Social media tycoon Gary Vaynerchuk is kicking off VeeCon 2022 today, May 19, with the Massive Minnesota Meetup Party at The Commons in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. This will preclude a jam-packed three days taking place in the U.S. Bank Stadium. The conference is slated to feature a diverse spread of guest speakers from a wide range of industries, musical guests, and a slew of experiential activations hosted by brands like Johnnie Walker and Coach.
Just like any party worth going to, the event will have a very exclusive guest list. How exclusive? At the time of writing, just about 5,200 people. To get into the event, you’ll have to hold at least one piece from the VeeFriends collection. With floor prices for the collection currently listed at 7.88 ETH (~ $15,875 USD) on OpenSea, you’d have to be pretty flush with crypto to be able to attend the event on a whim.
Perhaps that’s by design. Billed as a ‘superconference’ for Vaynerchuk’s most ardent supporters and fans, the event makes good on the promise of utility for holders of pieces from Vaynerchuk’s VeeFriends collection. Here’s what attendees can expect.
Must-see speakers
On the event’s official site, Vaynerchuk states that VeeCon 2022 will draw inspiration from various events that have impacted the mogul in some way, ranging from “business conferences, music festivals, closed-door offsite events, and […] summer camp activities.” As such, the event’s scheduled guest speakers and performances are intended to reflect Vaynerchuk’s – and the VeeFriends community’s – broad range of interests.
As disparate as these speakers may be in terms of background and industry, the event’s throughline is fairly straightforward: NFTs. Headlining the activities of the next few days will be talks from several marquee speakers. Not all of VeeCon 2022’s speakers are going to be people who got their starts outside of Web3, though. Away from the main stage, guests will also be able to attend segments featuring renowned NFT artists such as FEWOCiOUS, Beeple, and pplpleasr. Prominent members of the NFT community, such as Andrew Wang, NFT Nick, and nft now co-founder Sam Hysell will also be making appearances at the conference, speaking on the new possibilities NFTs will afford people well into the future.
Here is a quick highlight of what you won’t want to miss:
Friday
- 9:00 (Main) – ‘Opening Keynote’ with Gary Vaynerchuk
- 12:20 (Polaris) – ‘Rockets, Paint Parties and Aku!’ with beloved artists Tom Sachs, FEWOCiOUS, and Micah Johnson
- 1:50 (Polaris) – ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving an NFT’ with self-help author Mark Manson
- 1:50 (FMP) – ‘Security, What’s Your Secret Phrase?’ with Ian Rogers and William Allen
- 4:00 (Main) – ‘Great Conversation with Great People’ with artist Steve Aoki and YouTube sensation Tom Bilyeu
Saturday
- 9:00 (Main) – ‘Innovation & Creation’ Pharrell in conversation with Gary Vaynerchuk
- 10:30 (Main) – ‘2021 Success Stories’ with Evan Keast, Yam Karkai, and Clon Isaac “Drifter” Wright
- 12:15 (FMP) – ‘NFTs for Good’ with David Bianchi, Amanda Terry, and Inna Modja
- 12:45 (Polaris) – ‘Age is Nothing But A Number’ with Jaden “JASTI” Stipp and Nyla Hayes
- 1:15 (FMP) – ‘Decentralized Storytelling’ with Julie Pacino, Pplpleasr, and Sam Hysell
- 2:25 (Polaris) – ‘Bringing NFTs Mainstream’ with gmoney, OhhShiny, and NFT Nick
- 4:00 (Main) – ‘Empowering Women in Web3’ with Eva Longoria and Huda Kattan
- 4:30 (Main) – ‘Beeple Crap’ with Beeple
Sunday
- 9:00 (Main) – ‘Character Work’ Seth Green in conversation with Gary Vaynerchuk
- 1:30 (Main) – ‘Gift Goat’ Sloth, Danny Cole, Drifter, and Jen Stark with Gary Vaynerchuk
- 2:00 (Main) – ‘DeathRow to Sandbox’ with Snoop Dogg, Nick Adler, Champ Medici
Events and activations
Since VeeCon marks the first mass in-person gathering of the VeeFriends community, guests will be encouraged to network and interact. These mini-events throughout the conference will be facilitated by a series of experiential activations located throughout the event grounds and will be hosted by official partner organizations working together with the VeeCon team.
This is slated to include the Boardroom Bleachers networking event hosted by boardroom.tv. This consists of a special VIP section in the stadium to hang out and network. Attendees can book spots via the official VeeCon app throughout the conference. There is also a happy hour hosted by Johnnie Walker at Club Purple in U.S. Bank Stadium, where ‘Gift Goat’ VeeFriends holders will have the opportunity to participate in a luxury gifting experience.
If you want to stay a bit more active, there’s also the Candy Grand Slam virtual pitching experience and batting cages located on the Main Field. Attendees can also experience Esports gaming through the Version 1/MN Rokkr Experience, where pro esports streamers will also be playing lives games.
Aside from that, each day of VeeCon 2022 will also feature musical performances from artists to formally close each day’s activities. The shows will include Adrian Be, Lulu, Millie Go Lightly, TLC, Garzi, Lian Faz, Immasoul, Lil Polo Tee, Fresco Trey, and Miguel.
