#AskGaryVee Episode 108: E-Commerce, Elevators, & Aliens

“What is the one thing that is
still missing according to you “in the ecommerce space?” – This time it’s answered, Yuvraj. So I think the one thing missing in ecom right now. There’s a couple things
that are, not are missing, but I’m very curious
and completely obsessed with who’s gonna be
the first ecom player that is mobile only? Or like, disproportionately mobile first, comma, then, I mean, I almost want
their desktop ecom site to almost be broken, like in the way that people
were broken on mobile two or three years ago. I think there’s a play, and a way to disrupt Amazon or other players in niche spaces, where you are so natively mobile, as all the behavior goes this way, maybe even mobilly this way, that the thing that’s missing is, in the way that Twitter
and Instagram became mobile for social networks, and really had a big win in that way, a Snapchat, I do think there’s an
evolution of ecom players that are mobile first in their attack, and so I’m excited about that, I think there’s going to
be a player that emerges in the next half decade that is very mobile-centric, and mobile only, maybe, even, which I think would be a big stance and an interesting stance, and one that, you know, would almost be a marketing ploy that doesn’t work on desktop, if you really wanna bet
on three, four, five, six, seven years out, which I believe ecom
behavior on mobile devices will be extraordinary, so, the thing that’s missing is the opportunity at hand for that mobile execution in ecom. – [Voiceover] Ryan asked, “What environment is best for you

“to have successful business meetings in? “Conference room, restaurant, in flight?” – RD, for me, I’m looking to do these meetings anywhere possible at all times. I will sell and biz dev, and make the action happen on a flight, on a toilet, in the office, outside, at a ballgame, walking the halls, in the bathroom, I don’t give a crap, I said bathroom twice. Think about that, that is like, that is where my mindset is on this, which is I will go anywhere inappropriate. I will go, I would go anywhere. You wanna meet at, you know, you wanna meet at a funeral
parlor to close a deal? I’m interested, just
give me the directions, I’ll be there in a minute. So I think, to me, it
doesn’t matter where it is, or how it goes down, I’m comfortable in all
environments and business settings. You know, conference rooms, you know, are fine, I don’t have a problem with that either, I don’t want to be cool
and do it anywhere, like, I’m just, I’m
really up for whatever, when it comes to closing a business deal or doing some biz dev, and so, not some cool place like a coffee shop, not some sterile old school place, like a conference room, literally everything in between, just anywhere. – [India] You’re about
to get a meeting invite

“How do I use Twitter search for something “as unique as elevators?” – That’s a good question. I love talking about Twitter search, it’s something we haven’t
talked about in a long time. I think Twitter search is the most interesting
functionality in Twitter, maybe besides video replies, which I’ve been knocking out of the park. I think that that’s a tough one. You know, first of all, is it elevator repairs? Are they selling elevators? – [India] I think that it’s, What are they doing? To me, you know, Twitter
search is amazing, but there’s clearly certain
very narrow niche things that may not over index
in that environment, you know, I see India’s doing some work to try to figure this out. If you’re doing elevator repair or selling elevators, you know, Twitter’s not going
to be the most fertile grounds of people being like, you know, I feel like I’m building
a building right now as a developer in 2015, to, – [India] They make them
and they do the upkeep. – Yeah they make them and upkeep them. You know, I don’t think these developers, in today’s day and age, maybe in 20 years, something like Twitter, but I don’t think a developer’s like, “Hey building a building, “wondering what to do with the elevator.” You know, I think you’re better off going into the content game, maybe creating an infographic
of like seven unknown facts of elevator upkeep, and then
making that a Slideshare and a Pinterest pin, and then directing it into LinkedIn, and running ads against the
people that make those decisions you know, at developer firms. So I don’t think Twitter search is probably worth your while, I think the other thing you could do if you decide to make a very
heavy consumer-facing brand, I think the one whitespace for B2B people is to make some, make
really intriguing videos that aren’t boring, that could create
general awareness, right? I think general awareness, when you think about
Intel, it’s a chip, right? But there’s general awareness around it, and you start looking for it. There may be a play
where you make videos that are, whether they’re funny, whether they’re intriguing,
thought provoking, emotional, videos for B2B companies that create mass awareness, that then allude to, we’re
sitting in a room as developers, and saying, you know, we’re
building out the scope, and of course we’re
looking at RFPs and RFIs and looking at, like the cost, but, you know, having
our brand top of mind is good to even get into that play, and that’s branding versus sales. Twitter search is
a non-recommended play, in June 3rd, is it June 3rd? On June 3rd, 2015, on elevator manufacturers
and service providers, not a recommendation. No, no, no. – [Voiceover] Jason wants to know, “Who do you ask when you have
life or business questions?”

