VaynerMedia may be a social media-first digital agency that focuses on storytelling across platforms; however the stories of Gary Vaynerchuk and his brother, AJ, are, appropriately, the stuff of advertising legend.
Gary Vaynerchuk talks about being an entrepreneur at eight years old when he was managing—not one, but seven-- lemonade stands in Edison, New Jersey. Born in Belarus, he came to the US with his family in 1978. The legend begins when he started work at his father’s liquor store, named Shoppers Discount Liquors. It was 1994 and he was a freshman in college who discovered the benefits of the Internet. Three years later, Gary transformed Shoppers Discount Liquors to WineLibrary.com, one of the first wine e-commerce businesses. The shop’s annual revenues soared from $3 million to $60 million in just 5 years.
In the spring of 2009, Gary and his brother AJ launched VaynerMedia, a new breed of digital agency to help Fortune 500 companies such as GE, PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the New York Jets, and USA Network build their digital brands across social media and beyond with micro-content, video, campaigns, and other methods of storytelling. They found a niche, and in just six years, the 6-person team has grown into a 500+ person agency across the U.S., with offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chattanooga, TN.
Throughout, VaynerMedia has continued to use insights gained through digital content to inform and build creative campaigns that drive actual business results.
In addition to running VaynerMedia and Wine Library, Gary has maintained an extensive public speaking and book publishing schedule (he's the author of three New York Times bestselling business books). AJ and Gary are also founding partners of VaynerRSE--a venture fund and incubator focused building the next generation of world-changing technology companies. In addition, the Vaynerchuk brothers co-founded GrapeStory, a mobile-first marketing agency and production house which pairs the best micro-content creators with innovative brands to tell powerful and engaging stories.