Intellectual Property, Small Law Firms

Motivating The Entrepreneur In All Of Us

It is absolutely essential that IP lawyers be able to communicate optimism and a hunger to succeed to their clients.

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Gary Vaynerchuk (Photo via Twitter)

With the holidays approaching, it is a good time to take stock of the year that has passed and our hope for the year to come. Perhaps most importantly, we must be honest about whether we are maximizing our opportunities and potential, and doing everything we can to enable our own success and contentment. There is no perhaps public figure who has articulated the importance of optimism, brutal self-honesty, and gratitude as the foundations for business success better than Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee), or Gary V as he is known by his legion of fans and followers. Since lawyers of all stripes are in the business of building their own personal brands, Gary’s message is an important one for us to consider, no matter where we are in our careers.

I personally have known about Gary for a long time, since his days as the early-to-the-video-blogging-craze host of Wine Library TV. Even though I only drink kosher wine, Gary’s short but informative videos were an early component of my wine education — and they were entertaining to boot. More importantly, his videos were an early example of the power of video-based Internet marketing, a trend I foresee will be adopted in increasing fashion by law firms of all sizes going forward. It did not hurt that the actual Wine Library store was close to Greenberg Traurig’s New Jersey office, where I spent a lot of time during the latter stages of my tenure at that firm. It was easy to swing by on the way home, and take advantage of the lower prices than I would find in Brooklyn. Once I left Greenberg, both Wine Library and Gary became an afterthought for me over time, especially as I worked toward building the next phase of my career in earnest.

It was surprising, therefore, to have recently become reacquainted with Gary’s oeuvre (via one of his Twitter postings, if I recall correctly), and to learn that he has become perhaps THE motivational voice for a generation of budding entrepreneurs. Moreover, I learned that he had moved away from his starring role as Wine Library marketer extraordinaire to audaciously become a best-selling author and venture capitalist. Further, he had parlayed that success into building a leading digital marketing company with hundreds of employees with a (literally) brand-name clientele of its own. (In fact, I would love to get his perspective for this column on branding issues in the new economy, and the read-through of the new marketing paradigms for IP practitioners. So open invitation for a quick Three Questions For… is now out there.)

Anyone who has read Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” and who consumes any of Gary’s prolific content will easily appreciate the unique “talent stack” that has helped Gary earn his success. Perhaps more importantly, anyone who wants to learn how to build and maximize the value of their personal brand would be hard-pressed to find a better celebrity mentor. In my view, that is as true for lawyers as it is for anyone else. As I listen to him now, I often find myself nodding along to certain observations he makes, since they comport with what I have seen, and the lessons experience has taught me, in both my Biglaw career and as the owner of an IP boutique.

Now that Gary V’s musings are back in my life, or at least my Twitter feed, what takeaways from his story and message can I share with this readership?  For one, I can heartily recommend that any lawyer my age or younger (and maybe older as well) would do well to listen to or watch some of Gary’s YouTube content on occasion. Or at least subscribe to his Twitter feed. On the surface, it might seem like a lot of his content is superficial, or more focused on providing value to aspirants in industries other than law. But that is precisely why listening to his voice can be so valuable, particularly if you make the effort to translate his message into personal motivation. There is something inspiring about seeing someone who is infectious about hustling, and so willing to share what they have learned with others. It is refreshing, particularly since such openness can be so sadly lacking at every level of the legal industry.

Yes, this is sounding a bit (a lot?) like a Gary V infomercial. But can there be better advice for IP lawyers than for them to refuse letting information or opinions generated by others stop them from achieving their goals? In fact, because of the nature of IP practice, with a client base often heavily-weighted to creative types and innovators, it is absolutely essential that IP lawyers be able to communicate optimism and a hunger to succeed to the people paying their bills. I know that a heavy part of an IP lawyer’s interactions with clients can include resetting the latter’s often grandiose expectations about what the law can do for them with respect to their inventions or creations. At the same time, if we can’t muster the enthusiasm to hustle all-out for those clients and causes that actually have merit, then what are we doing? Gary is an example of how each piece of career success we earn is simply a stepping stone to the next challenge — and how our legacies are defined as much by our attitude as our credentials. It’s a valuable message, and contrary to the often hollow platitudes that lawyers embrace when they are stuck in a professional rut.

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Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one other famous Gary V’ism — his stated goal of one day buying the New York Jets. While there is a lot of merit in each of us having audacious goals, particularly when we are willing to put in the hard work to achieve them, I was particularly inspired by his response to a recent question from an audience member at one of his seemingly non-stop motivational speaking appearances. Gary was asked how he would feel if he never got the chance to buy the Jets, but someone he inspired with his business advice did. His answer was genuine and touching. He claimed that he would be just as happy to see someone else win as if he had done it himself, and that there was nothing worse than succeeding at the expense of someone else. For that answer alone, he cemented his place for me as someone worth listening to. Give his message a try — you might find yourself growing intolerant of excuses, and motivated to do something great.

Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.

Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.

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