This is something I wrote for the NJ Tech Meetup website.
Newark, New Jersey – the next tech hub? Could new companies and new jobs be the next big step in the city’s renaissance? Newark Venture Partners (NVP) thinks so and they are placing a 50 million dollar bet they can ignite the high-tech fire that will reforge, reimagine and reinvent New Jersey’s largest city.
You’re likely wondering, “Newark? The next tech hub? 50 million? How can I learn more?” Well, you’re in luck.
Next Wednesday 9/30, NJ Tech is heading to Newark for a very special evening. In partnership with NVP, we are hosting a fireside chat with Don Katz, the founder and CEO of Audible (the largest audio book producer and retailer in the US.) Don also founded the NVP team and will share his vision of Newark 2.0.
Summer is over and it’s time to get back to business. The NJ Tech Meetup kicked off fall with its 64th meetup. It was a double packed house and there wasn’t a piece of pizza, drink of water or seat left in the house. The crowd was there for an evening with special guest Kevin Ryan, “The Godfather” of NYC tech. Plus, three startups were there to fight for NJ Tech glory; Ceros, Vognition and LivnList™. Only one would leave victorious.
Here is something I wrote for this Wednesday’s NJ Tech Meetup with special guest Kevin Ryan.
DoubleClick, Mongo DB, ShopWiki, Gilt, Zola, The Ladders, HotJobs, Business Insider. One thing they all have in common is Kevin Ryan, “The Godfather” of NYC tech.
What started it all? How did he become an entrepreneur?
Dilbert made him do it. Yeah, that Dilbert. Back in the early days of the internet Kevin Ryan was working for E.W. Scripps and set up the Dilbert website. If he could get the comic strips online, maybe it would become a destination. Not only did people come in droves, but the site made money. He had seen the future and that future was the internet.
Gary Vaynerchuk should come with a warning label. DO NOT use @GaryVee if you are afraid of brutal honesty. AVOID @GaryVee if easily offended. @GaryVee may cause epiphany, soul searching and uncontrollable laughter. For best results @GaryVee only as directed.
This past Wednesday night will go down as one of the great NJ Tech Meetups. It was a packed house with barely a seat left. Even with the start moved up at the last minute, everyone got there on time. The crowd was there for one reason, Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur, investor, author and one of the most entertaining and captivating speakers ever to take the stage at NJ Tech.
Like all NJ Tech meetups, Aaron Price @apstartup keeps the trains running on time. He made sure everyone ate, drank, networked and then got down to business. After opening remarks and a shout out to the sponsors, he opened the floor to 20 second asks and offers. About a dozen people gave quick pitches for jobs, services and opportunities.
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer @dawnzimmernj made a quick appearance and welcomed all attendees. She reinforced her team’s ongoing support of and commitment to the Hoboken, Jersey City and greater New Jersey tech community.
There can be only one winner
THE STARTUPS
Each NJ Tech meetup features three quick startup pitches. At the end of the night everyone votes on their favorite. The winner walks away with a stunning recycled baseball trophy.
First up, Fusar makes wearable tech for action sports. Focused primarily on products and apps to keep motorcyclists safe. they are also working on solutions for skiing, snowboarding, skydiving and more. Their tech features a helmet-mounted camera and eyes-up display so the rider can keep their eyes on the road.
“My name is Alex and I am building the future of commerce”
Second, Cosmic aims to take the pain out of shopping online. They want to be the pipes of commerce and allow you to buy whatever you want wherever you are. Currently they can sell from websites, apps, blogs, HTML5 video as well as microsites on Tumblr and RebelMouse.
Finally, Gravy is a B2B solution for businesses to send gifts to businesses, people and employees. THey have a custom catalogue allowing users to send the right gift to the right person. They also provide hand wrapping, robust “giftlytics” and high touch support from a single dedicated vendor.
**Trivia note: Gravy founder Aaron Flack was the star of 2007 YouTube sensation “What You Know About Math.” Check out his mad rapping skills below.
