One of the things that's been hard for me over the last three or four years is i've got a lot of momentum going and i don't like the cheering as much as the buoy gary i mean this is like the best interview i've ever had. Yes, the garyvee audio experience, hey everybody! It's gary vaynerchuk super excited about today's episode on the podcast. We have an absolute force of nature. Somebody who's uh caught the attention of so many out there.

Uh julie, hart is with us. We're gon na get to know her. A little bit and uh talk about some themes: uh for all the people who are listening. That um, you know, are not aware of you.

Why don't you take the floor and give them a little three four minute, two minute context point and then we'll get into some questions. Certainly so my name is julia hart. I have a show on netflix called my unorthodox life that follows me and my family as i navigate the business world and, of course, the interpersonal relationships in my family um. I have a bit of a strange backstory.

I was brought up in a very fundamentalist ultra-orthodox uh version of judaism, married off at 19 to a guy. I met for a few hours, no education, no connection to the outside world. I left when i was 43 years old, my children and uh a few months after i left. I started a shoe brand.

A year later, we were being sold in 17 countries a year after that i co-branded with la perla a year after that i became creative director of la for a lot, and two years later i took over elite world group and am now co-owner and ceo, and Am transforming it have transformed it into a talent media conglomerate. When i hear that, and from the day you started the shoe company to right now, just so, i want to context that one more time how many years has that been started in 2013 became creative director of la perla in 2016 and in 2019 became co-owner and Ceo of the leadwell group, so it's been eight years yeah, so i think that's the most fun question, just knowing the ambition and the makeup of this audience. What what do you equate? What what natural dna, what things did you learn? What how does one go from that scenario in an eight-year period to this place where you're at you obviously know yourself the best you know at some level like what stands out to you, that maybe isn't obvious right. I mean obviously ambition and tenacity and there's going to be some things in there.

That is there anything that really stands out to you as like how you got so far so fast in such a short period of time, especially given the context point that you came from, i would say: there's two things that i think without which you cannot really Dominate or change an industry or be an uh, an impotent change number one is people. My age become very proud of what they know, as opposed to very proud of what they're learning or their capacity to learn and grow, and that to me is one of my greatest strengths. I consider myself an eternal student. I am a researcher by nature.

I love data so when, before i came into the industry, i studied the industry. In fact i saw what was wrong and so, instead of learning from my own mistakes, i was able to learn from the mistakes of others, and you know i recall i call ours. This company, the british fleet, right as opposed to the spanish armada because we're maneuverable and, as you know, very well, our industry is not just hesitant to change. It's almost immune and allergic to change.

Right because there's this very entrenched fashion elite that don't relinquish their power. But with the advent of social media, it is vastly democratized fashion, whether you like it or not, because for the first time the audience isn't with the magazine or with the creative director or with the photographer. The audience is with the talent. And so what has stood me in great stead? Is that number one? I research i educate myself.

I never think that i have all the answers, and so i ask all the questions. What i've seen can i jump in on that yeah? I think i'm i'm so aligned with that um, and i i mean i really associate with that. But let me ask you a nuanced question that might help somebody tap in who's. Listening because that's my obsession of this podcast, do you think you're curious, because it's one thing to say: i'm data driven right, because i want to break down two things: one curiosity from eternal learner, because i think there's a nuance there and number two there's a nuance Of um data, that's black and white in numbers and then data that i live in - that i'm already sensing that you live in, which is it's gray and you're interpreting the qualitative thing, not necessarily the quantitative thing.

Can you break that down perfectly stated so, as you say, i think that is part of being an eternal student is seeing what can be not what is. It is utilizing the data and knowledge that is available today to predict what will happen tomorrow. So in 2019, for example, when i took over elite wall group - and i said the talent is the media forget about the runway - it's not just about the runway. I don't care if you're a deep sea dive or a mountain climber.

