#AskGaryVee Episode 143: Unethical Investors Vs. Soft Entrepreneurs

- On this episode, we go to floor 12, have a hardcore Eagles fan, and I get a little Dear Abby-ish. (hip hop music) You ask questions, and I answer them. This is The #AskGaryVee Show. Hey everybody, this is Gary Vay-ner-chuk, and this is episode 143 of The #AskGaryVee Show. I'm on floor 12. Woke up some people. I know the Eagles thing is comin' from Price, and then that's comin' this whole episode. I'm actually pissed I sat in front of him. Look for my official Jets Eagles prediction. By the way, India, I am two and oh on my official predictions on this season. So, I'll be coming Friday. I mean, at some level, some of you are gonna start betting heavily on my skill set here. I really understand this Jets team. Good mood. Excited to be on 12. DRock, stand, you can stand up and give 'em a little 12 action. Love floor 12. Floor 12 is loud, just the way I like it. Alright, that's about it. Super excited about the comments on the street. I will be doing more of that. I almost did that, but I decided to go with 12 today and mix it up a little bit here as we are now getting to the mid 150s area, which is a pretty epic feat. Appreciate all the statement of the days. You might have noticed I'm engaging more on YouTube. Finally put the app on the front of my home screen, and have stayed in, consistently signed in and have figured out my cadence on engaging on YouTube which excites me 'cause so many of you consume the show on the Tube, and so I will be not just reading, but engaging a little bit more there, so Facebook and that. Also, a lot of you may not realize this. I am constantly on in a Twitter environment, and so for a lot of you that either don't have a Twitter account or are not using it as often, feel free to ping me there. A lot of engagement with the Vayner Nation there. So India, let's get into the show. - (laughs) OK. - Yeah, DRock, you were slow. DRock was slow.

- [Voiceover] Clinton asks, "Were you ever reckless "with any of your businesses? " - No, I don't think I've ever been reckless with my businesses, hence why they've been successful. I think the only reckless thing I've ever done which has caused me non-successful ventures is trying to bite off more than I can chew. Sometimes I'm doing way too many things including now, including always. So there's a level of recklessness within it, but on an overall collective, it's not reckless because it's a net score game and I win in business. And so no, I don't find myself to be super reckless. I think I'm very much on the offense, but there's a level of practicality. I'm very P and L driven, profit and loss. That means cash flow, understanding how not to put myself out of business. I think I leave a lot of profit on the table each year. I definitely could have a lot more take home money from Vayner Media, for example, in the last three years, but I continue to invest in my businesses. Some may think that's, not reckless, but maybe leaving something on the table? I look at it as long-term investing, not worrying about short-term cash. So no, I don't think I'm a reckless businessman. That's it. No. - [India] Alright, Trouty sent me a link-- - Trouty? We put Trouty on this show? - [India] Yeah. - Jesus. - [India] The Kardashians are starting their own web-- - Jesus, Trouty. OK. - [India] He wants to know...

- [Voiceover] Trouty asks, "First Glenn Beck, "and now Kim Kardashian? "Are subscription media sites next celeb frontier? "And will you? " - The answer is yes. Will I have one? I, maybe, ya know? Maybe, I mean, that's a really interesting question. I'd be really fascinated, and I know Staphon's holding up the Scope right now. I'd be really fascinated if I decided to paywall The #AskGaryVee Show or my content, what would happen. My intuition is that I would lose 90% of my audience, but the 10% that were the most passionate would find a rationale to pay for it. I do believe paywalls are an intriguing play. If you look at somebody like Howard Stern. Went to a radio paywall. I think, until he went back out into America's Got Talent, he almost disappeared off the face of the earth. He made a lot of money, but his brand took a hit. For example, I'm gonna assume a lot of you, and which are both one in the same, are gonna buy a lot of #AskGaryVee books or go to some of my speeches where this is a jab. The content is free, but it's a gateway to brand equity that then kind of allows me to monetize on the back end. I do think that there's a huge opportunity for paywall subscription based. I think there's a lot of money in it. I do think a lot of people are gonna go that route. I think you're gonna see moves by YouTube, I think as we have a long tail of micro-celebrity, more people will go there. And so, Trouty, I do think there's a frontier in that. It is something I debate doing. I tend to believe more in the fact that I'm not a Beck or a Kardashian, so I don't have as much equity. I think at super scale, when you have broad awareness, you have a better chance of having meaningful scale and who will pay. I think there's more upside in me continuing to provide disproportionate value on this show and my engagement to keep building up that equity. I'm looking for that depth. I don't have that level of width. But yeah, I think it's a very good business model, and I do think that people will pay. I do think eight, ten, twelve, twenty dollars a month for getting what you really want is not out of the question if you have a lot of affinity for any content, sports, individuals, and definitely celebrities. And so, yes and maybe. Staphon, what were they saying on the Scope about that? - Somebody said, "Paywalls suck "if you put everything into it. " Other people said that they would leave in the show. They don't wanna watch now 'cause they wanna watch the show-- - [Gary] They're literally leaving the Scope. - Yeah, some people. - [Gary] 'Cause they wanna watch it later. I love that. - [India] From Bill via e-mail. - [India] Yeah. - Oh, we're taking e-mail questions now? I don't think we should open that can of worms, India. - [India] But you forwarded this to me. - Well, I forwarded it to you, so I guess that's my fault. OK, understood. OK, go ahead.

