About: Gary Vaynerchuk has captured national attention as a businessman and Internet celebrity. Gary’s fame can be attributed to his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business building.

At a very young age, Gary took over the family business, a liquor store in New Jersey. Over a period of 6 years Gary and his father Sasha rebranded the business as Wine Library and transformed it from a local store doing roughly $4 million in sales annually to a $50 million national industry leader. The development of the Wine Library juggernaut reached its zenith on August 25, 2006 when Gary was featured with a caricature in the top left corner of the Wall Street Journal, a lifelong goal of Gary’s that he achieved before the age of 30!

On February 21, 2006, Gary launched Wine Library TV (WLTV), a free daily video blog in which Gary tastes and reviews wines. Gary unleashed the same passion and gusto to building the WLTV brand (now affectionately known as “The Thunder Show”) that he had previously brought to his business, with even more far-reaching results. Gary made television appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Ellen Degeneres Show, and he has garnered widespread media recognition including features by the LA Times and Washington Post.

In February and March of 2008, Gary became increasingly known throughout the Web 2.0 community. His remarks on branding within the social media landscape at FOWA, Strategic Profits, and South By Southwest occasioned praise from established web denizens including Kathy Sierra and earned the admiration of countless bloggers and aspiring entrepreneurs. Gary even made headlines with an impromptu free wine party during South by Southwest. Ever the lover of community and humanity, Gary proceeded to launch @santagaryvee, a free merchandise service using the Twitter platform.

Gary’s first book, 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World, was released in May of 2008 and is currently available in bookstores nationwide.


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