Podcast Summary
A conversation between Gary Vaynerchuk and Matt Higgins about their backgrounds and success: GaryVee and Matt Higgins share stories of their humble beginnings and the importance of paying attention to learn and grow in business.
Gary Vaynerchuk, also known as GaryVee, is a businessman, investor, and media personality who grew up in poverty in Queens, New York. He's now a successful entrepreneur and the CEO of VaynerMedia. Gary recently became even more famous as a guest shark on Shark Tank. In this podcast episode, Gary welcomes his longtime business partner Matt Higgins, who is also a Shark Tank guest. They discuss their backgrounds, including their humble beginnings and how they've worked hard to get where they are today. Gary emphasizes the importance of paying attention to others and using that attention to learn and grow. The episode also includes a Q&A segment where listeners can submit their questions for Gary and Matt to answer. Overall, the episode highlights the themes of hard work, determination, and the power of attention.
Recognizing intractable problems and taking matters into one's own hands: At a young age, the speaker dropped out of high school to pursue a better future, defying societal expectations and paving their own way. They emphasized the importance of recognizing intractable problems and finding creative solutions.
Sometimes in our lives, we don't wait for epiphanies or crises to occur before making unconventional decisions. The speaker shared how, at a young age, they recognized the desperation of their circumstances and made a bold decision to drop out of high school to pursue a better future. This decision was met with skepticism from those around them, but the speaker's determination and belief in their own plan allowed them to overcome societal expectations and pave their own way. The speaker also emphasized the importance of recognizing intractable problems and taking matters into one's own hands. Additionally, they highlighted the role of education as a gateway out of difficult circumstances, even if it meant dropping out of traditional educational paths. Overall, the speaker's story illustrates the importance of staying true to one's own vision and finding creative solutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges.
From dropping out to defying expectations: Belief in oneself, resilience, and pattern recognition skills can help overcome adversity and lead to great achievements.
Having a clear plan and belief in oneself, even in the face of adversity, can lead to great achievements. The speaker shares his personal story of dropping out of high school and defying expectations by earning his GED and enrolling in college at a young age. He emphasizes the importance of context and experience in shaping one's perspective and opinions. The speaker also highlights the impact of judgment and how he worked to overcome it by building a successful career as a journalist. He encourours trusting in one's abilities and pattern recognition skills to help achieve goals. The speaker's determination and resilience serve as a reminder that setbacks do not define one's future success.
Trusting your instincts: Don't rely solely on external validation or potential wealth, be aware of risks and signs of decline, and trust your gut for wise decisions.
Trusting your instincts and not being overly reliant on external validation or potential wealth can lead to making wiser decisions. The speaker shares a personal story about passing up on a potential fortune with unvested stock options to join a failing company, and later regretting it. He emphasizes the importance of not living in fantasy land and being aware of the potential risks and signs of imminent decline. The speaker also warns about the dangers of over-leveraging oneself and posing for success on social media, as most will likely lose out in the end. Ultimately, the takeaway is to trust your gut and make decisions based on a well-informed understanding of the situation.
Understanding trends, hard work, and adapting to change: Gary Vaynerchuk emphasized the importance of building a strong business, staying calm during crises, and working hard for success.
Success in business and life often requires a deep understanding of trends, hard work, and the ability to adapt when things go wrong. Gary Vaynerchuk, a successful entrepreneur and businessman, shared his insights on the importance of these factors during a conversation. He recalled his experience of having significant wealth at a young age, but warned that the current funding landscape may not be the same as it was in the past. He emphasized the importance of building a strong business that can capitalize on growth when budgets increase. Vaynerchuk also shared his experience of working closely with Rudy Giuliani during the aftermath of 9/11, highlighting the importance of staying calm and in control during a crisis. He encouraged his audience to watch what he does, not just what he says, and to understand that success often requires a great deal of hard work and dedication. The conversation also touched on the importance of remembering historical events, like 9/11, and the impact they have on future generations.
