The Mindset of The Most Successful Entrepreneurs - Gary Vaynerchuk Motivation

Summary

In this insightful transcript, the speaker reflects on their journey as an entrepreneur and investor, emphasizing their strength as an operator rather than a typical investor. They share optimism about making a game-changing investment between the ages of 50 and 70, akin to Peter Thiel’s early stake in Facebook. The speaker discusses the importance of understanding consumer behavior, patience, and the power of pattern recognition. They also highlight the potential of voice technology, comparing it to past technological breakthroughs. With a focus on long-term success, they emphasize timing, self-awareness, and strategic waiting for opportunities to mature.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker identifies more as an entrepreneur than an investor, believing that their strengths lie in building businesses rather than purely investing.
• 💡 They express confidence in making significant investments in the future, similar to early investors in companies like Facebook and Uber.
• ⚡ The speaker emphasizes the importance of pattern recognition and leveraging experience to identify promising investment opportunities.
• 🌟 They highlight the importance of self-awareness and understanding one's strengths in entrepreneurship, such as marketing and operations.
• 🚀 The speaker discusses the evolution of their career, noting that past experiences shaped their current entrepreneurial mindset.
• 🤝 They reference their successful investment experiences and the lessons learned from not syndicating investments in earlier ventures.
• 🔍 The speaker advocates for focusing on consumer behavior and fundamental business operations as key to successful entrepreneurship.
• 🌐 They express optimism about emerging technologies and their potential impact on business and investment opportunities in the future.
• 📈 The speaker notes that while they see value in courses, they prefer to focus on providing real-time, actionable advice rather than structured education.
• 🎤 They believe in the transformative power of voice technology, comparing its potential impact to the early days of the internet and other major technological shifts.

Q & A

How does the speaker define their identity as an investor and entrepreneur?

The speaker identifies more as an entrepreneur than an investor, emphasizing their strengths in operations and marketing rather than traditional investment strategies.

What long-term investment strategy does the speaker believe in?

The speaker believes that they will make a significant investment similar to Peter Thiel's investment in Facebook between the ages of 50 and 70, highlighting the importance of pattern recognition.

Why did the speaker choose not to start a fund despite a lucrative offer?

The speaker was self-aware enough to recognize that they are an operator rather than a fund manager, leading them to build a business instead.

What qualities does the speaker attribute to themselves in comparison to Warren Buffett?

The speaker sees themselves as basic, patient, consistent, and fundamentally sound, similar to Warren Buffett's investment philosophy.

How does the speaker view the relationship between their skills and the success of their businesses?

They believe that their talents in contemporary marketing, operations, and consumer behavior are key factors in their business success.

What does the speaker believe is necessary for successful investments?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior and market trends to recognize emerging opportunities for investment.

What is the speaker's perspective on voice technology and its future?

The speaker believes that voice technology will become a new highway for communication and business, akin to the early skepticism surrounding smartphones and online dating.

How does the speaker perceive the current technological landscape?

They see it as an evolving framework that requires adaptability, emphasizing the need to integrate new technologies like blockchain and AR into business models.

What does the speaker suggest about the timing of technology adoption?

The speaker suggests that while it may feel early to some, technology adoption will eventually catch up, and those who recognize it will benefit in the long run.

What lesson does the speaker derive from past investment opportunities missed due to a lack of knowledge?

They reflect on missed opportunities, like not investing in Google or YouTube, highlighting the importance of education and awareness in investment decisions.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 The Entrepreneurial Mindset

In this part, the speaker discusses their identity as an entrepreneur versus an investor. They express a strong belief that their entrepreneurial skills will lead to significant future investments, similar to Peter Thiel's early investment in Facebook. The speaker reflects on their journey, emphasizing their self-awareness and decision to focus on building a business rather than managing a fund. They highlight their operational strengths, understanding of consumer behavior, and the importance of patience and fundamentals in business success. The speaker shares insights on their past investment decisions and the lessons learned, including missed opportunities that could have significantly changed their financial standing. They also express confidence in the future, anticipating that emerging technologies will shape new business landscapes.