If you have an audience that comes to you for aspiration or inspiration, i monetize that, and so thinking that way is exactly. As you said, it is utilizing data that is currently available to everyone, but extrapolating build on it, seeing what can be as opposed to what is it? Also to your point earlier, the industry was run by people who always relied on somebody else for distribution, whether it was a magazine or a runway. The nature of where we live today is the human has the distribution and that's about to be compounded in a crazy way with web 3 and decentralized blockchains and nfts social was just the preview to a much more economic ice hundred percent yeah, and i love it And i think it gives me the opportunity to literally create an army financially independent women, because now the ball's in the airport they've got the power because they bring the audience. So we really brought in-house all the areas of expertise, production, just marketing, uh, content creation.

You know think about what makes an nbc an nbc right. You have to have writers, producers, directors, photographers content, creators just because you're, a baseball player or a tennis player or a singer or a model doesn't mean you can create your own compelling content. So we brought that all in-house to truly transform our talents, digital presence into networks, and we then found that we have a viewership of two billion people, two billion people. We have data for two billion people.

We have their buying their buying uh habits. We have their psychographics and their demographics because again the talent has the audience, and so we can utilize that to target with such specificity that for the first time an ad spend becomes working dollar because it's trackable and quantifiable and measurable. So, on the talent side, we help build them and give them longevity in their careers, because we all know that there is a day when you can't play tennis anymore when you're not walking the runway, when you're, not the polo player or the football player, because age Hits us all whether we like it or not. So this is the way to elongate everyone's career by utilizing the time that they're in the world's eye to build them into a brand and network so that people become so accustomed to going to them.

For advice for inspiration for knowledge and health, wellness, beauty, lifestyle, you name it that even once you run away anymore, they're still making money they're still selling product because they're on network julie. How much effort is the organization putting towards making sure that people don't fall in love with the platform of the moment? You know, i think one thing that you mentioned earlier about the end is right. Yeah i figured you would like this one yeah, because i'm just listening to you and so i'm like okay right exactly what you saw with the old guard understanding. It's been fascinating for me to see, even in a seven year window, people that built their entire career by being right.

That instagram was the emerging thing from facebook struggled in the last three years, going to tick tock, because people get very cozy in the thing they figured out and is working for them and, as you can imagine, let's talk about models to your point that you're talking About tick, tock is a very different platform than just putting up a photo on instagram, so the mediums change and the skill sets and some of the people that naturally over index on them, have to adjust to those new realities. Gary i mean this is like the best interview i've ever had yes, so like 100 correct, so what's really interesting is in addition to being able to transform talent into media. We were also able to uh massively expand our client and talent roster. So, for the first time we're not just you know, we had, i think we represented 3 300 models when i took over in 2019..

We now have over 5400 talent, so, whether it's a runway or a mountain, it's irrelevant, as you said, whether you're a model or a tennis player or a deep-sea diver. You need attitude. You need to be interesting because digital enables you to just show not what you're an expert in, but your nature, your personality, your creativity, and so it is a very different kind of talent. Even if it's a model, it's a model who has something to say for the first and believe me, these women, that we represent.

They have so much to say it's so annoying when people think like put people into pigeon holes and say you're, pretty so you're, not smart or you're an athlete so you're an idiot like it's terrible. It's ridiculous and you know we have. We just signed someone who has a doctorate in uh macroeconomics. I mean this is what it's about it's about, truly giving them and, as you said, gary, how much we invested in this.

The reality is that we needed to bring in all that expertise in-house. Of course, if you didn't control that you were finished exactly, let me jump to a couple things, because we don't have a ton of time and there's a couple things that i think you can so your story. You know that is a that is a hardcore community. You know i'm an east coast guy.

I was born in the soviet union to a jewish family, so i have a lot of understanding, yeah right yeah. What's that i was born in moscow. Oh, i didn't know that i was born in belarus. That's crazy! I came when i was three and a half.

I was three when i left russia and five when i got here. That's amazing. So we have very similar backgrounds, so so, knowing a little bit more, maybe than the average 330 million americannot that everybody comes from that pocket. But a lot of people come from their pockets.

