# Gary Vaynerchuk

> Gary Vaynerchuk, known as GaryVee, is a Belarusian-American serial entrepreneur, CEO of VaynerMedia, Chairman of VaynerX, and founder of VeeFriends. He grew his family's $3M liquor store into a $60M e-commerce empire before building one of the most influential digital marketing agencies in the world. With 38+ million social media followers, 8 bestselling books, early angel investments in Facebook, Twitter, Uber, Venmo, and Coinbase, and a relentless content machine that runs 365 days a year, Gary Vee is one of the most recognizable voices in entrepreneurship, brand-building, and the creator economy.

- **Role:** Chairman at VaynerX / CEO at VaynerMedia
- **Organizations:** VaynerX, VaynerMedia, VeeFriends, Gallery Media Group, The Sasha Group, VaynerSpeakers, VaynerCommerce
- **From:** Babruysk, Belarus (then Soviet Union)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Management Science, Mount Ida College
- **Known for:** Grew family wine business from $3M to $60M annual revenue, Co-founded VaynerMedia - now $200M+ annual revenue digital agency, 5x New York Times Bestselling Author

## Career timeline

- **1978** — Family emigrates to USA from Soviet Belarus; settles in Queens, NY
- **1982** — Runs lemonade stand franchise at age 7, hiring neighborhood kids
- **1989** — Starts working at family liquor store Shopper's Discount Liquors at age 14 for $2/hr
- **1990s** — Earns tens of thousands flipping baseball cards at flea markets
- **1998** — Graduates Mount Ida College; takes over family wine business; renames it Wine Library; launches e-commerce
- **2003** — Wine Library revenue reaches $45M+ annually through online sales
- **2006** — Launches Wine Library TV on YouTube - one of the first major video podcasts; runs 1,000 episodes
- **2008** — Web 2.0 Summit keynote leads to $1M/10-book deal with HarperCollins
- **2009** — Publishes 'Crush It!'; co-founds VaynerMedia with brother AJ Vaynerchuk
- **2011** — Retires Wine Library TV at episode 1,000; publishes 'The Thank You Economy'
- **2013** — Publishes 'Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook' - NYT Bestseller
- **2014** — Launches #AskGaryVee Show on YouTube
- **2016** — VaynerMedia crosses $100M revenue; publishes '#AskGaryVee' book
- **2017** — Launches VaynerX holding company
- **2018** — Publishes 'Crushing It!'
- **2021** — Launches VeeFriends NFT brand; publishes 'Twelve and a Half'; sells 1M copies in 24hrs via NFT pre-order
- **2022** — Separates from wife Lizzie after 18 years; continues VeeFriends physical expansion
- **2024** — Publishes 'Day Trading Attention'; VeeFriends partners with Mattel and Macy's; relaunches wine content as WineText TV
- **2025** — Marries Mona Vand (June 14); invests in Stan Store; launches GaryVee x Stan Challenge creator program
- **2026** — Keynotes NRF Big Show; declares era of 'Interest Media'; advocates 20% of marketing budgets to organic social

## Achievements

- Grew family wine business from $3M to $60M annual revenue
- Co-founded VaynerMedia - now $200M+ annual revenue digital agency
- 5x New York Times Bestselling Author
- Early angel investor in Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Uber, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase
- 90+ angel investments, 37+ successful exits
- 38+ million combined social media followers
- Pioneered online wine retail and video podcast format (Wine Library TV, 2006)
- Sold 1 million book copies in 24 hours via NFT integration (2021)
- 10-book publishing deal ($1M advance) from single keynote speech
- Founded VeeFriends - NFT/entertainment IP brand targeting Disney-scale IP
- Fortune 40 Under 40 honoree
- Crain's New York Business 40 Under 40

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Declared brands should invest 20% of total marketing in organic social; 'Don Draper marketing is dead'
- **2026-01** — Keynoted NRF Big Show on AI, live shopping, and the influencer economy
- **2025-10** — Launched 'GaryVee x Stan Challenge' - 8-week creator economy program with Stan Store
- **2025-06** — Married health coach Mona Vand in intimate Toronto ceremony

## Links

- Website: https://garyvaynerchuk.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/garyvee
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCctXZhXmG-kf3tlIXgVZUlw
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garyvee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gary
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@garyvee

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gary-vaynerchuk
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-28