Beyond Unicorns: Kanyi Maqubela on Identity, Innovation, and the Future of Venture Capital

Kanyi Maqubela is Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures, where he focuses his investment and formation work in theme areas including frontier technology, digital health, e-commerce, financial technology, and supply-chain/logistics. As an entrepreneur and operator, Kanyi is a co-founder at Heartbeat Health, the largest virtual heart health platform in the United States. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in San Francisco with his family and serves as founding advisor for Screendoor Partners.

This week, Barrett and Kanyi share a wide-ranging conversation about life, business, parenting, and more. They explore Kanyi’s journey from apartheid South Africa to the U.S. venture capital scene, and how his consciously crafted identity influences his approach to work and life. They talk about the impact of COVID-19 on venture capital, the evolution of technology in society, and the role of scientific discovery in innovation. They also discuss the importance of maintaining diverse cultural spaces amidst algorithm-driven content, the balance between mysteries and secrets in business, and the importance of supporting independent creators. They share their reflections on purposeful parenting and its unconscious impact, highlighting themes of identity, creativity, and the intersection of individual and collective progress.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Welcome to Good Work
(02:47) - Hip hop culture and the Kendrick-Drake beef
(09:01) - The importance of identity and teaching
(13:14) - How family history shaped Kanyi’s identity
(18:24) - The role of identity in personal and professional life
(30:59) - Advice for founders
(38:48) - How COVID reshaped the venture capital landscape
(47:03) - On being “American-African”
(01:00:52) - The intersection of neuroscience and technology
(01:08:27) - The value of pseudoscience in innovation
(01:19:16) - Mysteries vs. secrets in business
(01:28:37) - Parenting and personal growth
(01:34:17) - Kanyi’s beautiful future
(01:37:20) - Who Kanyi is becoming

Key Takeaways

Nuanced and open conversations are essential for setting policies and business cultures that balance equality, equity, and performance.
Forming a consciously constructed identity and engaging with one’s heritage is crucial for navigating and succeeding in work and life.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the tech-driven startup ecosystem, potentially leading to a reset of the extended boom cycle.
The venture capital industry needs to address the stark underrepresentation of Black and Latino founders to foster a more equitable and inclusive economic landscape.
Prioritizing long-term fulfillment and collective success over fear-driven decisions leads to more sustainable personal and professional growth.

Quotes

“You can't operate in the world without an identity. Identities are where your value set sits. It's oftentimes what your politics either is reflecting against or is aligning with. Your identity is your anchor. And the way people form their identities oftentimes is very passive and very subconscious because it's just in the water.” ~ Kanyi Maqubela

“A lot of the people in the venture world, in the professional world, who I have seen become successful, have very clear stories that they tell about themselves and how that story about themselves fits into their view about the world.” ~ Kanyi Maqubela

“Sometimes secret keepers are also mystery solvers.” ~ Kanyi Maqubela

“I think that if you bring care, intention, and love to how you parent, then whichever individual decisions you make are not going to matter as much. But that doesn't mean the decisions don't matter. They matter hugely.” ~ Kanyi Maqubela

Links