A career shaped by 9/11 and the New York Jets' stadium: Started as Giuliani's press secretary post-9/11, managed federal budget for rebuilding, transitioned to Jets as VP of strategy, became EVP of business, ran operations for 8 years despite losing stadium battle due to valuable city politics background.
The speaker's career was defined by his involvement in two major projects: the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the fight for the New York Jets' stadium. He started as Giuliani's press secretary during the global response to the attacks and became the first employee of the rebuilding process. He spent two years of his life in New York, writing speeches and managing the federal budget for the rebuilding efforts. After the rebuilding project, he transitioned to the New York Jets, initially as VP of strategy and eventually becoming EVP of the business, running the team's operations for eight years. The Jets' stadium project was a contentious battle, with both sides investing millions in the fight. Despite the emotional attachment and losing the battle, the speaker's background in city politics was valuable to the Jets, leading to his employment.
Recognizing patterns and trusting instincts can lead to opportunities: Trusting unconventional ideas and recognizing emerging trends can lead to successful partnerships and achievements.
Trusting one's instincts and recognizing patterns early can lead to significant opportunities. Gary Vaynerchuk's predictions about the future of content and social media resonated with the speaker during their first meeting, leading them to form a business partnership. This partnership resulted in making a Jets player, Kerry Rhodes, Twitter famous and making the Jets the most followed team on Twitter in 2009 and 2010. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing emerging trends and being open to new ideas, even if they seem unconventional at the time. Trusting Gary's insights and predictions led to a successful business collaboration and significant achievements in sports marketing.
The power shift in sports marketing towards athletes and entrepreneurs: Athletes and entrepreneurs now have more control and autonomy in their careers, leading to innovative businesses and partnerships in the sports industry.
The power dynamic in sports marketing has shifted significantly over the years, with athletes and entrepreneurs gaining more control and autonomy in their careers. This was evident during the early days of social media marketing when athletes faced restrictions on using platforms like MySpace and Twitter for self-promotion. However, these limitations only fueled their desire to break down walls and monetize their ideas. A prime example of this is Matt's own career transition, where he went from a professional athlete to an entrepreneur, co-founding RSC with Steve Ross. This shift towards empowerment has led to the creation of innovative businesses and partnerships, such as international soccer tournaments and drone racing, that have added value to the sports ecosystem. Overall, the ability of athletes and entrepreneurs to seize opportunities and pursue their passions has transformed the sports marketing landscape.
Identifying and Empowering Potential Entrepreneurs: Mark Cuban finds joy in discovering and investing in entrepreneurs, drawing from his own experiences of breaking through barriers to success.
Mark Cuban, a successful entrepreneur and investor, believes in identifying and empowering potential in others. He shared his experience of being identified as a potential entrepreneur on Shark Tank and his subsequent investments in various companies, particularly in the food industry with partners like David Chang. Cuban expressed that his role in helping people transcend their potential resonates with him, as he once had to break through barriers to reach his own success. Despite the constant influx of entrepreneurs reaching out to him, he continues to enjoy the process of discovering and supporting new businesses.
People matter as much as ideas: Success depends on both the jockey and the horse, so invest in scalable ideas and talented founders with humility and confidence.
The success of a business idea depends significantly on the people behind it, not just the idea itself. Matt Higgins shared his experience of learning this lesson the hard way, emphasizing that the jockey (founder) is just as important as the horse (idea). He now focuses on investing in scalable ideas and people with the right combination of confidence and humility to make it work. When asked about his investment approach, Matt revealed that he partners with Steve Ross and they don't force founders to focus on exits. Instead, they look for businesses with the potential to grow into something big over time. Confidence and humility, along with a focus on scalability, are key factors in their investment decisions.
Emphasizing Business Growth over Financial Engineering: In business, focus on growth and control, rather than just distributing cash flow or anonymous investments.
