Quote: "There's a fundamental misunderstanding of how success actually happens, how success happens is, you pick something to work on that you don't mind working on in the wee hours of the night, for 20 plus years."

The Afropolitan Podcast highlights Afropolitans who embrace the unknown and walk with purpose. Through this podcast, we aim to empower Africans in the Diaspora to maximize their potential and contribute to the development of a vibrant and progressive black community.

In this episode, we speak with Naithan Jones, former partner at A16z and current Head of Growth at Royal. Royal is a platform that enables anyone to own and earn royalties for their favorite songs. Naithan has a 20-year background in market strategy with emphasis on entrepreneurship, startups, and entertainment-driven business.

Join us as Naithan shares his insights and experiences, including the misconceptions about being a venture capitalist, the importance of serving, and the role of healing in dealing with past trauma. He also discusses Royal's mission to redistribute the ownership of digital property and shares his recommended reading list.

Naithan’s Twitter post:

1. https://twitter.com/naithanjones/status/1550151720319303683?s=21

Naithan's Reading List:

1. Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQ845EA/
2. Cybernetics by Nobert Weiner: https://www.amazon.com/dp/026273009X/
3. The Human Use Of Human Beings by Nobert Weiner: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0306803208/
4. Inner Engineering by Sadhguru: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0812997794/
5. Man's Search For Meaning: https://www.amazon.com/dp/080701429X/
6. The Black Jacobins by C.L.R James: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679724672/
7. Power vs Force by David Hawkins: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1401945074/
8. Psychology Of Unconsciousness by C.G Jung: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486424995/

Show Notes:

5:32 - The inspiration behind Naithan's tweet
11:25 - How Naithan's service experience has influenced his perspective on life and humanity
17:11 - Naithan's journey to the tech industry
24:43 - Common misconceptions about being a venture capitalist
33:15 - Naithan's advice for aspiring founders
40:48 - The role of healing and therapy in addressing past trauma
46:46 - The mission of Royal in redistributing ownership of digital property
52:33 - Books that have profoundly impacted Naithan's life

The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan. Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Connect with Afropolitan:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan

Website - https://www.afropolitan.io