05:02

📈 Reflections on Investment Experiences

The speaker elaborates on their past investment experiences, recalling how they invested in Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr without fully understanding venture capital. They reflect on the importance of knowledge in investment and acknowledge missed opportunities due to a lack of understanding of syndication and funding structures. The speaker emphasizes their operational mindset, focusing on human resources, market fit, and consumer behavior. They also highlight the significance of continuous learning and adapting to new technologies, particularly voice recognition and AI. The discussion illustrates a long-term vision for future investments and the evolving landscape of technology, with the speaker expressing optimism about the role of emerging innovations in shaping human behavior and business practices.

10:02

🔮 Embracing Emerging Technologies

In this part, the conversation shifts to the impact of emerging technologies on business and human behavior. The speaker predicts that technologies like voice recognition will become mainstream, fundamentally changing how people interact with digital platforms. They compare current technological trends to the early days of the internet, suggesting that we are on the cusp of a significant transformation in communication and accessibility. The speaker discusses the evolving behavior of users, especially younger generations who are adept at navigating digital landscapes without traditional literacy skills. They caution against prematurely dismissing new trends and emphasize the importance of patience and strategic positioning for future opportunities. Overall, this section conveys a sense of excitement about the potential of technology to redefine business and human interaction.

Keywords

💡Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship refers to the process of starting and running a new business to make a profit. In the video, Gary Vaynerchuk identifies himself primarily as an entrepreneur rather than an investor, emphasizing his inclination towards building and operating businesses. He shares his belief that his skills in marketing and consumer behavior enable him to successfully navigate the entrepreneurial landscape.

💡Investment

Investment is the allocation of resources, typically money, with the expectation of generating an income or profit. Gary discusses his perspective on investment, highlighting his intention to make significant investments in successful companies, similar to Peter Thiel's investment in Facebook. This reflects his understanding of market patterns and his confidence in his ability to recognize future opportunities.

💡Pattern Recognition

Pattern recognition involves identifying trends or consistent results within data or behaviors. Gary expresses confidence in his ability to recognize future successful investments by observing patterns in the market, stating that he believes he will make groundbreaking investments in the coming years. This concept underscores his strategic approach to entrepreneurship and investing.

💡Human Behavior

Human behavior is the range of actions and mannerisms exhibited by humans. Gary emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior in both marketing and business operations. He notes his ability to read and interpret emotional intelligence, which he finds critical for successful communication and effective business practices, as evidenced by his interactions with figures like Mark Zuckerberg.

💡E-commerce

E-commerce refers to buying and selling goods or services using the internet. In the video, Gary discusses how his understanding of e-commerce allowed him to scale his business effectively. He views it as a crucial component of modern entrepreneurship, demonstrating how online platforms can enhance business reach and profitability.

💡Operational Efficiency

Operational efficiency is the ability to deliver products or services in the most cost-effective manner while ensuring high quality. Gary attributes his success to a strong focus on operations, claiming that this foundational principle has guided his business strategies. He cites his past experiences in managing teams and resources to optimize performance as key to his entrepreneurial journey.

💡Long-term Thinking

Long-term thinking involves making decisions based on anticipated future outcomes rather than immediate results. Gary articulates a belief in the importance of this mindset, stating that he expects to achieve financial success later in life compared to early achievers like Mark Zuckerberg. This perspective influences his investment strategies and entrepreneurial goals, aiming for sustainable growth over time.

💡Technology Adoption

Technology adoption refers to the acceptance and integration of new technologies into everyday use. Gary discusses how societal perceptions of emerging technologies, such as smartphones and online platforms, have evolved. He draws parallels to current trends in voice technology, suggesting that while adoption may be slow, it will ultimately reshape behaviors and business practices.

💡Angel Investing

Angel investing involves individuals providing capital to start-ups in exchange for ownership equity or convertible debt. Gary reflects on his early experiences in angel investing, mentioning how he invested in significant companies without fully understanding the venture capital landscape. This illustrates his learning process and evolving strategy in the investment realm.