- [Voiceover] Bill says, "My girlfriend of four years and I "just broke up, and I'm feeling really depressed. "For the last four years, I've had someone to talk to "about literally everything in my life, and now that's gone. "It's hard to believe that a four year relationship "ended in 20 minutes. "I was saving and planning on proposing to her "in the next few months, and now that's not gonna happen. "I feel empty, I feel a void, I feel blank. "Got any advice on how "to pick the pieces of my life back up? " - Jesus. (laughs) You couldn't have warned me this was coming? Well, ya know, I mean, if this was my buddy, the first thing I would desperately try to do is I always feel like the quickest cure for heartbreak off a long-term relationship is a scummy move of hooking up with as many girls as possible. I think it helps in a weird way. I really do. I think, I really do think it helps. So I think, there's only meaningful relationships and then kind of like the vanity of relationships when you break this down, and so he's coming from a meaningful place and I think the vanity of it all, like the one, the one micropositive that guys cliche will think about in this moment is, "Well, I can hook up with chicks," and I think you have to go all in on that. That will last for about three weeks to three months of fun and is a softener. I think you need to recognize that you got off easy. I don't know if it's Bronx Tale or one of those gangster movies where the guy owes the kid, the kid owes the kid 20 bucks, and he goes and chases him, and then the gangster grabs him and goes, "You got off easy. "You found out he was a scum bucket for 20 bucks. " You know, brother, I gotta be honest with you. I think you got off easy. I mean, it's a hell of a lot better that you didn't propose, that she was, I give her credit. She, a lot of people, a lot of people mail it in and get married to people that they ultimately aren't fully 100% infatuated, in love, and for full life, and I think people are mailing in. Now that divorce is so easy, I think that people just kinda do it, and I actually think, in a weird way, you got lucky, and I actually give her a lot of credit that she, after a four and a half year relationship, had the backbone and the guts to go through a tough process I'm sure for her as well. And so I actually think you look at this as a positive. I'm an optimist. It's easy for me to say, but I think at some level, you take a step back and recognize as much as it hurts now, it would have been tougher and hurt more to unwind after marriage or, what's so difficult for so many, after having children which creates such a different dynamic and becomes extremely difficult. And so, you know, there's not much I can say that's gonna make it feel a whole lot better. Maybe just talking it out and getting the question on the show. The e-mail was asking for it to be on the show? Or are we just taking somebody's random? Oh it just, it came in, OK. So, that's it man. I think, go hook up with some chicks to ease the pain for a few minutes, and then take a step back and recognize it's a positive, and then try to learn from the experience and find out the qualities you really loved in her and try to replicate them in the next relationship you have, and you know, maybe even find the things that you didn't like as much in her and try to close the gap and find somebody you love even more. - [India] That's so good. - You like that? - [India] Yeah. - Thanks, India.

