Everyone wants to know what Gary Vee thinks. When the hugely successful social media and NFT entrepreneur attended nft now & Mana Common\u2019s The Gateway: A Web3 Metropolis opening night party on Tuesday, he left a trail of turned heads and star-struck onlookers wherever he went. Likewise, as he exited the Dupont Building in downtown Miami yesterday after giving a panel talk on the state and future of the Web3 industry, he went out like the Michael Jackson of Web3 \u2014 an explosive round of applause followed by a swift exit to escape the quickly-swarming cameras, well-wishers, and networking hopefuls.<\/p>\n
Before he did, however, Vee (formally Vaynerchuk) delivered a rousing talk that Web3 enthusiasts simply needed to hear. His tone was serious, effecting a sincere concern for the plight of Web3 and the people building tomorrow\u2019s blockchain features within.<\/p>\n
Building out of the crypto winter<\/h2>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in an economic correction,\u201d Vaynerchuck bluntly said of the state of crypto and NFTs in general. \u201cWe get out of it the same way the internet got out of it. From 2001 to 2004, a lot of websites like Friendster became the previews to the Reddits and the Instagrams [of today]. In the next 36 months, people are going to build meaningful things instead of fast things for fast cash.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vee also emboldened those who endeavor to be those meaningful builders to think sustainably about any enterprise or partner they engage with in Web3. Be hard on your beliefs, plans, and business strategies, he explained, and be just as hard on others\u2019. \u201cMost of 2021 [and] half of 2022, I was in tons of meetings,\u201d Vee recalled. \u201c19 out of every 20 meetings, the person on the other side of the Zoom was unable to answer the second chess move of the questions: \u2018How are you going to create demand when the market softens?\u2019 Nobody was capable of giving me a good answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reminding people that success is slow, Vee underscored that the winding road to success in Web3 is not for the faint of heart. Drawing parallels to the tumultuous earlier days of Web2, he explained that people may leave the Web3 space during a downturn not because they no longer believe in it, but because they simply may not be willing to \u201clive humbly\u201d through the rough patches.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s supposed to be hard if you\u2019re trying to live a one-percent of a one-percent life.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary Vee<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been more proud of that version of me than all of the sizzle,\u201d Vee expressed. \u201cI\u2019m proud that I\u2019m an actual businessman. Real shit takes time to build. It\u2019s supposed to be hard if you\u2019re trying to live a one-percent of a one-percent life. Everyone talks about being about \u2018that life\u2019 until that life punches you in the fucking mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked how he remains humble given the success of VeeFriends<\/a> and his other business ventures, Vee didn\u2019t mince words when addressing the attitude he strikes regarding his achievements.<\/p>\n \u201cBusiness success doesn\u2019t mean shit,\u201d Vee said candidly. \u201cIf I die tomorrow, I\u2019ll trend on Twitter for 24 hours and then the next day everybody will live out their life. I just don\u2019t think being good at making money or being a good entrepreneur enables one to think they\u2019re better than other people. I don\u2019t have my validation in my business success. I have much more validation in what people that actually know me feel about me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to get mine, nobody is going to stop me from getting mine \u2014 that\u2019s why I cheer for everybody else to get theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary Vee<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Regardless, Vee is laser-focused on fostering the success of his dream project \u2014 seeing the VeeFriends IP branch out as widely as possible. Nothing is off the table: movies, amusement parks, and cartoons are just some of the iterations Vee wants his NFT empire to expand into. Comparing Marvel Comics\u2019 trajectory, Vee observed that the cultural giant didn\u2019t start out with mammoth IP power. The key, Vee said, is to take great care to mature the IP, and that takes years.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no question in my personal mind that this [is the business that] puts me in a position of achieving my life business goal of buying the New York Jets,\u201d Vee said pointedly. \u201cI\u2019m genuinely not worried about the [crypto] winter. I think when all the dust settles in 22 years, you\u2019re going to forget about a lot of names that we fuck with today and I\u2019m going to be fucking dominating. But if I don\u2019t, I\u2019m going to be pumped for World of Women or Bored Apes. I\u2019m going to get mine, nobody is going to stop me from getting mine \u2014 that\u2019s why I cheer for everybody else to get theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to the future of VeeFriends as 2023 approaches our horizon, Vee explained that VeeCon 2023 is of prime importance for the brand while also hinting at the company\u2019s focus on building technological products for their community and broader Web3 ecosystem. The team is also working on \u201cdeflationary dynamics\u201d to better reward members of the community rather than releasing new collections to entice new people to buy into the VeeFriends world.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can be incredibly selfless while being ok with being selfish for you and your family.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary Vee<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n In 25 years, Vee predicted, there will be just as many meaningful intellectual properties that had the origins in the current Web3 era, and he is confident that VeeFriends will be among them. That long time frame speaks to the need for emerging NFT projects to consistently execute and deliver to justify even their current floor price. This is in stark contrast to historical projects like CryptoPunks<\/a>, of which Vee owns 61 NFTs, and whose significance as pivotal assets in NFT history is secure.<\/p>\n Rounding off the panel discussion with a note on legacy and what it means to him, Vee diverged from business talk and emphasized a healthy balance of the virtues of relentlessly pursuing one\u2019s goals and being compassionate while doing so.<\/p>\n \u201c[I\u2019d like my legacy to be] that I gave more than I took,\u201d Vee said. \u201cAnd that I gave a real fucking swing at it to teach people that you can be kind while being ambitious. You can be incredibly selfless while being ok with being selfish for you and your family. I\u2019m going to give that a real run for forty years. And I\u2019d like to think that that\u2019s what my legacy will be.\u201d<\/p>\n Vee\u2019s success to date in the business world, in addition to cultural impact, leaves little room for material criticism at this early stage. As Vee descended the marble stairs of the Dupont Building, departing into the street where endless crowds of admirers awaited, he walked with intention, not looking back at the crowd once. If his exit from the scene had a voice, it would have said simply: \u201cI have things to do.\u201d The rest of Web3 may do well to take note of that disposition<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
Staying humble, staying hungry<\/h2>\n
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The future of VeeFriends<\/h2>\n
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