A Year Off

Gary Vaynerchuk was born on November 14, 1975 in Babruysk, U.S.S.R. He immigrated to the United States in 1978 with his family and moved to Edison, New Jersey. While in high school, he joined the family business, a liquor store called Shoppers Discount Liquors that his father started. Soon afterward, he became obsessed with collecting wine. He graduated from Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts. He spent every weekend of his college years at his parents' store, re-branding the family business as Wine Library and establishing himself as a respected expert. In 1997, he recognized the importance of e-commerce and he created WineLibrary.com. He started a video blog Wine Library TV in 2006 to share his knowledge and passion for wine.

In the spring of 2009, he and his brother launched VaynerMedia, a social media brand consulting agency. He has written several books including Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World, The Thank You Economy, and Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy, Social World.

030