“Who do you ask when you have
life or business questions?” – Jason, this is my
strength and my weakness, and so I want to set that up immediately. I ask absolutely nobody. It is insane, I think about this all the time, and I truly, and you know what, it’s funny, subconsciously
I said it’s my strength and my weakness, I guess
maybe that answer’s my 51/49 question of, is it a strength or a weakness? I do think about it a lot. I do wonder why I’m not
really mentored out, even with the most amazing
dad who’s in the business, you know, I was mentored, you know, and maybe this
is just the way I roll, maybe I’m being mentored by example. You know, I think my parents, my parents, you know, it’s funny, I’m gonna be a different parent I think, and sit down with my kids, and do my spiel, I mean I love doing this, imagine me as a dad, I’d be like, kid, when the wind blows, you know, I’m just gonna like you know, do shit like that. You know, like, I never really went that route, I watched my parents, and maybe I watch other people. And I, you know, Steve Ross, who’s my LP and investor partner now, one of the most successful businessmen of the last hundred years in the US. You know, I have full access to
him at a scary level, and I don’t hit him up for, like, what do you think? And this is a guy who
owns a football team, you know, 5 billion dollar man, and I never sit down and ask him, I’m like, let me tell you. It’s in me, again, it’s either a
strength or a weakness, but the true answer to the
question is absolutely nobody. I’m a big believer that people should see a psychiatrist, and
vent, and like do that, I don’t do that, even though
I believe in it tremendously, I don’t think I’m a hypocrite, because the truth is, it’s stunning, and by the way, if I ever go through a, if I ever went through a sustained 36 hour period
of being really upset, I would do it in a heartbeat, I would change my behavior, but I am so scared, and so blessed and so thankful, and so grateful for the perspective that
I have as a human being, which is, you just can’t
wrap your head, my friends, VaynerNation, you just
cannot wrap your head around the excitement that I would have in my body, if all the things on paper that seemed like my successes would disappear tomorrow. Obviously I want to take care of my family and put a roof over their heads, and those kinds of things. But you do not understand
my lack of taste for caviar like I just don’t give a shit. Like I love the game. You know why I love the
Jets and the Knicks? Because they don’t win. Do you understand? And so for me, the fear of
failure is not a fear at all, as a matter of fact I would argue that I have more a fear for success than I have fear for failure, and so, because of that, I don’t know, it puts me in a very happy place. I don’t look for advice,
because the truth is, I don’t want to screw anything up. I don’t want to speak to somebody to vent, because I don’t want to
screw anything up, like, I feel like the chemicals
are aligned right now, and I’m very happy. I’m super duper duper happy. – [India] Cool, that’s good.

