommelier." His impact on the wine world has been commemorated via his inclusion in the 2009 Decanter Power List, an index of the 50 most influential figures in the industry. Gary was named #18 on Askmen.com's Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2009.

Gary's remarks on personal branding, social media and business at FOWA, Strategic Profits, and South By Southwest occasioned praise from established web denizens including Kathy Sierra, and he has earned the admiration of countless bloggers and aspiring entrepreneurs.

In March 2009, Vaynerchuk signed a 10-book deal with HarperStudio for over $1,000,000 and released the first book, Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion, in October 2009. The deal is groundbreaking in the publishing world as one of the first attempts to successfully use a low-advance/high royalty business model. In the first weeks of its release Crush It climbed to #1 on the Amazon Best Seller list for Web Marketing books. It also opened at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and #7 on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller List.

As his career as a speaker and writer continued to soar, Gary and his brother AJ co-founded VaynerMedia, a boutique agency that works with personal brands, consumer brands, and startups. Gary is now also an angel investor in various startups, offering sweat equity to the projects he supports in addition to financial investments. 

Gary's ultimate goal is to one day own the New York Jets.

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