{{first name | friend}}!
This is Gary Vaynerchuk. He started by reviewing wines on YouTube from his family's liquor store basement.
Gary Vaynerchuk
Now he runs VaynerMedia, which hit $300 million in revenue in 2024.
His secret? He built his audience before he built his agency.
Gary spent years creating content, sharing everything he knew about wine, marketing, and business. When he finally launched VaynerMedia, he didn't need to find customers.
Customers already knew him.
Here's what happened.
1. Content became the foundation
Gary was running his family's liquor store in New Jersey. Good business, but local and limited.
In 2006, he started Wine Library TV. Just him in the basement, tasting wine and talking to a camera.
No script. No fancy production. Just Gary being Gary.
The show ran for 1,000 episodes. Gary built an audience of wine lovers who trusted his taste and his opinions.
2. Audience became authority
By 2009, Gary had something most consultants don't: proof he knew what he was talking about.
He'd grown his family's business from $3 million to $60 million using digital marketing and personal branding.
When he launched VaynerMedia, he didn't cold call prospects. They called him.
PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson, Chase, brands that had watched him for years wanted to work with someone who'd actually done it.
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3. Content created competitive advantage
Today, hundreds of agencies offer the same services as VaynerMedia. Better rates, bigger teams, fancier offices.
But Gary has something they can't copy: his story.
When a CMO needs to choose between agencies, they don't just compare credentials. They choose the person they already trust.
Gary's content made him that person.
4. This is the new standard
Gary isn't unique anymore. Every successful founder is becoming a content creator:
Tyler Denk shares beehiiv's revenue numbers and growth lessons. Brian Chesky documents Airbnb's product decisions. Naval Ravikant built AngelList's reputation through his tweets about startups.
They figured out the same thing Gary did: People don't buy from companies. They buy from people they trust.
Here's the thing:
In five years, there won't be a difference between being a founder and being a content creator.
Because content isn't marketing anymore. It's how business gets done.
Your personal story sells better than your company's marketing. Your insights build trust faster than your credentials. Your authenticity creates loyalty that price can't break.
The founders who understand this first are the ones who'll dominate their industries.
While competitors focus on features and pricing, content creators focus on relationships and trust.
Guess which one wins when customers have to choose?
Talk tomorrow,
Stephen
P.S. You can follow Gary's current thinking on LinkedIn @garyvaynerchuk. He still posts daily, sharing lessons from building VaynerMedia and insights on marketing trends. This is exactly how content-driven founders stay connected to their market and their customers.