Native americans uh the streets, a drug, three generations of drug family, uh, surfer dude, who wants to be this or or wyoming who wants to own new york or new yorker that wants to just be in vermont people come from their cultures, your story on paper. That's why i'm so excited to go deeper? How long did the seed in your mind grow from at some point? In my life, i'm not going gon na live in these four walls that were created for me, how long was that momentum? Because i think, when you hear an inspirational story like this for a lot of people, i think a lot of people. I like uh. One thing i do do with my content.

All the time is, i talk about patience because i think people have a bad relationship with time and it them up right. They see your story and i'm sure you know i know, because i'm living in life - and i know how many people have associated with your story - they might be in a tough marriage. There could be a million things, golden handcuffs right, golden handcuffs and a job. I think where peop people get discouraged as they think that you did it in like one day and they that's not how human nature works.

I'm really curious in your own words. How long was that festering to? Finally, then get you to the point where you were able to do it. So i have a book coming out. It's called brazen uh, it's up for pre-sale, on barnes, noble on amazon right now, once they come out, it comes out in march um and that really takes you through the entire thing.

I'm ridiculously honest, i say all the mistakes that i made because again it was literally walking 300 years into the future. It was a world i did not recognize at all. You mean you mean when you kind of came out of the cocoon at 43, like what is this universe literally talking about before you go there, i'm just like i'm so fascinated you get there so uh. So the trajectory of that was that when i was 35 years old, that's the day, i remember the day very clearly is the day that i give myself permission to acknowledge that the system was broken.

Okay, because until i was 35, i thought something was inherently wrong. With me, because everyone around me is happy everyone around me, fine, just being wives and mothers, and you know, you're brought up thinking that your only choices are good marriage, bad marriage right, that's it because just the minute you're born a woman, your entire life is already Decided for you, your purpose in life is decided for you, because all women are supposed to be doing the same thing and the my nature was in direct contrast. I was told i was being that i had to be to be a good person. You're supposed to be quiet, humble behind the scenes who who who in your family, gave you a glimmer of hope, as you were getting older, did any of your parents, siblings other relatives or a friend who, or maybe the outside world, who gave you a little bit Of you know, you have your insular part, which it was your own being that got you there, but there always is some enabling to that.

Did anybody who, who my daughter, your daughter, my daughter, interesting when um when she was five years old and that's what really started this all my entire life from the time i went into that community until the day i left i was miserable. When did you go into that community uh, when i, when we we became religious when i was uh, seven years old, so you come to america a couple years in and you know because you got here when you were five so two years in your parents, i Guess your dad, your mother, your parents, said we're going further down this hall of our religion, we're going to the this much more aggressive version of it. Where that these are the new rules correct and then muncie when i was 11 years old, so we were living in austin texas at the time you know - and i was starting to cover myself the whole nine yards and then we moved because it wasn't religious enough. There sure now, my daughter miriam turns five years old and she is this: this little rebel, uh she's, the youngest teacher in stanford history.

Just to give you an idea of who this young woman is when she was a um, a freshman in stanford. She was also giving a class on augmented reality uh now, if i hadn't left, she would be married pregnant with baby number two in the kitchen and she's, bisexual and as a girlfriend. Certainly that would not fly in my world either. So when she was five, she started asking all the questions that i've been thinking, my entire life, except why? So? It was the first time where you know they had convinced me that i was bad.

They couldn't convince me that my five-year-old was because i'd never said those things out loud and she's, a massive sports person. She won um. What's it called that ray spartan in san francisco, not just for women but for women in general, not just her age group. I mean she's an athlete and she was told: no, you can't play sports, you can't run.

You can't do this. You can't do that and she would say why and my husband would say so - that a man shouldn't have bad thoughts about you and she would literally look at him and say. But why isn't that his problem - and i was like yeah - wait - a minute? Why isn't it his problem? And so it's really my daughter, that's because they were. They were your natural feelings that went into a box, and it was your daughter who reopened that box and used to be on the permission to open that box.