“How can you claim family first, “but work 19 hours a day? “How can you be a good dad dash hubby, “and rarely be home?” – Yeah, so this is a great question, and I like the zing of
the hashtag at the end, what’s the name? – [India] His name is Ryan. – Ryan, let me explain
something to you, partner, and everybody else who asks
me about this question. This is a very legit question, and so I’m not angry or
looking to zing back, because you’re right. This has a lot to do with decisions that my wife and I have made about the way I storytell my life versus the way I
storytell my private life. You know, I look at things
in net gain form, right? For example, let’s just ask my phone, this is actually very convenient. Didn’t even think about this, because I didn’t really
know the questions today. Let’s just, let’s just zoom it in, DRock. Let’s just zoom in where
I was this morning, because I worked out at 6, right? You tell me when. And you may not be able to pull it off. You think you’re gonna
be able to pull it off? – [Voiceover] Can you hold it closer? – I can.
– [Voiceover] A little bit more.
– Yep. – [Voiceover] Yep, and, there we are.
– Good. So look. Look at this. Ha, ha, ha. I went to the kindergarten
play today, right? I went to the kindergarten play, as a matter of fact I was
there half an hour early to be first in line at the
kindergarten play this morning. And, you know, look, oh look, look at this stuff that I never share, and this one you’re gonna
have to blur out DRock, because this is the
point of the answer, but, here we go, let’s just see
the last couple of videos that we’re taken. Oh look, look at these videos. Look at these videos of,
you know, kids, singing. You know, kids singing. Yeah, kids. My friends, here’s what
this one comes down to, and I have enormous
amounts of empathy and self awareness to why
this question is asked all the time when I
talk about 19 hour days, and when I’m,
DRock and I and Staphon put out a
day in the life video, and it shows all this, and nobody wants to envy it, I’m playing in extremes. First and foremost, when there are important events like this, you know, the kind of things
that my dad never came to, because he set the foundation to it, I’m there, I’m at the play, I’m at the recital, and I’m at this, I’m there. On weekends, I am all in. All in my friends, all
in on weekends, right? I’m not playing four hours
of golf like a lot of you. I’m not doing a lot of other things that a lot of people are doing, I’m all in on the kids, right? Then, I’m taking, oh I don’t know, seven weeks of vacation, which is probably in the ballpark of four, five weeks more than you, right? More than you, which is high quality time, all in, every second, and so, yes, maybe I’m playing Monday through Friday, you know, 40 weeks a year, at an
intensity that’s different, but, I have found
my cadence, my rhythm, my balance with my
spouse and my children, predicated on playing it that way, and I’m finding a lot of
quality time with them in these extremes, and so, you know, I think, I never judge or ask or tell anybody how to raise their family or do their thing. The other thing I’ve decided is, unlike a lot of my contemporaries, and a lot of social media experts, who, I don’t think exploit their kids on social networks, but I
would say are intriguing about being so obsessed with
getting likes and hearts that they know that when
they use their cute kids, they get more, it’s kind of, I’ve been in many conversations, sitting right here at conferences, I’m right here, but I’m listening always, you know, because that’s how I roll, and I’m doing my thing, and I’ve heard many people talk about strategies around how, oh
put your kids and stuff, you’ll get more likes. I’m like, really? So, you know, I’ve chosen, my wife has chosen, we have chosen, to, you know, as you guys know, there
are very few pictures or any kind of public pictures
of my wife or my kids, it’s just what’s comfortable to us, so I’m very self aware about the rationale to
why people may question my ability to be a good dad or do my thing, the other part of this answer is, Misha and Xander are 3 and 6, this is the system, and they were 2 and 5 five seconds ago, and, (mouth noises) You know, as things evolve, as they’re in softball and soccer, and football, and this and that, you know, I’ll adjust, and my schedules will change, and you know, a big thing in 2016 I’ve been
giving a lot of thought to is coming home every day at 5pm for 30, 40 minutes to eat or bathe, and so I’ll adjust, and I’ll try, and I’ll hustle and I’ll work, and I’ll continue to always
struggle with work-life balance, given my happiness and my ambition, my selfishness around work, however, there are a lot
more things going on here than just the things you’re
making assumptions on, rightfully so, given the
content that I’m putting out, but that’s why even that video we talked about and ended with, and big ups to Alex on
our team to push this, which really made that video whole, which was that’s me, do you, and so, I feel super cozy about the time allocation, I would also argue, my friend, about quality, because
plenty of people work 9 to 5, come home, drink a beer, watch TV, play video games, and
spend, oh I don’t know, six seconds yelling at
their kids to do homework, and so, there’s quantity, which, you know, I like to think I’m maybe playing a good game on extremities, and then there’s also quality, like you know, actually
having a relationship, like actually having a conversation, actually spending quality time, actually looking them in the eye, actually, actually, actually, so, that’s my answer to
that question, friends. – [Voiceover] Euan asked,

“Do you believe in aliens?” – I do believe in aliens. – [India] Cool. – I’m not sure if I do. Let’s talk about this for a second. There’s more gray, in my opinion, DRocK, this is not an official question. Do you believe in aliens? – It’s, probably,
– [Gary] As a matter fact, you know what? I’m not even gonna listen to your answer. But do you believe in aliens? Straight up.
– Yes. – [Gary] Like on the record forever. – Yes.
– Okay. Do you Staphon?
– [Staphon] No. – DRock? – [DRock] I’m unsure, I’m on the edge. – DRock you have to answer the question. Life on the line, yes or no? Simple. Simple, it’s not really complicated. – [DRock] I’m gonna say yes. – Cool me too. I think that, I think
space goes way further than our solar system. What I’m curious about,
and way more intrigued by is I actually think there’s
another Gary Vaynerchuk in a different world. – [Staphon] I believe that
when you believe in aliens, – Really? Like,
– [Staphon] Someone that looks just like someone
– Yeah, I mean, I’m so curious if Gary
in a different galaxy is crushing it, or is a (bleep) loser. (laughing)