Wine Guy Gary Vaynerchuk Takes on 'Yes We Can' Attitude for Startups

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By Gillian Reagan

November 6, 2008 | 12:22 p.m

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Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV was scheduled to give one of his signature, profanity-filled pep talks to New York startups last night at The Volstead bar at 54th Street and Park Avenue. But the owners were peeved that the sponsor's superstar, Mashable's Pete Cashmore, didn't show up for the event* and "therefore wouldn't lower the music so Gary could speak," according to Allen Stern at his CenterNetworks blog. So he moved the party outside and had attendees huddle around him. Mr. Stern posted the video (available above).

Mashable posted some of the highlights of the speech:

1. “Hustle” - improvise, be resourceful, do whatever it takes to care for your community. Tough times require creative solutions.

2. “Next 24 months are the biggest opportunity for social media” - social media is mature. “It’s a baby. But it’s mature. It’s a baby with a mustache.”

3. “Large companies will cut social media because they don’t understand it” - the longer the big players stay away from new web technologies, the greater the opportunity for new entrants.

4. “The new barrier to building a brand is your time, not your pocketbook” - nobody can stop you from starting a global media brand from your house; all you need is time.

5. “Telling main street about Twitter is a waste of time” - keep it quiet; knowledge of new web technologies is your competitive advantage.

6. “Take Your Money” - go to Google, type in the keywords in your space. Look at the ads next to the results: these are people who pay to market in your niche. Call them. Convince them to spend those dollars on you instead.

7. “Anything that gets eyeballs is monetizable” - 2500 unique visitors a day should be enough to live on.

* Note: apparently that Pete Cashmore thing was Mr. Stern's little joke on his blog. Sorry, Mashable! Our sarcasm meter is off today.