It took me eight years, eight years till i actually walked out there got it so right. So to your point and by the way everybody who's listening, i you know when i saw this come through and they're like julia. Once again, i was like yes because of this exact moment. This was it for me and all of you are listening.

You know me, i think you know we're around the same age. Like i don't know, i think i have 40 crazy, productive massive offensive years in front of me. I think people really struggle with that, and so, when i hear eight years from julia, i'm like oh literally, my brain julia just went oh, not too much not too bad right, whereas i know 95 of my audience is like eight days is like. Why didn't this happen? Why did i get it like there's a complete lack of understanding, so for me i just know that there's hundreds of thousands of people that are going to listen to this that are not happy and they know subconsciously or consciously.

Why and if i could just get them to start during this podcast for an eight year journey to do it and then they'll be 27, 39, 52, 61 and then enjoy the rest of their life. Well, that's uh, a mitzvah. You know, and so i i'm pumped to hear that, and i think a lot of people needed to hear that and thank you for that. Talk to me about something else that i think a lot of people are going through as they get more internet famous and obviously the show has been a smash.

So you you and the family are going through a transition where a lot more people know who you guys are, and obviously it's covid. So it's not like in the past, where you're like always out and about everybody's out about so it's probably tempered a little bit and it's but it's there and what has been the most challenging thing now that a lot more people know you and your family from Your perspective, i think what people don't realize about me is i'm really a private person and, of course, but i am more focused and driven than i am concerned about my own personal preferences right. So to me, what i realized is with the advent of social media, with the fact that that talent people have the audience. If i want to change the world, if i want to, i got ta be on it, that's it, and so, even though it's really uncomfortable for me, i have that meaning you go out to dinner, and now people are rolling up on you and that doesn't come Natural, no, not even holy and and i'm still in the phase, do you have this? So what absolutely works for me is no matter and by the way, that's why i was smiling again and we do have a lot of similarities, i'm so out and about.

But i'm inherently private too, and i think it's a little bit to do with our culture too forget about even you know we were brought up by soviet parents. Obviously your family made a decision on religion was very different than mine, but i was still very taught like everything is in the house. Nobody knows anything outside. That was a very soviet thing right um.

But for me the thing that makes it palpable is i'm so flattered. I still am so flattered and grateful that somebody wants to that. It kind of trumps, everything else. How about for you? What make what makes is you? Are you saying your ambition is what makes it palpable? I think it's the response that makes it palpable.

You know um, we have received my daughters and my i mean we've received literally hundreds of thousands of messages from women all over the world. I've had twice where someone comes up to the table that i'm eating it and hands me a hand, written level yeah and one of those. This woman literally wrote that the day that the show came out she was planning on committing suicide and someone was talking about the show and she said you know what let me just watch an episode and she didn't commit suicide. No, i know, and it makes it all worth what makes it the point of this show.

As you said, it doesn't matter whether it's golden handcuffs or a bad marriage or a bad community, or just that you've been put down your whole life. Yeah you've been told to be polite or wait your turn. You know somebody asked me about the show and i've caught some episodes. I said it's a parenting show that was literally my answer to to your point that you're making.

Now almost you know, it is a stunning high percentage of the world that has at least one parent that plays defense, yeah and and then thus they understand yeah. Absolutely absolutely, and you know when i think about why we did this and honestly. I think this is a great prep for my book, because the book goes really in depth into my psyche. What i what i lived through to get to where i am because, as you said, who was it that said? Oh, i became a billionaire overnight.

It only took 30 years yeah, i'm not sure who it is, but of course, but that's what it is and - and i think it's important for people to recognize that and think and understand that you are going to make a thousand mistakes, get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Just forget about what you do well, i don't would it would it wouldn't one you know it's funny. I always say adversity is the foundation of success. I was i lost so much as a kid you know from where i came from that by the time i was ready to go like business was always easy for me, because i loved no.