THE MAIN EVENT
Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur, investor, social media personality, businessman and much more. Born in Belarus and raised in New Jersey, Gary made a small fortune as a kid selling baseball cards. He turned his father’s wine shop into a multimillion dollar business. He was a YouTube pioneer with the daily online show, Wine Library TV from 2006-2011. Today, he run and his brother run VaynerMedia, a powerhouse social media agency. He also runs VaynerRSE, an angel investment fund. He’s written three bestselling books. Crush It, The Thank You Economy and Jab, Jab, Jab, Right-Hook. Plus, he decided in the sixth grade he was going to buy the New York Jets.
“I’m very interested and thrilled to talk about myself.”
The fireside chat was the highlight of the evening with Aaron and Gary covering a wide range of topics from his New Jersey childhood to his rise as a social media personality to his current focus on VaynerMedia and future investment plans. His next project is a new venture capital fund that will go after Series B and C investments. While VaynerRSE spread 25 million dollars across 93 angel and seed investments, he hopes to raise 150 million and invest in 10 to 20 companies.
100% confidence and “disproportionate marketing capabilities” are key to Gary’s success in business. He saw his future when he was 12 and making more on baseball cards in a few weeks than his teachers made in a year. He lives for the thrill of the competition and the risk of failure. The man is a soundbite machine with an incredible knack for storytelling.
“I’m a much fucking better businessman than you!”
“I like losing. Being a Jets fan is good for me.”
“A true entrepreneur loves the process more than the riches.”
“The game is my drug. Competing is my oxygen.”
“I love the I told you so. Nothing makes me happier than to stick it to you.”
“We are the ultimate species. And you live in America. Fuck you to complain about anything.”
When Aaron asked if we are in a tech bubble, Vaynerchuk had some pointed words about startups, entrepreneurs and building companies.
“Yes and no. We are in an entrepreneur bubble. A lot of people think they are entrepreneurs who really aren’t. You just say you are. And that’s not real.”
Regarding Zirtual, a company that earlier this week went out of business overnight, he was highly critical of their failure and startups in general who really too much on raising money to survive.
“You control your burn”
“I can get unfancy real quick.”
“You aren’t entitled to anything.”
“Raising money is a real bad way to learn how to build a business.”
Of course, Aaron delved into Gary’s success on social media and his complete dedication to building his brand and telling his story across all platforms. He control his Twitter and Instagram accounts while his team does Facebook. Much of his Medium content is boiled down from interviews with Gary. Again he echoed the absolute necessity of putting in the hours to create great content and connect with people.
“I find time because I find passionate people.”
“The best way to build a following is to provide value”
“Curation is outrageously valuable.”
“I see a lot of dj’s trying to be songwriters and a lot of songwriters trying to be dj’s.”
He has little patience for people who claim they don’t have enough time to succeed in business and no room for excuses. His passion, determination and fierce intensity reached a peak at this ppoint of the evening.
“If you’re complaining I will audit you and find 4 hours.”
“You’ve got time for angry birds and you’re complaining, Fuck you!”
“Your actions are your game. Putting in the work matters.”
As the chat drew to a close, Gary had some tough thoughts on the future and America’s place in the world economy going forward.
“America lost.”
“Fake winning is really hurting us.”
“The market always rules.”
How we got to the free hugs from Gary V was pretty amazing
While the crowd could have listened all night, Gary had another engagement. He rushed out with these final words, “Jersey, I love you!”
Aaron took the vote on best startup. All three gave solid presentations with smart ideas. It was a tough fight, but Cosmic was victorious and took home the trophy!
NJ Tech 64 takes place on Wednesday 9/16 at 6:30 with Kevin Ryan, founder of Gilt, Business Insider, Zola and MongoDB. You can sign up here.
Here’s something I wrote for August’s guest speaker at the NJ Tech Meetup in Hoboken.
Entrepreneurship is an art. One of the keys to success is storytelling. How well you pitch your business, market your product and keep customers coming back are all part of the story you tell. If you are successful, you know people are really listening.
Gary Vaynerchuk is a brilliant entrepreneur because he knows how to tell a captivating, immersive story.
He mastered the art of online video years ago. He understood the power of social media from the beginning. He cornered the market in content marketing long before anyone called it content marketing. He has been first on just about every social media platform launched. He knew that he had a story to tell and used every tool available to tell that story.
worldonshuffle 