VaynerX | NYC : What I Learned Working At Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerMedia

The Daily Hustle

Every morning at 6:15 a.m. I grabbed a coffee in Montclair, New Jersey, squeezed onto a Midtown-bound train, and watched the sunrise bounce off the Hudson River. Forty-five minutes later I’d step into the sleep lobby of 10 Hudson Yards, the unofficial heartbeat of VaynerMedia. The commute was long, but the energy inside those glass walls made it feel like I’d arrived at the center of the marketing universe.

A Front-Row Seat to the VaynerX Ecosystem

VaynerMedia isn’t just an agency; it’s the flagship of VaynerX, a family of 11 modern communications companies (1,800+ employees) spearheaded by entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. From CTV and influencer divisions to a full-scale production house, the building buzzed with creators, strategists, and media buyers, all obsessed with one question:

“How do we make brands matter in culture today?”

What “Vayner” Taught Me About Modern Marketing

Lesson	Why It Matters
Attention is the asset.	If you can’t earn a second of a person’s day, nothing else follows—no clicks, no carts, no loyalty.
Relevance beats reach.	A 6-second TikTok that riffs on culture can outperform a 30-second TV spot with a Super Bowl budget.
Speed wins.	The team that ships first—then iterates—often grabs market share while competitors are still debating.
Integrated beats siloed.	Social + CTV + influencer + merch isn’t “full-service” jargon; it’s how people actually experience brands.

Bringing That Experience to Broad Iron.

Today I channel those Hudson Yards lessons into nimble strategies for startups and scaling brands:

• Social Playbooks that earn attention without Fortune-100 budgets.

• Brand Messaging Intensives that carve out clear, culturally relevant positioning.

• Fractional Strategy Partnerships that plug senior-level thinking into lean teams.

If you’re ready to punch above your weight, let’s talk. I may have traded the NJ Transit for a home office in Richmond, but the high-velocity mindset hasn’t slowed a bit.

👉 Book a free 20-minute strategy call and let’s build something that lasts.

VaynerMedia 2023 | Justin Thompson