In business, the focus should be on growth rather than just distributing cash flow or financial engineering. This was emphasized by the speaker's experience with owning a stake in the Dolphins franchise and dealing with a passionate Jets fan. The speaker also mentioned that in the next phase, they are more interested in control and direct investment rather than investing in anonymous companies. Additionally, the speaker offered advice to a caller who was overwhelmed with the success of selling sports cars and was trying to take the next step into higher revenue ranges. The speaker acknowledged their interaction before and encouraged the caller to keep going despite the challenges.
Navigating people management in business growth: Growing a business brings new responsibilities, making mistakes, and learning from them as you navigate the people management aspect of your enterprise.
Growing a business brings new challenges, particularly in the area of people management. The speaker, who has successfully grown his retail store through social media marketing, is now facing the need to hire and manage employees. He acknowledges that this is a common issue for business owners, especially those who are good at their craft but new to management. He shares that he has made mistakes in the past, such as giving too much trust to an employee who later violated that trust. The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes and not being too hard on oneself during the transition. He also mentions that every entrepreneur goes through this stage and the biggest regret is not acting sooner when they knew they should. So, the key takeaway is that growing a business means taking on new responsibilities, making mistakes, and learning from them as you navigate the people management aspect of your enterprise.
Profitable and entertaining pack breaking business model: Pack breaking generates revenue through selling slots in boxes of cards, with potential for high returns and entertainment value, but faces concerns like market popularity and personal fears impacting growth.
The sports card industry, specifically pack breaking, is a profitable and entertaining business model. Pack breaking involves selling slots in boxes of cards, with the opportunity to purchase the individual cards that come out of the packs. This business model can generate significant revenue, with some packs selling for thousands of dollars. However, the industry's success is not without concerns, as the market's popularity and the business owner's personal fears, such as economic instability or natural disasters, can impact the industry's growth. Despite these concerns, the potential for high revenue and the entertainment value of pack breaking make it a promising business venture.
Diversify to stay ahead: Expand business by creating multiple streams of revenue, avoid relying on one successful venture, and help others grow for potential win-win situations.
Diversification is key to long-term business success. Gary Vaynerchuk emphasized the importance of not relying on one move or product to sustain a business. He advised Nathan, who runs a sports card business, to triple down on pack breaking while also exploring new ventures such as storage units, regional shows, podcasts, events, or even investing in other businesses. Gary shared his experience of building big businesses by creating multiple streams of revenue. He also encouraged Nathan to share his business model with others and help them grow, creating a potential win-win situation. It's essential to keep innovating and expanding to stay ahead of the competition and avoid becoming overly reliant on one successful venture.
Staying true to oneself and maintaining empathy are keys to personal growth and success.: Successful individuals prioritize self-love and empathy, focusing on their own journey and staying true to themselves, despite adversity and criticism.
Empathy and self-love are crucial for success, even in the face of adversity and criticism. Matt McConkey, a successful entrepreneur, shared his journey of losing weight and dealing with self-doubt, emphasizing the importance of staying true to oneself and trusting one's inner voice. He also highlighted how empathy is a common trait among successful individuals, and encouraged the audience to preserve their empathy while striving for success. Matt also shared his belief that money and fame do not change a person but rather reveal who they truly are, and that he has remained the same person despite his success. He emphasized the importance of focusing on one's own journey and not being swayed by external validation or criticism. Matt's story serves as an inspiration for entrepreneurs and individuals alike, reminding us that staying true to ourselves and maintaining empathy are essential for personal growth and success.
Focusing on adding value over financial gains: Gary Vaynerchuk believes the greatest entrepreneur isn't just the wealthiest, but the one who adds the most value. Emphasize strengths and delegate weaknesses.
Success is not solely determined by financial gains, but rather by the value one brings to the entrepreneurial space. Gary Vaynerchuk believes that the greatest entrepreneur of this generation is not just the one who makes the most money, but the one who adds the most value. He encourages focusing on strengths and letting others handle weaknesses, as those in control may not be as in control as they think. A thought-provoking question for the Vayner Nation is to ask about a product that is not on the radar yet but has the potential to be massive.
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