Kanyi Maqubela TCWEEK | Tech Cocktail Conversations | 4.2013

22 Jan 2014 · 2 min

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2:27

In this Tech Cocktail Conversations segment, Kanyi Maqubela introduces himself as a partner at Collaborative Fund, a seed‑stage venture fund that backs creative entrepreneurs aiming to change the world. He explains the fund’s core belief in a shared future and emphasizes that building companies on a strong, value‑based foundation is essential for long‑term survival. Maqubela argues that greed is an insufficient motivator; instead, founders should pursue larger, purpose‑driven goals while still making money. He reflects on his own decision not to return to entrepreneurship, noting that he lacks a uniquely suited problem or a compelling personal problem to solve, so he chooses to support other founders. He then shares a personal anecdote about his time living and working in North Las Vegas, describing the community, campaign involvement, and the energizing experience of aligning many people behind a common mission, highlighting patience and fun as critical ingredients for lasting impact.

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My name is Kanyi Maqubela. I am an investor. I am a partner at Collaborative Fund. Yeah, Collaborative Fund is a seed fund for creative entrepreneurs who want to change the world. And we believe in the shared future.. And so there are different parts of collaboration that we're trying to help manifest with our investments. Building companies is really hard. It's really, really hard. And building companies on top of a value set that is really firm is the only way they have a chance of survival. And I think that greed is too shallow of a motivator. I think you need to aim bigger even if you want to make money. I wanted to go back to entrepreneurship, but I realized I didn't have the right motivational set for it. There's only two things in my mind that one needs: either a problem that they're uniquely well suited to solve, or a problem that they have to solve. And I didn't have either of those, and so I figured I would help other entrepreneurs until I found that. ¡Hola! I was in North Vegas. My office was in Civic Center. Spent a lot of time up by Nellis. I was living on MLK. It was so cool to be here. I had never spent a lot of time in Vegas. I made a lot of really great friends here on the campaign and in the community, and it was so energizing to be a part of something that worked, something that worked really well, something that involved a lot of people. Where all of those people were aligned behind the same mission. You're building it to last, which is cool. People here are patient, which is critical. And people here are having fun, which makes it worth the wait.