If you've ever stepped foot into the marketing world, you've probably heard of , a veritable business tycoon. In just 10 years after founding , a full-service global agency, he grew to almost 1,000 employees. Gary Vaynerchuk VaynerMedia Of course, Gary didn't start there. As a Belarusian immigrant to the US, his first business successes came as a kid, selling lemonade and flipping baseball cards. The major turning point came as he identified the Internet as a golden opportunity in the 90s, transitioning his father's liquor store into one of the first e-commerce platforms, and growing from $3MM to 60MM in sales. In today's world, where advertising mediums are over-saturated and user attention is wearing thin, the strategies he used in the 90s can't be copy-pasted, but the core lessons remain the same: Put out interesting content, be valuable, and have empathy. And he walks the talk, pumping out a massive volume of content like , , , and way — not to mention his extremely high engagement on social. a podcast video series daily vlog several books along the Basically, he's the guy to listen to when it comes to getting your shit together in marketing, sales, and everything digital. If you think those aren't important to you, then you've already lost, because no one cares about your product. Let me repeat that: . They care about the value it brings to their lives. So if you're new to the game and don't have a huge existing user base to tap into, you need to figure out the attention game fast. No one cares about your product Here is Gary's Best Advice for Tech Startups At the core of Gary's advice is work ethic and patience, basically putting in the grind and watching it play out in the long-run. He wasn't looking for shortcuts when he grew his father's liquor store for years, and he's not handing out advice to those looking for a quick-fix. Actually, a metaphor he uses is that you gotta "eat shit." 1. Don't Be Romantic About Your Tech What's even more true than the fact that people don't care about your product is that . This is especially important for the hundreds of startups touting their use of a hype technology like blockchain or AI as if it adds value. Using tech is not inherently valuable, so stop pretending it is. no one cares what tech you're using When you get attached to using a certain technology, you take the focus away from the user. Before Pokémon GO, about Nintendo: Gary said this "[Nintendo was] being romantic about console video games and that they could dominate the app market if they actually went for it." Far too many tech startups are "romantic" about the way they handle business. They favor using a certain tech, like blockchain, without first questioning if that's what the market cares about (hint: they don't). 2. Attention to Your Product is Key You need to bring to your product in the form of people who care about what you're doing. , it's about attention, not impressions. Countless tech startups boast about their accolades, PR features, or ProductHunt metrics, but what matters at the end of the day is a single question: Are people paying attention to and using your product? attention As Gary writes A great way to do this is with a rock-solid content marketing strategy. And by "rock-solid," I mean . Gary has put out an for you to follow. a massive amount of content amazing content model 3. Make Your Product Better A lot of wantrepeneurs can't take feedback, their ego won't let them. That's a problem, because that means their product will be shit, and, , no amount of marketing can save a shit product. about this recently as well: Feedback is key, and if you don't take it you're a bad entrepreneur. as Gary puts it I wrote 4. It's Easier to "Close" New Client Deals In Person Gary is a bigger evangelist of digital than anyone, but even he recognizes the huge importance of trust and relationship building, which is best done in an offline setting. He recommends hosting events (through the help of ads and "raw" video) to bring together potential clients, making you like the "popular kid" at school. Gary calls this the . "High School Party" strategy
