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

Get full show notes and links at https://GoodWorkShow.com.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@barrettabrooks.