I would argue that you, knowing, even if you know at some point it was conscious. Then it became your subconscious. Then your daughter brought it back to your conscious, like you were in such a no environment that by the time business was easy for you, oh yeah. It was amazing, i love it it's all i want to do like i came out.

I tried the whole club bar thing and i was like do that. I just want to work. I want to show the world what i have inside of me. That's all.

I care about, and so i got focused because i didn't know, but you know it looked fabulous on television and then i found out hey in clubs. Nobody actually dances. What's the point, they all look at each other. I don't know, i genuinely still don't understand it.

So to me, what drives me what excites me, what keeps me up till two o'clock in the morning and back up at 4am, because i am a insane insomnia - is the fact that we can change things we can have it. How do you think? How do you think the kids are handling the extra thing? Oh, my god, they're having the time of their lives. You know i'm sitting. Ah they're like this is amazing.

We can get into anywhere. We want to go not having the time of their life mama over. Here is like all right talk to me about your now. Look so a little bit of fun before we get out of here social media.

What platform comes most natural to you, which one do you personally just like? Oh actually, gary! I'm glad that you asked that, because i never answered your platform questions. Okay, go ahead, do yourself actually, because it's actually very interesting. The beauty of our talent is that they're platform, agnostic right people still haven't realized is the talent. Is the platform that's right.

So whatever attention attention is the only that's the asset, that's the commodity, the command, the attention correct and with that commodity you can also have targeting roi on on your advertising, spend you can literally change the narrative, and so what we found is wherever our target, where, Let's say, for example, tick-tock right: when talk came out, it became really big through coved. What people don't realize is that we did a deal with tick-tock. They helped us with our elite model. Look and we brought our talent on to tiptop and the talent brings the audience so we're actually platform agnostic.

There could be 900 more platforms, it doesn't matter. My talent is the platform, of course, and we're going to put the power in their hands so that they can be. I just want an army of financially independent women. That's the goal, that's not an oily appliance women.

A predominant amount is, we do represent men well, and we have wonderful agents who represent themselves um. You know it's really funny one of my fun questions and obviously you have this smash on one of the platforms. What about your consumption on ott? Are there any shows that you watch obviously you're grinding and focus, but you know i use new york jets football and the mix? That's my escapism, every human needs, an outlet is it reading. Is it podcasts? Is it shows documentaries? That's how i learned like.

Where do you cons? What do you consume when you consume, so i'm a voracious reader? I love to read to me: books were my eye to the outside world. I wouldn't be where i am today. If i did not read everything i could get my hands on when i left atlanta. I lived in atlanta for a while long story when i donated my books to the atlanta public library, and i was told then that it was the largest donation in the last industry and it's just books.

Are you? Are you one at a time or you got five going and continuing? I am a serial monogamous darling. I love that. What about um? What about podcasts? I do like television, but you know again, i'm a big netflix, an amazon consumer. I love um.

I love escapists right, so it's always the shows i generally watch are either historic in nature, documentary or female empowering you know, i love shows where you know, women, rule yeah and it just it gives you all the sense of the world. So exactly so like i'll watch, something like a blizzard because that's how i grew up minus the parties in the fabulous clothing. Yes woman's house to you, know father's house to husband's house. Women's minds are not made for intellect, or politics or business, just be a good wife.

So i watch those shows because it reminds me where i come from yes and i'll watch shows about female entrepreneurs how how how is the establishment of your community, the old guard reacting to you right now is. Is this like a problem? Deliciously darling, you love what it's doing right. Well, you know what it is, i'm very careful because it isn't about any people, it isn't about a religion. It isn't about bad versus good, happy versus unhappy.

The rule that exists in my world existed globally around the world. A couple of years ago, just the fundamentalist communities, whether it's jewish fundamentalism, muslim fundamentalism, look at any funny, yeah, look at those things coming out of of afghanistan, right of course, or, as you said, whether it's just an unhappy marriage or someone who's ex. That's right! The stuff, the most the stuff that's most extreme, all of us can be like. Oh that's, some extreme.

