WERKIN with Marcus Glover on the intersection of venture capital and social justice
What do cage-fighting, storytelling, meditation, and social justice have in common? They’ve all shaped Marcus Glover’s journey as an entrepreneur, advocate and mentor.
In Episode 16, we’re WERKIN with Marcus Glover, cofounder of Southbox Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund. In Hayley’s interview, Glover discusses how a more thoughtful use of venture capital can create a fairer, more equitable world, “venture capital has this hand in producing the next iteration of the world we live in.”
On any given day, Glover hears loads of ideas for the next big thing, but it’s about more than ideas, “great ideas win business, poor execution loses it.” Giving a more diverse field of entrepreneurs a chance through venture capital isn’t only growing businesses, it’s creating a platform for more perspectives across industries.
“I wake up every morning and think ‘what are the ways that I'm going to help women and people of color?’ Part of my job is to help rally awareness to socialize that there are different points of view and different ways of achieving our goals of creating fairness in the world.”
Beyond Southbox, Glover dedicates his time to mentorship, “I make myself available to women, people of color, who often have great ideas but are in need of areas of expertise that they may not have in their traditional career path. I really believe in the power of mentorship. It's not only in providing expertise, but just in providing resources, introductions in all types of opportunities that can help growth.”
Glover’s main advice to the aspiring entrepreneurs that he mentors is to tell a story, “I think if there is a central core to successful entrepreneurship, it is to harness the power of story. So I am always trying to uncover the story that people are trying to tell, either individually or through their venture.” What stories do the entrepreneurs he works with tell? Glover has coached and invested in businesses ranging from aquaponics farming to social justice-grounded cannabis dispensaries, as many US states move towards legalization.
From Glover’s perspective, bringing in more entrepreneurs, particularly millennials, into the mix also means reassessing established institutions,
“I think the power of millennials is to take a fresh look at things that don't work and abandon existing institutions and create new ones. So it's the power of the youth to say these things don't work and now they have access to tools and technology to do that. Millennials in particular should harness that strength.”
To hear more about how entrepreneurship is like entering a cage-fighting match and the power of meditation as a business strategy, listen to the full interview on iTunes.
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