The hustle mindset made Gary Vaynerchuk famous.
But another quality has been increasingly important to the 49-year-old serial entrepreneur’s staying power: empathy.
“And I can see it in your eyes that you don’t think you could.
And it’s so blatantly obvious to me that you could.
The audience ate it up.
He has 50 million social followers, including 15 million on TikTok.
He’s also drawncriticswho say he glorifies a toxic hustle culture and capitalism.
For years, his Twitter handle read “a dude that Loves the hustle.”
He launched a direct-to-consumer wine brand called Empathy Wines, which he later sold to Constellation Brands.
He understands that many young men have fallen behind but aren’t necessarily looking for a handout.
Rather, they often want a path toward self-reliance.
Vaynerchuk says his brand’s softer turn started when he noticed a lot of fear in his DMs.
“I think I took for granted how well I was parented.
“I don’t trust the American consumer right now in that I just think we’re overly emotional.
Friends float other theories for the gentler Vaynerchuk.
He recently went through a divorce (and is now engaged).
Whatever the reasons for the shift, it comes off as a good business move.
“I think it’s appealing because a good yelling is fun, but people want a consistent partner.
I don’t want a rock star, I want Ted Lasso.”
Can Vaynerchuk stay relevant in the AI age?
It employs nearly 2,000 employees from New York to Singapore, up from about 800 people in 2019.
Vaynerchuk said he sees revenue doubling again in the next five years.
He’s big on live social shopping, which he predicts will blow up next year.
He’s also styled himself as something of an AI guru.
So let’s not get too high on it.
Let’s not get too low on it.”
When theFox streaming service Tubisought help promoting itself to Gen Z, Vaynerchuk tapped his influencer connections to help.
Empathy Wines grew out of the company.
VeeFriends promotes VeeCon, which in turn showcases Vaynerchuk’s other businesses.
The list goes on.
“He’s not just selling me a theory.
So I definitely value that expertise he brings.”
“They get CMOs who are interested in a relationship with him,” Halvorson said.
“It creates a lot of inbound interest.”
“For some, a CEO with so much heart might feel anachronistic.
Gary is the rare exception who can pull it off.”
Is there a Vayner without Vaynerchuk?
The big question for many personality-led companies like Vaynerchuk’s is whether they can transcend their leaders.
“So, I think we are the future establishment.”
That’s not to say he sees himself letting the place run without him.
“Could JC Penney’s come back in a different form as a social live shopping show?”
Vaynerchuk prides himself on being a hands-off manager and says he’d let the new CEO initiate the company.
But he won’t disappear, either.