The party that i work on every day is like. If you are hanging around pessimistic people, you're going to be affected and and unfortunately you know - i get a lot of rads doing you. So you all understand this. I go very extreme with it because i'm trying to like help, i'm like look if your mom is putting you down all the time and is pessimistic, you have to limit your time with your mom and people.

The comments are always like. Even your mom, i'm like. Yes, your mom, your mom is the problem. Yeah i mean, i always say you know there is it says in the torah code, which means your life comes first period, your life comes first and what people understand is uh in hebrew.

The word for influence is hashba, and our spa comes from the root which is shipoo, which means a slam right. It's like, and the other thing that i would say to your point gary, which is very very great point - is you've got to have so much internal internal confidence that you don't hear the naysayers when we started transforming this company from talent management to talent is media. Everyone told me i was crazy, something that um. What's your name, gertrude stein once said when asked about uh how people react to seeing uh, you know because she was like basically considered the mo the mother of um, impressionism, and so people would see the impressionist painting in her apartment for the first time and when Asked what the reaction was? She said a line which, to me is the core of everything i do.

They come to mock what they say, but they say, pray ignore the mockers. Forget it they're all going to come and mock if you're doing something different. If you are a a lightning change, everyone's going to mock you get used to it, get used to being mob. You know you know what's funny about that: you're an idiot, a crazy person, but then they stay to pray because then they see that what you're doing is right.

You know what's really funny. I got to such a extreme version of that that i even think i subconsciously reinforce the booing. I call it booing. I am obsessed with it me too.

I i actually only want to be the underdog only like one of the things that's been hard for me over the last three four years. Is i've got a lot of momentum going and i don't like the cheering as much as the buoy. Not only am i comfortable with it to your point, that's the right statement. If people could get uncut could get comfortable with the no and the pushback life gets so much better where it where it gets really interesting and fun is when you're addicted to the bullying.

I mean i i my great preference, because i i always innovate in everything i ever do so immediately. It's no! Oh! Yes, everyone looks at you like you're, crazy. When i change the way that, like stretch, was incorporated, so we could make stretchy chiffons or stretchy lace. A guy patted me on the head, literally with his hand.

Yes, oh julia, i don't think i mean i know i know well, i hate the establishment, it's crazy, how much of the stain i have for the establishment. Nothing makes me happier. I think that's what absolutely associated me to what i was seeing in your episodes. I'm like uh-huh, i'm like i understand that super duper and it tastes so good.

It tastes great and you know you say you're addicted to booing. I call it i'm addicted to fear. I try to do something that scares the out of me at least once a week, yeah you're pushing yourself. You challenge yourself, you push yourself, you know, it's funny.

Fear yeah fear is one of the biggest things that i try to eliminate. You know you're pushing yourself. That's a different version of it to me. A lot of people, don't think things do things because you're scared and i and people use fear as a weapon.

As you know, i mean that's exactly what it's my own personal weapon. I totally tell me i'm crazy. It literally makes me feel good, that's that's when you just know you're more right than the masses hey they come to mock, but we stay to pray. That's a really cute saying anyway.

Listen! Thank you. So much for being give us party shots. Where can people find you what you know obviously have a book coming out? That's on amazon and pre-sale yeah. Let's just mention the netflix show on your socials anything else.

Where can people find you to continue this combo that i mean any of my socials instagram tick. Tock um, you know i'm going to be on a lot of more net, you know podcasts so forth and so on. You know and people have been reaching out to me and i just hope they continue to do so, and you know, let's change the world. Congratulations on everything.

Thank you. It was great to meet you and, by the way, congratulations on everything. You've accomplished: you're you're, a badass like full-on youtube, botcha. What's up it's garyvee! First of all, thank you so much.

I hope, you're doing super well during these times. I also want to ask you please subscribe, because my commitment and exploration of youtube is about to explode stories, polls, more content, more engagement, more surprise and delight. This is the time to subscribe. I hope you consider it, and i hope i see you soon.

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