Gary Vaynerchuk knows a thing or two about finding value where others don’t. As a child growing up in the Soviet Union, Gary’s family immigrated to the United States with just $300. His parents soon opened a family liquor store called Vaynerchuk Wine & Liquors in Springfield, New Jersey. Though the store was modest, it provided Gary exposure to the retail business from a young age.

Gary’s interest in sports cards began around this time in the 1980s. Like many young boys at the time, he collected and traded baseball cards as a hobby. However, Gary approached card collecting much differently than others. While most kids focused on accumulating stars of their favorite teams, Gary studied the industry and saw trading cards as investments rather than mere collections. Even at a young age, he had a keen businessman’s intuition.

Through careful research at card shows and shops, Gary learned which players from years past held hidden value as their careers progressed or faded from memory. He would accumulate unpopular cards cheaply that he believed had upside. Then he worked the phones, calling anyone who might show interest in his obscure selections. Through relentless effort and salesmanship, Gary flipped many of these under-the-radar cards for profits.

By the 1990s, Gary had parlayed his baseball card business into one that generated six figures annually while still in high school. Of course, his parents’ liquor store provided valuable retail experience. But Gary took card collecting and dealing to another level through his research-driven strategy and work ethic. While others hit flea markets and shops aimlessly looking for “steals,” Gary targeted value investments methodically.

Much of Gary’s foresight centered around the growing archive and nostalgia factor of cards from the 1970s and 1980s. As he likes to say, “the future is based on the past.” While the present scene focused on contemporary stars, Gary gambled that interest would return to the generations before. As sports nostalgia boomed in the 90s, many of Gary’s stockpiled obscure cards paid off handsomely. Guys who averaged .230 over 10 seasons suddenly had a market.

By this time, Gary began shifting his business online as the internet emerged. He recognized its potential for broader access to buyers. Through the late 90s, Gary continued expanding his inventory while connecting with a growing number of collectors virtually. Then in 2007, Gary took the huge step of leaving the family liquor store behind to focus full-time on his sports collectibles enterprise. He named it Vintage Card Investments and launched the website vcinvestments.com.

Under Gary’s leadership, VCI became a massive online sports memorabilia retailer. The business dealt in vintage cards, autographs, game-used memorabilia, and more. Around this time, Gary also gained fame through his innovative use of blogs, then social media platforms like Twitter. With hustle and engaging content, Gary built a huge following interested in his business strategies as much as his sports collectibles. By the late 2000s, VCI was doing over $10 million per year in sales.

Today, VCI remains one of the largest and most respected vintage sports collectibles companies. However, Gary has long since moved on from active involvement to focus on other ventures. Through his worldwide popularity on platforms like Instagram, where he has millions of followers, Gary has become known as much for his motivational speaking and brand-building advice. He publishes that content through his brand VaynerMedia, an agency working with Fortune 500s.

Gary’s starting point in baseball cards served as an early lesson in finding value through research before others. He studied the industry for opportunities, accumulated unpopular potential upside plays cheaply, and worked relentlessly to monetize them before mainstream acceptance. While others chased short-term favorites, Gary took the long view through studying the past. That prescient, business-first approach allowed a young Gary to generate six figures in annual card sales decades ago.

Gary still believes strongly in the archives of baseball cards and other collectibles. In his view, interest tends to return to previous eras as more distance provides nostalgia and newer generations develop retro tastes. The future, as always for Gary, lies in understanding the past. That philosophy transformed a middle school hobby into a hugely successful sports collectibles firm for over two decades before Gary’s subsequent ventures into brand-building and entrepreneurship. For anyone seeking to find diamonds in the rough or turn an passion into profits, Gary Vaynerchuk’s baseball card origins continue offering valuable lessons.