💡Marketing Arbitrage

Marketing arbitrage refers to exploiting market inefficiencies to maximize profits. Gary mentions building a wine business by leveraging his marketing skills to capitalize on emerging trends in different wine regions. This concept underscores his entrepreneurial approach, highlighting how he strategically positioned his business to succeed by understanding market dynamics.

Highlights

The speaker identifies more as an entrepreneur than an investor, believing in their entrepreneurial skills over investing acumen.

They anticipate making a significant investment similar to Peter Thiel's in Facebook between the ages of 50 and 70.

The speaker believes that their strengths lie in recognizing patterns and making timely investments with substantial capital.

They express a strong sense of confidence in their ability to make impactful investments in the future.

The speaker reflects on past opportunities and choices, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness in their career decisions.

They compare themselves to Warren Buffett, noting the importance of being basic, patient, and consistent in investment strategies.

The speaker shares insights from their experience in building a wine business, highlighting good marketing strategies and operational efficiency.

They discuss their early recognition of the potential of platforms like Google and YouTube, reflecting on missed investment opportunities.

The speaker emphasizes the significance of understanding consumer behavior and the role it plays in business success.

They describe their mission to provide valuable advice, hoping to inspire others in their business endeavors.

The speaker addresses the evolving landscape of technology and investment, mentioning trends like blockchain and voice technology.

They highlight the potential of voice technology as a new highway for communication and consumer interaction.

The speaker discusses the importance of patience and strategic waiting in investment, using examples from their career.

They reflect on the common skepticism around emerging technologies, drawing parallels with past innovations like smartphones.

The speaker encourages observing trends rather than rushing to invest, emphasizing the importance of strategic analysis.

They conclude with a call to recognize and adapt to the ongoing changes in technology and consumer behavior.