- [Voiceover] JC asks, "Gary, is Medium the new Tumblr? "What happened to Tumblr anyway? " - Is Medium the new Tumblr? I think Tumblr is a more creative outlet visually whereas Medium, I think, is more creative outlet in written form. Tumblr was bought by Yahoo, and any time you're bought by a very big media company, it's going to slow down its innovation. They need to integrate a still very big app. Go look in the Apple top charts. It's still well entrenched in the top 100, top 125. So I think they're totally different. I think they're both very viable communication platforms that matter in society. I have the benefit, personally, of being an investor in both. Early investor in Tumblr and in Medium. Big fan of both. We spent a lot of time, you and I, jamming in Medium. So, I don't think it's the new Tumblr. I think Tumblr's still there. What happened to Tumblr? I think it's a different animal now, and I think, depending on how you want to communicate to the world, for example, I think Tumblr has been a tremendous anonymous platform for people where they don't have to be themselves and they can have pseudo names or pseudo context or hotsaucemaster. tumblr. com is a place where you don't have to be necessarily your name and you can communicate to the world, and I think that really works for a lot of teenagers and a lot of youth. Medium, people tend to be themselves on that platform and has been a gateway for them to be discovered as great writers or interesting writers. So they're different, and that's my two cents on those two platforms, and if you're watching this show or listening to the show, and you haven't played with either platform lately, I think one of the great things about this show is not just listening or watching or being entertained, is to take action. And so let's do a little homework assignment for episode, what are we, 143? What? - [India] Three. - Yeah, 143. I challenge you, Vayner Nation, to go out and post three things on Tumblr, if you haven't in years, if you never have, and to write three articles on Medium if you haven't in a while or you never had. I think that, to me, is the energy as we get closer to episode 200 that I wanna start doing which is I want to create more practitioners in the amount of people that are listening and watching to this show right now that have never created content for either platform is stunningly high, and I want to motivate you, right this second, to go out and do it because you will learn from it and it will make you stronger and better and that's something I really wanna do out of this show. Not just entertain. You like that right? - [India] Yeah. - That was a good little spin. I'm on fire here. - [India] Yeah, it's a good episode. - Dear Abby, practitioner at scale. Shit's goin' down. 143! - [India] Alright, last one. - Yeah, last one.

- [Voiceover] Noel asks, "How would you best deal "with vulturous, unethical investors? "Would you put 'em on blast? " - Yeah, I mean, if they're truly vulturous or unethical investors, I'm more than willing to put them on blast, but something about this question makes me also wanna say make sure that is true. The level of thin skinness in young, first-time business people, let me just say this for the record. The audacity that is running rampant in startup land, that you're a 22 to 24 year old entrepreneur with zero proven record, and you're going to the world, and you want them to give you one million dollars at a six million dollar valuation on your idea pisses me the fuck off, and so the answer is yes to both. I would equally put an entrepreneur that is out of their goddamn mind that has not contextualized the insanity of the marketplace that we live in as I would as an investor who is being vulturous or unethical and doing the wrong thing, but please recognize sitting in this ecosystem as I am, I have had a lot of kids come to me and say, "Can you believe this other investor "that's part of our deal? " And when I look at it, it is very normal. I would even say, 10 years ago, soft negotiating, but by the thin skinness of our society right now feels aggressive to this 23-year-old idea Ricky, and so I would say absolutely, I would put them on blast, but boy would I double check that I don't look like an asshole five years from now for crying about somebody just business negotiating, and I didn't like it because I've been so used to the world giving me eighth place trophies and Mom doing my homework and having no repercussions for anything for the first 22 years of my life. Good show. Feeling pretty good. 12 brought me some. Would you stop with that bullcrap? I mean, you guys are oh and two. Your team's a disaster - I still love 'em though. - You should love them, but maybe you should focus on your work instead of putting up the football in the background, yeah. Yeah, work, work. I hate Eagle fans this week. Thanks for watching the show. Really feelin' it. Yesterday was a big Jewish holiday, so I was supposed to be checked out, but obviously I was catching up on reading a lot of the comments, and I appreciate it. The energy is real, and I like it. And so lurkers, this would be a good time to come out and say hello. Floor 12, thank you for your hospitality. Statements of the day really mean a lot to me, so critique the show, tell me what you think about floor 12, that last answer, and that's the scoop. You keep asking questions. I'll keep answering them. (hip hop music)