Gary Vee on Surviving the Crypto Winter and the State of Web3

Everyone wants to know what Gary Vee means. When the hugely successful social media and NFT entrepreneur attended the nft now & Mana Commons The Gateway: A Web3 Metropolis opening night party on Tuesday, he left a trail of turned heads and star-struck onlookers wherever he went. Similarly, when he left the Dupont Building in downtown Miami yesterday after giving a panel talk on the state and future of the Web3 industry, he walked out like the Michael Jackson of Web3 – an explosive round of applause followed by a quick exit to escape rapidly swarming cameras, benevolent and networked hopefuls.

Before he did, however, Vee (formally Vaynerchuk) gave an exciting talk that Web3 enthusiasts just needed to hear. His tone was serious, sparking a genuine concern for the state of Web3 and the people building tomorrow’s blockchain capabilities within.

Building out of the crypto winter

“We are in an economic correction,” Vaynerchuck said bluntly about the state of crypto and NFTs in general. “We’ll come out of it the same way the internet came out of it. From 2001 to 2004, many sites like Friendster became previews of Reddits and Instagrams [of today]. In the next 36 months, people are going to build meaningful things instead of quick things for quick money.”

Vee also encouraged those who strive to be the meaningful builders to think sustainably about any business or partner they engage with in Web3. Be tough on your beliefs, plans and business strategies, he explained, and be just as tough on other people’s. “Most of 2021 [and] half of 2022 I was in tons of meetings,” Vee recalled. “19 out of every 20 meetings, the person on the other side of Zoom was unable to answer the second move of the questions: ‘How are you going to create demand when the market softens?’ Nobody was able to give me a good answer.”

Reminding people that success is slow, Vee emphasized that the winding road to success in Web3 is not for the faint of heart. He drew parallels to the tumultuous earlier days of Web2, explaining that people may leave the Web3 space during a downturn not because they no longer believe in it, but because they are simply unwilling to “live humbly” through the difficult conditions.

“I’ve always been more proud of that version of me than all the fizz,” Vee expressed. “I am proud that I am a real businessman. Real shit takes time to build. It’s supposed to be hard if you’re trying to live one percent of life on one percent. Everyone talks about being about ‘that life’ until that life punches you in the mouth.”

Stay humble, stay hungry

When asked how he remains humble given the success of VeeFriends and his other business ventures, Vee didn’t mince words when addressing the attitude he has regarding his achievements.

“Business success doesn’t mean shit,” Vee said candidly. “If I die tomorrow, I’ll be trending on Twitter for 24 hours, and the next day everyone will be living out their lives. I just don’t think that being good at making money or being a good entrepreneur makes you think that they’re better than other people. I don’t have my validation in my business success. I have a lot more validation in what people who actually know me feel about me.”

Regardless, Vee is laser focused on promoting the success of his dream project – to see the VeeFriends IP division as widely as possible. Nothing is off the table: movies, theme parks and comic books are just some of the iterations Vee wants his NFT empire to expand into. Comparing Marvel Comics’ trajectory, Vee observed that the cultural giant didn’t start out with mammoth IP power. The key, Vee said, is to be careful about maturing the IP, and that takes years.

“There is no doubt in my personal mind that this [is the business that] puts me in a position to achieve my business goal of buying the New York Jets,” Vee pointedly said. “I’m honestly not worried about [crypto] winter. I think when all the dust settles in 22 years, you’re going to forget a lot of names that we’re fucking with today, and I’m going to dominate. But if I don’t, I’m going to be pumped for World of Women or Bored Apes. I’m going to get mine, nobody’s going to stop me from getting mine – that’s why I’m rooting for everyone else to get theirs.”

The future of VeeFriends

Speaking about the future of VeeFriends as 2023 approaches our horizon, Vee explained that VeeCon 2023 is of the utmost importance to the brand, while also signaling the company’s focus on building technology products for their community and wider Web3 ecosystem. The team is also working on “deflation dynamics” to better reward community members instead of releasing new collections to entice new people to buy into the VeeFriends world.

In 25 years, Vee predicted, there will be as many meaningful intellectual properties as originated in the current Web3 era, and he’s sure VeeFriends will be among them. The long timeframe speaks to the need for new NFT projects to consistently execute and deliver to justify even their current floor price. This is in stark contrast to historical projects like CryptoPunks, where Vee owns 61 NFTs, and whose significance as central assets in NFT history is certain.

Rounding out the panel discussion with a note about legacy and what it means to him, Vee diverged from business talk and emphasized a healthy balance between the virtues of relentlessly pursuing one’s goals and being compassionate while doing so.

“[I’d like my legacy to be] that I gave more than I took, Vee said. “And that I put a real fucking spin on it to teach people that you can be kind while being ambitious. You can be incredibly selfless while being okay with being selfish for you and your family. I’m going to give it a real ran for forty years. And I’d like to think that’s what my legacy will be.”

Vee’s success to date in business, as well as cultural influence, leaves little room for substantive criticism at this early stage. As Vee walked down the marble steps of the Dupont Building and out into the street where endless throngs of admirers awaited, he walked with intent, not looking back at the crowd once. If his exit from the stage had a voice, it would have simply said, “I have things to do.” The rest of Web3 might do well to take note of that disposition.