Transcripts

i think a lot of people think about you

as an investor would you define yourself

as an investor as an entrepreneur i

think i'm a better entrepreneur than i'm

an investor i do actually believe the

following i believe

as long as i stay healthy and don't pass

away too young

that somewhere between the ages of 50

and 70 i will make a peter teal-like

investment in facebook i think it's all

building

i'm getting stronger i have access at a

level

the next thing is going to come along

it's going to be pattern recognition

again

and i'm going to [ __ ] strike i'm

gonna strike

earlier

and harder

with way more capital with way more

capital knowledge and i genuinely do

believe

that there's a significant chance that

i'm gonna write a four million dollar

check into something that is going to be

a palaton an uber

uh you know

a facebook i i would be stunned like i'm

like if i'm 98 and it's kind of wrapping

up that's the way it crumbled

there is absolutely especially if i know

if it's not going to be a sudden death i

have a funny feeling if they're like you

got four months i i'm definitely

convinced that a lot of time in my own

mind

would be how the [ __ ] did that not

happen

like

like i'm so sure it's gonna happen over

the next 50 years so i would say that

i'm both yeah but i very much more

associate with being an entrepreneur

than i do an investor and i proved that

because in 09 on the back of some of

these good decisions

uh i had a real opportunity to start a

very large fund

and when you're offered a hundred

million dollars in capital and you're

making two million dollars a year and i

was making hundred a couple hundred a

hundred thousand dollars a year at this

point

you know to get two million dollars a

year to take meetings and you're hot you

just made these good decisions and get

20 of the economics

for me to spit at that and start a

client service business because i was

self-aware enough at that 34 years old

to say

i'm not a fun guy right i'm an operator

and what i'm best at this me talking to

myself so take it for what it is and if

i'm the best in the world like i think i

am in contemporary marketing of the

moment at all times why don't i build a

battleship

actually because i'm a star wars fan why

don't i build a death star and i called

it a death star because i thought i

could build it and just like the death

star in the first star wars we saw

episode four there's one little place

and by the way i'm the exhaust pipe

if i die it all crumbles now in the

sequels they built it with that stupid

same thing again i'm assuming that

you've at least put some sort of cover

over it nope but actually not if i go

tomorrow yeah it's over

it's over is that intentional

no it's just it's just a truth there's

no other way to do it there's no other

way

boy am i basic and boy have i been

throwing the same pitch

it just feels different because i'm a

good communicator things change

but

i am basic

it's crazy i associate to warren i don't

know much about warren buffett but my

intuition of what i've picked up along

the way is he too is very basic

very patient very consistent and very

fundamental very fundamental and that's

what i think i am nonetheless

it's exciting that you bring up casey

and this by the way everyone's listening

i was an operator who built a wine

business on good marketing arbitrage and

communications and operations and hr my

employees were happier i understood what

that wine from new zealand australia and

spain were about to emerge i understood

how to um pay more paid better people to

be managers so i could spend all my time

selling which allowed me to scale then i

spent all my time learning e-commerce

which allowed me to scale so it was a

lot of fundamentals i understood that i

was talented and that i was patient and

i could see myself in others when i met

mark zuckerberg

i thought his emotional intelligence and

understanding of humans was

uncomfortably high almost like a jedi

meeting another jedi

the fact that a year or two later a

movie came out that portrayed an

introvert that was heartbroken made me

laugh i never

ever

laughed harder at hollywood than when

that was the perception that they wanted

to push through

now mark is not a charismatic

over-the-top human when he communicates

that doesn't mean he doesn't understand

human behavior and communication right

and i've never sat at a dinner table and

felt that somebody was of my ilk

naturally of that skill set

and he was his advantage was the way he

decided to create wealth creation and

monetize that ability he also had the

layer of building tech

which had much bigger variables than

what i'm doing i also have more of an

altruistic legacy need than than i think

he does and so this is how our paths are

going

plus it's a long game i feel like i'm

gonna be much

more financially successful in my 70s

and 80s he was destined to do it in his

20s just different paths but that that

thing was the same

that thing has another version of it

which is i am going to pivot and will

my thing into success

and when i invested in facebook twitter

and tumblr

i invested without even really knowing

what venture capital was

or many other things for example for

everybody who's a little bit more nerdy

about investing if i knew what an spv

was back then a special purpose vehicle

which meant i could have gone around to

all the rich

business people i knew in the liquor

business and said hey jeffrey al schuler

big shout out jeffrey great businessman

had a big distributor company hey

jeffrey give me 200 000 and i'm going to

help you and i could have invested in

facebook to any number i wanted

what i invested in was hundreds of

thousands of dollars which is all i had

right

had i knew of any level of education

that i could have syndicated money and

took 20 of the back end i might be the

owner of the jets right now right

you know so

what what happened was when i was invest

when i started investing and i'll go

even further back because i'm gonna

answer your question deeper how do i

think about business i think about

hr i think about product fit for the

market i think about operations

i'm uncomfortably talented at consumer

behavior and so that's what is populated

to the top

and it's something that i also think and

you i don't know if you're watching talk

i just gave i'm on a mission to give

away the best advice of the moment

every moment with the hopes that i can

have a mix of what happened up there

which is people thanking me for helping

them really helping them build their

business or being historically correct

so i can trade on that currency or

inspire someone to do something which

goes to what we talked about a minute

ago too which is that

you elected not a lot of people are like

