An Open Letter To Jasky Singh and Other Writers Who Fail to Fact Check Their Posts

There’s an untold story within the story by Jasky Singh. After reading his story on Gary Vee (and the associated comment section), I felt compelled to share — from another perspective.

To level set you (and others), Mr. Singh, I am not a “Vayniac”.

I am not a millennial…I’m a tad older. (OK, a LOT older).

I have worked for three Fortune 100 companies in various leadership capacities. I have tried my hand at entrepreneurial ventures: some wins, some losses.

I am a consultant and have been in the business world for nearly three decades.

Now that we have established that I’m not the “textbook impressionable millennial” as defined by your recent article, let’s unpack why your article (rant?) is ill-founded.

Many confuse extroversion and bravado with pure bullshit. In some cases, that is a fair assessment — they can be bedfellows. However, you called Gary Vaynerchuk out as a “screen queen”; in this case, it is not a fair and balanced approach to what he represents. It is glaringly apparent to many that you did not fact check your writing.

So what makes my assertion true? Here are some facts:

On several occasions, Gary Vee vlogs about earning the right to advance, meritocracy, the value of patience and providing actual value to people. These are all sound business principles that are timeless…not the brain child of an ego run amuck on the Internet that simply has a megalomaniacal need to draw attention to himself.

While you claim he “…[is] standing on the pinnacle broadcasting solutions to people’s yearning for immediate success...”, he has shared on many occasions that what appears to be his overnight success is not at all “overnight”, but in fact took well over a decade to build. He has been brutally honest about the long game time and again…which you’d know if you truly followed/researched his vlogs and posts over time. He reiterates that real value is one of the lynchpins in gaining and maintaining success and that “value” is determined by the customer, not solely the diligent, well-intentioned efforts of a budding entrepreneur. He is a guy whose had to literally build from the ground up in amassing his success. The fact that you are criticizing the fruits of years of labor without fact checking his back story calls the majority of your scathing article into question.

Then there is your comparison of Gary Vee to people like Kim Kardashian. To be clear, he didn’t build his multi-million dollar media company on the back of a leaked sex video on the Internet. His father was a Russian immigrant, not a celebrity lawyer with means and access. After taking a local family business in the wine industry and bringing it into view on YouTube, he uncovered the power of what the Internet could do to enhance visibility and increase profit margins. He discovered that although his immigrant parents were very dubious of his early efforts online, that his risk provided his entire family a reward that they could scarcely hope for as a locally owned and operated wine store. The guy is the real deal in terms of the American dream, based not only his back story but what he continues to emphasize. Somehow, all that data was conspicuously absent in your rendition of Gary’s “schtick”.

I can understand that someone who sees his loud, over-the-top videos may not connect with him — and may even doubt his credibility as result of his affect. The fact of the matter is that Gary owns that about himself on several videos. But his message also reiterates that style and results don’t necessarily have to be mutually exclusive. There are quiet successes and loud failures, as well as loud (genuine) successes and introverts who fail. You don’t have to emulate his style, just listen closely in order to learn the business lessons that are crafted and knit into each video or post. If you don’t like excitement and hype, you can still benefit from what he is sharing, because it is based in legitimacy.

Although you railed against his style and his volitional choice to record his every move and blast it all over the internet on several mediums, you summarily ignored WHY he is doing it: to show millennials (and others) that (for him) work starts around 5:30AM and often doesn’t end till well into the evening — after 10:00PM. Although you may not be a fan of his style, you’ve clearly missed his overarching message about real work concepts like “hustle” and long days. These aren’t unicorn stories or mythological themes that he addresses in his vlogs; he is cataloging his long hours to reinforce the theme that hustle cannot be faked and success requires a level of dedication that many simply don’t have!

While you claim to admire his work ethic, you begin your article with false assumptions that collide with the actual truth. He’s not spreading a virus, he’s sharing information in an entertaining fashion to illustrate points (and opinions) about what it takes to get and stay successful, based on his origin story. Is he a natural born salesman in many respects? Absolutely. But the fact that you and others may not “approve” of his zealous nature or his spelling errors does not deny the fact that his underlying message is sound.

The most galling part about your article is that you claim he is encouraging “screen queens” to put themselves out there without a value proposition, but he constantly gives stern warnings against that kind of behavior. What you failed to recognize are moments like when he called out the internet frauds who are in their mid-20’s and use fake prop money or a rich friend’s cash — (see article here for more information: https://goo.gl/AeAGfq ) and a phony means to promote themselves and their so-called wealth or fame. While you assert that “…the master’s attention rating must always be the highest — as attention is viewed as his barometer for success...”, you can clearly see that is not at all the case, as evidenced here.

Furthermore, Gary Vee chastises those “screen queens” you reviled — he doesn’t endorse their unethical means or their attempt at looking successful without actually providing any value or applying hard work. You completely missed that you and Gary Vaynerchuk are in fact on the same page regarding that very point!

All I can surmise from your muckraking journalism is that you watched a handful of Gary Vaynerchuk videos (←click for embedded link to Gary’s one minute video on patience) and decided that his style, his loud, emphatic persona and his enthusiasm for success somehow makes him an Internet huckster who poisons millennials with his own brand of grandiosity — spreading a “virus”, as you called it. You concluded he is some attention hungry, radical Pied Piper leading millennial lambs to the slaughter based merely on your apparent disdain for his demeanor.

Mr. Singh, when you fail to truly research your topic (although you and others are certainly entitled to your opinion), it really galls those of us who are intentional about being informed — especially when it affects the reputation of people who actually are trying to pass on business principles that are verifiable and based on the long term efforts of real work, not solely internet hype. [To that end, even the “screen queen” Kim Kardashian that you decried has to be credited for taking what most would consider a horrifyingly shameful experience and miraculously creating a sought after brand that others are willing to pay plenty for.]

Kim K and others notwithstanding, your article lacks what many would consider a fair and balanced look at Gary Vaynerchuk. I hope next time you are tempted to hit the “Publish” button on Medium that you look at your own work with the kind of jaundiced eye that makes you an even more compelling writer who showcases both sides of an issue. Your bio claims that you “simplify complex topics so that [one] can take action”. You may in fact do that in your other works, but I have to call ‘bullshit’ on the article featuring Gary Vaynerchuk. If you truly are committed to what you state in your bio, get all the facts first, simplify where you see fit, then hit “Publish”.