INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Jang co-founded music apps Imeem and Soundtracking, meanwhile serving as an early Uber advisor and angel investor in Coinbase
Maqubela worked in operations at career network Doostang (acquired by Universum Global) and solar startup One Block Off the Grid (acquired
by NRG) before rising to general partner at Collaborative Fund.Today the pair officially launch Kindred Ventures to form startups as well as
But Kindred Ventures will also step up and lead seed rounds, then help startups orchestrate their follow-on fundraises.Kindred Ventures
By keeping the portfolio size low, Jang and Maqubela plan to turn concentrated conviction and outsized, hands-on effort into big stakes in
It began with Jang writing Garrett Camp a check for his side-project
Bottle Coffee, Postmates and Zymergen under the name Kindred Ventures
like his favorite seed funds First Round and True Ventures while remaining a thick-or-thin squire to his startups.But to pour that kind of
sweat into the portfolio, Jang needed the help of someone who could dig deep and become an ally to founders in any vertical
He needed someone like Kanyi.After his stints in operations, Maqubela went on to work at Collaborative Fund for seven years, rising to
partner at the firm looking for the intersection of positive impact and profit
I knew him from Stanford, and now the same reputation precedes him through his portfolio of angel investments like Earnest and Buffer
into the cracks to firm up an idea
Still relatively new to venture, Maqubela was seeking someone with a well-worn process for investing and a big heart for what founders go
He was looking for Steve.Kindred Ventures partner and co-founder Kanyi MaqubelaThe coincidental co-investors became friends, then
deliberately funded startups side by side, and now are taking the leap as Kindred Ventures
Kindred is vertical agnostic, but it has a soft spot for the future of cities, work and living
learning from each other day by day, at home and in the office
startups from its $55 million initial fund
Instead it just wants the opportunity to lead the seed round and own 10% to 20% by the time of the Series A.That makes Kindred Ventures
distinct from most startup studios like Atomic that aim for bigger ~30% stakes
company that the model becomes unscalable
Maqubela became an expert in cardiology to help start Heartbeat, which does in-person and remote heart-health diagnostics
With their help, the first-time founder has sidestepped common pitfalls and is already turning patients into customers with its $2.5 million
evolution of the blockchain space, fundamental products that needed to exist, early use cases etc
Often that means hiring big teams they can assign to help founders, though, while the partners focus elsewhere
He cites three big value-adds
on founder psychology to company building.Undertaking such intense involvement in their whole portfolio would likely surface concerns about
Those who want their investors firmly belted in the backseat or locked in the trunk may want to look elsewhere for cash
Smart founders will take all the help they can get, and Kindred strives to give the most per dollar