why don't you do a course why don't you

do a course and you're like i don't

that's not my thing it's not and and by

the way i think i put a lot of pressure

on courses because i think they've gone

on egregious to the pricing and things

that nature but there are many and just

for the record it's a good audience to

share it with a good place there are

many good courses you probably think for

example digital marketer courses are the

best

better than anything but you know what's

really funny about this and i think you

guys know i have a lot of admiration for

your operations and congrats on some of

the stuff that's going on with you guys

and i had a blast with you guys in san

diego the wine dinner where i got to

know a lot of you guys years ago why i

said yes to this where i'm being very

selective you know because ryan will

text me i i feel a kinship even you know

but i'm so busy this is really fun i

when i tell you i have no clue

i have no concept of your pricing

structure what's in it and that's the

way i am about a lot of things i'm so

focused on the end consumer which is why

that is populated as a core strength but

to go all the way back i was so right

about email i was so right about google

adwords but i didn't benefit other than

how it impacted my business

right i remember the day google went

public

and my friend eric castner who was my

developer who sat closer than you and i

are sitting in our tandem to building

wine library

i remember him saying like what do you

think and i'm like you should tell

everybody to invest in this but i didn't

i didn't because i didn't buy stocks i

didn't even know how to do it i knew

e-trade was out there but like i was

like i don't want to spend 10 minutes

setting up the account like literally

yeah i really should have

you know like you know and so all these

things happened and so then when google

sold google bought youtube and again

when i think back to how uncomfortably

right i was about youtube

i was

really right i was producing long-form

content at scale on a daily basis in

2006

february of 2006 almost 0-5 i was super

right i told eric castro that we should

start a record label

yeah it was it was you know what it

really was it was really on youtube i

mean it was really

uh zay frank yeah rocketboom

then a guy by the name of ronetto had a

moment there like like think about the

fact that i can name the people that

quickly yeah

um

it sells for 1.7 billion which was a

trillion dollars at the time

i read an article it talks about ron

conway the angel investor i google angel

investor i had no idea what that meant

and i sat there in my office in a liquor

store where i still have some videos

from

and

i said i'm gonna angel invest

and

how i think about business is

operational and entrepreneur driven

[Music]

you know you're talking about 50 years

and making this big like peter thiel

whole thing i mean obviously that's out

a long way so we can't even really begin

to imagine

what that next big thing could be

something that layers on top of

blockchain something that layers on top

of voice something that layers on top of

vr something that layers on top of ar

something that layers on top of

invention that's a framework that i

don't even know yet yeah that's what i'm

good at show me the framework let me i

will be the first layer above that

so i want to get because this gets to

you to your thesis in your process voice

you're really big on voice i am i don't

see it

well it's not that i don't

any time i hear myself saying i don't

get it that's like a alarm that goes off

my head saying you're you're being an

idiot you you may not value time the way

i do well so my i guess my thing is the

and again i want to i don't want to

argue no the argument what are you

talking about this is the like

this is the this is what's going to

bring value to the listener right now

getting princess though of it because i

look at it i look at human behavior also

and it's hard for me to imagine

um people vocalizing half of what they

would you know search for and like you

you look at a lot of what are the kids

doing i always look like it's important

a lot of the rednecks do yeah and i i

love middle america as much as the next

guy yeah

this is about time yeah so once the

technology catches up for me to be

sitting with you right now and i have a

thought right now that i want to tell my

admins

alex make sure i get to the meeting on

thursday and that's done

this thing's gonna get [ __ ] melted so

it's not so much about it's not so much

about the search capabilities or

anything like that it's about just it's

about everything okay and so it's it's

about everything it becomes the new

highway

and so what so you're seeing you're

seeing the behavior that tells you that

like this feels a bit weird today for a

lot of people but

i don't believe it's going to be weird

do you remember what people said about

smartphones absolutely do you remember

what people said about computers cars or

anything really do you remember the

stigma around online dating yeah okay

those are all the answers to your

question

so but you're seeing it already

happening though i guess and again no no

no i'm seeing i'm seeing yes i'm seeing

yes i am seeing it no no no i'm seeing

it no no i am seeing that it's happening

the amount of three-year-olds in the

world right now that get the internet to

do exactly what they want who have no

ability to spell or write

is enormous

my son looks at pete alonso home run

highlights every day

and nobody helps him get there yeah

because he says youtube my kids curate

their playlist with alexa it's

absolutely happened

it's just early it's really 1993

internet yeah that's all so you're so

you're cool

being super early and waiting because i

think a lot of what a lot of people do

is they

they don't believe something is coming

and if it's not there for a couple of

years then they just declare i was too

early and they bow out so how do you

make sure that you see it but you also

hold back enough to wait like the

process by not building a business that

requires it to be real yet

go keep going with that a lot of people

are building a voice dev shop right now

and or like that gentleman from um india

today has an app

he's right

he's dead yeah

right

so very easily i noticed it you're gonna

be hanging out and watching but you're

waiting for that my my conversation

currently about tick tock and years ago

when i got loud about snapchat

was the same game i'd been watching for

a while i realized it curved to being

older which meant there was an arbitrage

more users not super common whether it's

by the way linkedin didn't get older

linkedin didn't get younger linkedin

changed as a platform that led to a lot

of awareness from a content standpoint

yeah

[Music]

you