Lessons from 2 CEOs That Started From Scratch

Our reading notes on Gary Vaynerchuk

• Document, Don’t Create: Creating Content That Builds Your Personal Brand

  Vaynerchuk proposes documenting work in progress as an alternative starting point for someone stuck trying to invent a polished persona. The useful material is a decision or lesson that really occurred. An ordinary workday also contains private details and unfinished judgments that an editor should leave out.

• Why You Need to Forget Your “Mistakes” and Focus on Your Next Thing

  The episode listing describes Vaynerchuk’s conversation with CRWD founder Ryan Chen about paying people to try products, visit a store and give feedback. For someone planning a sampling day, that raises two separate questions. Did someone take the free sample, and did the experience give them a reason to look for the product again?

• The Real Reason Why You're Not Winning on Social Media

  Vaynerchuk’s episode notes connect two jobs a livestream can do. During a shopping session a host can respond to a question as it arrives. Later, the answer can reach someone who missed the session. The edit needs to restore the product, the question and any qualification that viewers saw earlier in the stream.